Hall of Fame Winner - Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village
Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village has been awarded the 2009 Victorian Tourism Awards - Tourist Attraction, the 3rd year in a row!! With that our historic precinct is now a member of the Victorian Tourism Industry - Hall of Fame For Ongoing Excellence
So what is going at Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village resulting in all these awards?
What is Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village?
Flagstaff Hill is an interactive Maritime Village and Museum that takes visitors on a rich journey of discovery through an early Australian coastal fishing port. Built around the State Heritage listed Lady Bay Lighthouse precinct, overlooking Lady Bay Warrnambool, Flagstaff Hill holds the richest collection of Shipwreck artefacts in Australia. Scattered throughout the Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village are a range of trades that supported the rich maritime heritage of the late 1800’s.
Guests are initially taken on audio visual journey from England to Melbourne, typical of the vast fleets of immigration and trade ships that passed the Australian shores through the boom period of 1850 - 1900.
Guests then enter the Great Circle Gallery to explore the vast historical artefacts and dramatic human stories linked to the maritime heritage of the Great Ocean Road.
The Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village contains a working port with typical dwellings of the period; a bank, doctor’s surgery, church, foundry, newspaper office, jail, slipway, Steam Packet Inn, school, ship chandlers and sail makers loft. Why not climb aboard the boats in the village’s port and see the trout being fed from the wharf.
Set on 10 acres of land overlooking Warrnambool’s beautiful Lady Bay, the site also features an original fully operational lighthouse and lighthouse keeper’s cottage built in 1859 along with several fortifications that were added some two decades later.
The Flagstaff Hill Stella Maris Tearooms are open 11.30am - 3pm daily and a great location to relax and take in the beautiful scenery of the village.
Great Circle Gallery - Holder of Australia's Most Valuable Shipwreck Artefact
Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village boasts Australia's richest collection of historical relics and artefacts from Shipwrecks of the Great Ocean Road.
The most famous of these artefacts is Loch Ard Peacock. Standing 1.5 metres tall, the magnificent porcelain artwork was originally being shipped from Stock on Trent Minton Pottrery, headed for the Melbourne International Exhibition of 1880 in an era when Melbourne was the boom city of the world.
She was shipped on the beautiful ship Loch Ard. Disaster struck when the Loch Ard struck Muttonbird Island near present day Loch Ard Gorge. Now the Loch Ard Peacock sits as the centre piece of wide shipwreck collection.
Take your time to listen to the audio stories of the many wrecks, see the artefacts of a different era before you head out to the Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village.
Flagstaff Hill Mechanics Institute Open 7 Day Per Week
This new service is staffed by volunteers from the Warrnambool and District Historical Society and Warrnambool Family History Group. It provides expertise on a range of local historical and families heritage queries. Located in the village area the service provides:
-
Access to wide range of local historical documents and images (small charge may apply)
-
Access to Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village Library;
-
Further Contact details for other local and regional history groups
-
Access to images owned by Flagstaff Hill
Complete the Journey - Be Shipwrecked!!
To round off you visit to the 19th century in style, why not experience the tragedy and triumph of SHIPWRECKED, the multi-million dollar multi sensory night time sound and laser show that is held each and every night at Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village.
Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village provides visitors and researchers with a variety of different ways to source information relating to the history of Warrnambool, the Great Ocean Road, and of course relating to the Flagstaff Hill Maritime Villlage and the maritime history of the rugged Shipwreck Coast.
Guns and Cannons along Victoria's South West Coast
The City of Warrnambool and the Shires of Moyne and Glenelg are proud custodians of a collection of artillery pieces of hertiage significance at a state, national and international level.
A guide has been developed to provide the location of these heritage artillery pieces , along with relevant information which focuses on Guns and Cannons located at Port Fairy, Portland and Warrnambool. 
Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village is the location of the "Flagstaff Hill Battery" which was established in the late 1880's, this area can be viewed daily as part of the admission to Martime Village. Along with the Flagstaff Hill Battery, the Maritime Village also has several small guns retrieved from local shipwrecks on display.
For more information download a copy of Guns and Cannons along Victoria's South West Coast