Town by town snapshot: Queenscliff

Town Profile: Queenscliff

The size of Queenscliff is approximately 3.3 square kilometres and has seven parks covering nearly 22.4 per cent of total area.

The population of Queenscliff in 2011 was 1,417 people and by the 2016 Census the population was 1,328, showing a population decline of 6.3 per cent in the area during that time.

Queenscliff is a coastal settlement steeped in history with any magnificent buildings and structures that tell a tale of yesteryear.
The entrenched locals are very protective of their independence and have staunchly defended attempts to amalgamate the borough into the clasps of the City of Greater Geelong.

Queenscliff itself was originally named Shortland’s Bluff, a prominent headland named after Peter Shortland who was a member of a maritime survey party (1836).

A light station was constructed on the headland in 1842 and a township was surveyed in 1853.
Its post office (1853) was named Shortland’s Bluff, but changed to Queenscliff in 1854, that being the official name bestowed as a compliment to Queen Victoria.

A school, a church and a hotel opened in 1854, and Queenscliff was connected by telegraph to Melbourne in 1855.

In 1862-63 three definitive guns were placed at Queenscliff as part of elaborate fortifications to protect the entrance to Port Phillip Bay.

All came to fruition in the late 1880s, the main stages being a railway from Geelong for troop movements (1879), two gun batteries at Queenscliff (1880) and completion of fortifications at Queenscliff and on the other side of the bay’s entrance (Point Nepean and Fort Franklin, Portsea) in the late 1880s.

A borough council was formed in 1863 and within five years there were substantially built Anglican, Catholic and Wesleyan churches.
The town jetty was lengthened in 1860, a local fishing industry grew during the coming decade and the first excursion boats brought more visitors to Queenscliff’s five hotels.

It was the railway, however, which brought many more holidaymakers, and the excursion boats which came into their own in the 1880s.
Visitors were welcomed by increasingly opulent hotels, rococo triple-storeyed buildings that held 150 or more guests.
By federation, Queenscliff had reached near completion, except for conveniences such as state-supplied electricity (1923) and sewerage (1970s).

World War II confirmed the end of fortified defences and the site became the Australian Staff College.
CoreLogic data indicates the predominant age group in Queenscliff is 60-69 years with households in Queenscliff being primarily childless couples and are likely to be repaying $1,000 – $1,399 per month on mortgage repayments, and in general, people in Queenscliff work in a professional occupation.
In 2011, 73.5 per cent of the homes in Queenscliff were owner-occupied compared with 78.7 per cent in 2016.

TIDBIT:
In 1993 the state government proposed amalgamation with the newly formed Greater Geelong council, and although many thought this was a certainty, determined opposition thwarted their efforts.

Population: 1,328
Male: 47%
Female: 53%
Median age: 59
5-year population change: -6.3%
Median house price: $974,000
Change in median price: (5yrs) is 27%
Median asking rent per week: $480
Average length of ownership: 17 years
Owner occupiers: 82%
Renters: 18%

Historic median house price:
December 2020: $935,000
December 2019: $915,000
December 2018: $950,000
December 2017: $780,000
December 2016: $787,500

House sales per annum:
Period ending December 2020: 47
Period ending December 2019: 28

Land median sale price:
December 2020: N/A
December 2019: N/A

Land sales per annum:
Period ending December 2020: 1
Period ending December 2019: 1