Twelve Apostoles

An off site trip from Melbourne during January early this year. The lonely rocks caught the imagination of early settlers and the road builders. They named them aptly as 'Twelve apostles' reviving the idea of apostolic missions made some 2000 years ago.

The Twelve Apostles are located along the spectacular Great Ocean Road. They were originally named the 'Sow and Piglets'. Located near Loch Ard Gorge, the Sow was Muttonbird Island, with the piglets being the smaller surrounding rocks.

The Great Ocean Road (known as the Surfcoast Highway between Geelong and Torquay) which stretches along the South Eastern coast of Australia between the Victorian cities of Geelong and Warrnambool is one of Australia's great scenic coastline drives.

The Twelve Apostles were formed by erosion of the original coastline. The constant action of the sea on the limestone slowly wore down the rocky cliff, gradually leaving individual rocks. The cliff is still being eroded at a rate of about 2cm each year, and in the future is likely to form more 'Apostles' from the other rocky headlands that line the Victorian coastline.