http://torquayhistoricalsociety.com.au/

Torquay Historical Society, 18 Price Street, Torquay (2026)

02/06/2026

TORQUAY HOTEL
James Follett (1838-1899) was an early settler from the 1870s and in the 1880s he purchased land close to Spring Creek where he built the Pioneer Coffee Palace and accommodation facility. The building, designed by architect Joseph Watts and built by Charles Mills, both of Geelong, was made of wood with plastered walls and a corrugated iron roof and contained 35 rooms that could lodge 150 people. The facility opened in December 1888 with a large soiree ball. In 1890 Ann Follett applied for a liquor license (James was running a coaching business to transport visitors to Torquay) and the licensing court reported “the house was a splendid one, nearly all rooms being very large, well-ventilated and altogether of a superior kind”. The license for a fee of £50 of the Pioneer Palace Hotel began on New Year’s Day 1891. The license was transferred to Susan Tassell in 1901 with a fee of £150 and the name changed to the Palace Hotel. William Williams took over in 1912 until 1918; then Alex Crow was licensee until 1926. During the 1930s there were a series of short-term licensees: Henry Main, Bert Mason, Albert McCartney and William Wren. In the 1940s fires that swept through Torquay the hotel was saved largely to the efforts of the Light Horsemen who were camped in Torquay on manoeuvres. Wren sold to Hazel Annett and Mary Evans who ran the hotel during the war years then sold to John Pawson in 1948. The Pawson family operated the hotel until 1970 when it was sold to Beachfront Hotel Pty Ltd. The hotel then underwent a refurbishment that retained the old building and the exterior was changed to Spanish Mission style with the chimneys and lacework veranda removed. In 1976 the hotel was destroyed by fire in suspicious circumstances. Three bars, the managers flat and a number of guest rooms were gutted in the blaze which burnt out nearly two acres. Only the newly completed bottle shop that was not attached to the hotel and a guest room wing used only in busy times were still standing. The hotel operated out of the bottle shop until a new building could be erected. The hotel has then passed through a series of company ownerships up to the present day, undergoing periodic refurbishments.
Photos
1891 New Years Eve dining room
1920s Colourised photo from Rose postcard
1934 Menu, Henry Main publican
1960 Areial view
1976 Aerial view after fire

23/05/2026

This is an item our volunteers are researching. It was donated from the Don Duffield collection and was received from Iris and Andy Duffield, Andy a relative of Don. The sampler contains lace that belonged to Eliza Wolff (formerly Edwards, nee Leatherdale) who was Iris' grandmother. Eliza had guest houses in Torquay, St Heliers and Melba House in Price and Pride Streets. Her daughter Effie Rice (nee Edwards), and Iris' mother was the owner of the well known Two Bays guest house on the Esplanade. It was assembled in circa 1918 and is all hand sewn. We are continuing to research the age of the lace samples.

22/05/2026

It is National Volunteer Week and Torquay & District Historical Society wishes to acknowledge our volunteers who work to preserve the history and heritage of our community. A small and intrepid group. Frank, Judy, Jenny, Barbara, Margaret, Martin and Carollyn. The Society welcomes more volunteers to engage in our work. History is definitely interesting, is collaborative and research uncovers amazing information and is rewarding.

13/05/2026

THE SHEIK
If you’ve driven along Horseshoe Bend road lately, you may have noticed a For Sale sign on the east side of the road in the first block from The Esplanade roundabout. The property listed for sale is set back from the road and is accessed via a laneway so the residence is not clearly visible. This was not always the case however as when it was built over 30 years ago there were fewer surrounding houses and the “castle” stood out.
The property is now known as Whitesbeach Resort and is presently on the market as its owners are retiring. It has been operating as a boutique hotel hosting individual holidaymakers or small groups for work or leisure. But it was originally built in about 1990 as a palatial holiday home for a unique couple whose story should well be part of Torquay’s recent history.
The resort was the creation of Dato Hussain Yusuf, a prominent Geelong based Malaysian businessman who had once been the head of Malaysia’s Department of Veterinary Services. It was intended as a coastal getaway for his family, and also the first stage of a much more ambitious project. He was married to a legendary Malaysian actress, model and film producer Datuk Maria Menando who at the height of her fame was voted by Times Magazine as “Malaya’s Most Beautiful”. The couple was married in 1978, four years after the death of her previous husband, a Sultan whose social position had prohibited her from any further participation in the film world.
Dato Hussain Yusuf was an enthusiastic member of the Torquay community who we believe was an active member of one of the service clubs in Torquay. He had plans to develop a major resort including a golf club and a marina golf Club on an extensive area of land surrounding his castle but unfortunately his unexpected death in 2000 meant his dream was never realised. He was affectionately known locally as The Sheik. He kept an exotic limousine at Torquay, possibly a Rolls Royce. The car was an object of great novelty to the locals as it emerged from time to time onto Horseshoe Bend Road on its way to town, or the races.
We don’t know much about the Sheiks business activities or residential arrangements in Geelong, although we understand he may have had a car dealership in Geelong and had unsuccessfully tried to establish a market for Malaysian made cars in Australia.
We would like to be able to add to The Sheik’s story for our archives so any contribution (or correction) by our followers would be appreciated.

01/05/2026

THE HOSFORD CUP
In 1940 the Hosford Cup was awarded to James Baines by the Torquay Table Tennis Club. In 1947 we find a photo of the Torquay Tennis and Table Tennis Club in the Weekly Times which includes Mr. J F Hosford President. Who was J F Hosford and what is the history of the Torquay Table Tennis Club?

28/04/2026

BARRY PERKINS PLANTATION
We have driven in to Torquay from Geelong many times and noticed the ageing sign in the median strip announcing The Barry Perkins Plantation. Noting the sparseness of trees following the sign we have pondered on the history of the plantation. We have found a snippet in a 2003 edition of the Torquay Times that tells us that Barry Perkins was the Vic Roads Superintendent of Works for the Geelong region who oversaw improvement works on the Surf Highway, in particular the duplication of the road on the entrance to Torquay in 1991-3 period. He was reportedly keen on landscaping road environs and instrumental in saving a number of indigenous species along the way. He retired in 1993 and sadly passed away the following year. We wonder if a more extensive plantation existed in the area and was dedicated to Barry Perkins before being decimated by the roadworks as the few trees that remain seem just a token acknowledgement of the work of an avid conservationist?
Can you help us with the backstory for our archives?

20/04/2026

UPDATE
We have added to our exhibited items this Saturday a collection by James Baines, well known Torquay amateur historian, an extraordinary and pictorial collection of newspaper articles from the 2nd world war.
History House at 18 Price St Torquay will be open on ANZAC Day from 1pm to 3pm. Come and visit to see our collection relating to Torquay during both wars.
1. WW1 1914-1918.
- Eighty-eight men from the Torquay region served in WW1.
2. WW2 1939-1945
- Light Horse Regiments camped and trained at Torquay in 1940
- Volunteer Defence Corps.
- Fortifications.
- Volunteer Air Observer Corps.
- Flight of a Japanese Seaplane over Torquay in 1942
- Crash of a Mitchell Bomber off Pt Addis in 1944

18/04/2026

SILVER GEODESIC DOME HOUSE - Who remembers it?
This unusual round house was purchased (presumably as a kit) at a futuristic housing exhibition in Adelaide in the 1960s by Lorne photographer John Scott and later erected at Big Hill on the Great Ocean Road. A track led from the house to the beach. It was burnt down in the 1983 Ash Wednesday fires.
Source:
Unusual Tales of the Lorne Region. Surf Coast Times November 29, 2017. By James Taylor.
Photos:
TDHS archives

10/04/2026

TORQUAY COUNTRY WOMENS ASSOCIATION (CWA)
The Torquay CWA was formed in 1939 with Mrs. M OWEN as President and Mrs. E HUNT and W PAYNE as secretaries. Meetings were held at the Torquay Hall. Fund raising events were dances and street stalls and rag and paper drives. Mrs. FITZPATRICK was President 1951-53 and in 1962 was an observer at the Australian Country Women’s conference in Melbourne. In 1966 the membership numbers were 37. In 1967 a choir was formed under the leadership of Mrs. WILLAMS with Mrs. BEAMONT and STACK as pianists. Mrs. DISHER ran a music and drama group, and Mrs. GUDGEON coordinated the craft group. The group regularly had an exhibit window at the Geelong Show and in 1970 won the flower exhibit display. In 1980 Torquay hosted the Spring CWA conference. They supported Cottage-by-the-Sea at Queenscliff with annual donations and provided catering and entertainment for Huntingdon’s Disease patients who had a holiday house in Torquay. Craft projects were varied and diverse and included knitting, crochet, embroidery, sewing, patchwork, applique, beading and lacework; oil and watercolor painting; jewelry; cake decorating and floral art; pom-pom toys and potpourri. Of course, cooking and catering were also activities. One such catering recipe was Kashmiri Curry that could be for small or large groups up to 100, For a small group of 15 was required 3lb of mince steak, 10 carrots, 3 parsnips, 4 onions, 1 pkt sultanas, 3 cooking apples, 1 tin Vencat curry powder, cup tomato sauce, 2 Tbsp Holbrooks sauce, ½ cup chutney, some plum jam and enough water to ¾ fill the saucepan. Instructions were ‘DO NOT drown’! Flour and water to make a paste to thicken 1/2 hour before serving. Dice all vegetables and apples, wash sultanas, and add all ingredients together with the water, sauces and curry powder. Cook 1 ½ to 2hrs. You could also add tomatoes, celery, banana and/or coconut. NO swedes or turnips! For 100 people about 24lb of minced meat was required! (With a note on the recipe to say mince from Coles was 32cents per pound). If making fruit salad for 100 people 7 large tins of Two Fruits and 4 large tins of crushed pineapple was required.
The group celebrated their 45th anniversary in 1984. By 1987 the CWA was meeting in the St Lukes Hall and 1989 they celebrated their 50th anniversary. In 2000 after 61 years the CWA group closed due to low membership numbers.
Photos
1984 45th anniversary cake with Dulcie Aldridge and Beryl Julien
2000 Last gathering with Merle Thirlwell, Mary Morgan and Hazel Lauder
Vencat curry powder
Source
Torquay CWA archival collection

02/04/2026

EASTER IN TORQUAY
Easter in Torquay is now identified with the Bells Surfing Competition. The first official competition was held in January 1962, then at Easter thereafter. What happened in Torquay at Easter before that?
In 1906 TASSELLS Palace Hotel was fully booked and patrons enjoyed fishing, golfing and tennis. A ping-pong tournament was held, with twenty-eight entrants and an all-day doubles tennis tournament was played.
In 1917 advertisements said that during Easter coaches and hooded drags left daily from Geelong for the coast for 3/- day return. By 1919 the fare was 4/-. Horses and buggies, picnic drags and wagonettes were available for day hire.
From 1920 the Torquay Golf Club held a very popular annual Easter tournaments.
In 1921 the ladies’ committee of the Torquay Improvement Association held a very successful Easter Monday dance organised by Mrs. PARKER, JARVIS, COOTS and ROSSER. Mrs HOOPER played the piano and Joe FOLLETT was the MC.
In 1926 Basil DRAYTON ran a motor service from Ryrie St to Torquay and Anglesea. Passengers were also met at all train and boat arrivals, and picnic parties and special excursions were catered for.
In 1926 the golf tournament opened with a men's nine-hole bogey handicap and concluded with ladies' and men's handicap stroke play competitions. On Easter Monday the WILLIE HIRST Memorial Cup, 18 holes stroke play, was held and the program also included mixed foursomes, ladies' foursomes, and men's foursomes.
In 1948 four and five-berth caravans were advertised for Easter on a private beach site with all electric conveniences. The Palace Hotel now under the new management of PAWSON and Son offered golf links at the door, surfing, tennis, bowls and lovely countryside.
Sources
Geelong Advertiser, Weekly Times, The Age, Punch
Photos
TDHS Collection

Torquay Historical Society

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