Surf Beach, Victoria

Phillip Island was part of the traditional homelands of the Yallok Bulluk people of the Bunurong (Boonwurrung) Nation for many thousands of years.^[2] Prior to Crown Land sales in the early 1870s and subsequent cultivation/clearing of the land, the Surf Beach area was open country with sprawling grasslands, sand hummocks and scattered Ti Tree. A map from 1911 indicates a chicory plantation and kiln were located near the corner of Sunderland Bay and Phillip Island Roads. Dairy farms and fisherman's huts dotted the adjoining land.^[3][4]

In early 1926 a syndicate of Melbourne businessmen announced plans to create a planned seaside neighbourhood and golf course on the south side of Philip Island Road in Phillip Island. The group had acquired over 150 hectares, and the porject became known as the Surf Beach Estate.^[5] Conceived as a self-contained holiday town, the subdivision set out 561 residential blocks, 30 shop sites and extensive recreational areas.^[6][7]

It was marketed to Melbourne families seeking holiday homes and promoted as the “Playground of Australia”, with publicity that included a now-lost promotional film shown at the company’s William Street offices.^[8] The scheme attracted the public endorsement of champion swimmer Frank Beaurepaire, who selected a block for himself.^[9][10]

The Surf Beach development was led by relatives Charles Columbine Jackson (1886–1951) and Basil John Jackson (1897–1958), who worked with a circle of private investors. Both men accumulated most of their wealth through ventures in gold, gas and oil, alongside their Melbourne accounting practice, Jackson and Jackson.^[11]

From the outset, many of Surf Beach’s earliest houses were built for people directly connected to the project including developer Charles Jackson.^[12] The estate’s first completed home was for George Seymour, a friend of the Jackson brothers, which became the focus of an impromptu celebration in July 1926, when around 40 local residents gathered to mark the occasion. Many blocks were also sold to speculative buyers, who did not necessarily intend to build.^[13]

A further milestone came on 17 December 1927 with the opening of an 18 hole-golf course and clubhouse on the estate. Covering 57 hectares, the course was built at a reported cost of about five thousand pounds and was designed by professional golfer Dick Banks.^[14][15] Charles Jackson, an enthusiastic golfer, served as the inaugural president of the newly formed Phillip Island Golf Club.^[16] Land had also been reserved for tennis, croquet and bowling, although these facilities were short lived.^[12][17] The original Surf Beach Estate company was liquidated following the commencement of World War II.

Surf Beach's former golf course, which had been in a neglected state since at-least the 1940s, was acquired in the 1950s for the town of Sunderland Bay.^[18] One of the largest private investments into Surf Beach in recent times was the Surf Side Beach Houses project in 2009.^[19] Virtually all roads remain unpaved, despite a council attempt to seal them in 2023. This attempt was defeated by a majority of rate payers, due largely to financial and character considerations. The town is serviced by several wastewater pumping stations, some of which were designed to look like chicory kilns.^[20]