Breamlea

Breamlea, Victoria, Australia, is a secluded seaside hamlet located on the south coast of the Bellarine Peninsula, 18 kilometres south of Geelong and halfway between Barwon Heads and Torquay.

Breamlea, Victoria, Australia, is a secluded seaside hamlet located on the south coast of the Bellarine Peninsula, 18 kilometres south of Geelong and halfway between Barwon Heads and Torquay. It is divided between the City of Greater Geelong and the Surf Coast Shire. In the 2016 census, Breamlea had a permanent population of 162.

The area was once populated by the Mon Mart Clan of Wathaurong people. The rock shelves on the coast in the area have always been rich in shellfish, and large middens of the discarded shells can be seen on the headland between Buckley's Bay and Stingray Bay. William Buckley lived in this area and across the road from the caravan park is a well that he is supposed to have used.

The clipper ship Victoria Tower, on its maiden voyage to Melbourne, was wrecked on rocks at Point Impossible in 1869. It had been encountering problems with its compasses during its 85-day voyage to Australia. The wreck is one of many included in Victoria's Underwater Shipwreck Discovery Trail.On 14 July 1891 the steamship SS Bancoora ran aground on what is now the surf beach. The cargo included a young elephant, a rhinoceros, monkeys and parrots. All were landed safely and taken by lorry to Geelong, although the rhinoceros unfortunately only survived for two days. The wreck was sold for breaking up in 1906.Thompsons Creek attracted campers and fishermen from the 1870s onwards and by the 1920s, makeshift huts were being built by regular campers. During the Great Deprrssion, squatters constructed more permanent buildings, rate-free, and eked out meals from the creek and the ocean.The existence of the settlement was formally acknowledged by the government in October 1941 when it was proclaimed in the Government Gazette, creating a small linear township huddled behind the high, Moonah-covered sand dunes. The proclamation paved the way for the sale of the first freehold land in 1942. A Post Office opened on 1 July 1947. Breamlea was only connected to the electricity grid in the 1960s.

Breamlea State School opened in the local hall on 27 May 1952 and moved to a standalone site on 31 January 1955. It closed on 14 January 1966.In 1962 a surf life saving club was formed at Bancoora Beach, with clubrooms being built in 1963. On 8 April 1987 the original clubhouse was guttered by fire. For the next four seasons the club operated from a tin shed, until the present building was opened on 25 October 1992.