Apollo Bay is a coastal town in southwestern Victoria, Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

. It is situated on the eastern side of Cape Otway

Cape Otway

Cape Otway is a cape in south Victoria, Australia on the Great Ocean Road; much of the area is enclosed in the Otway National Park.-History:...

, along the edge of the Barham River

Barham River

The Barham River is a river in southwestern Victoria, Australia. It arises in the Otway Ranges and enters Bass Strait at Apollo Bay.Named by surveyor George Smythe, its name is supposed to be from an Aboriginal word Burrum meaning stony river bed....

 and on the Great Ocean Road

Great Ocean Road

The Great Ocean Road is a stretch of road along the south-eastern coast of Australia between the Victorian cities of Torquay and Warrnambool. The road was built by returned soldiers between 1919 and 1932, and is the world's largest war memorial; dedicated to casualties of World War I...

, in the Colac Otway Shire

Colac Otway Shire

Colac Otway Shire is a Local Government Area in Victoria, Australia. It is located in the south-western part of the state. It includes the towns of Apollo Bay and Colac. It has an area of 3,416 square kilometres. In 2006 it had a population of 20,295...

. The town has a population of 1380.

It now makes an income from tourism, though it is smaller and quieter than other tourist destinations such as Lorne

Lorne, Victoria

Lorne is a seaside town on Louttit Bay in Victoria, Australia. It is situated about the Erskine River and is a popular destination on the Great Ocean Road tourist route...

. It is also host to the annual Apollo Bay Music Festival and the Great Ocean Sports Festival.
Apollo Bay was part of the traditional lands of the Gadubanud

Gadubanud

The Gadubanud people occupied the rainforest plateau and rugged coastline of Cape Otway in Western Victoria covering the present towns of Lorne and Apollo Bay. The Gellibrand and Barwon Rivers are likely territorial borders with the Wada wurrung to the north east, Gulidjan to the north and Girai...

 or King Parrot people of the Cape Otway coast.

In the 1840s the Henty brothers

Henty Brothers

Henty Brothers may refer to one of:* James Henty founded James Henty and Company, merchants* William Henty solicitor, member of the Tasmanian Legislative Council for Tamar, and colonial secretary in the Weston cabinet....

 established a whaling

Whaling

Whaling is the hunting of whales mainly for meat and oil. Its earliest forms date to at least 3000 BC. Various coastal communities have long histories of sustenance whaling and harvesting beached whales...

 station at Point Bunbury on the western end of the bay.

The bay was named by a Captain Loutit in 1845 when he sheltered his vessel, the Apollo, here from a storm.

The first settlers were timber

Timber

Timber may refer to:* Timber, a term common in the United Kingdom and Australia for wood materials * Timber, Oregon, an unincorporated community in the U.S...

 cutters in the 1850s who subsequently established sawmills

Sawmills

Sawmills may refer to:* A sawmill, a facility where logs are cut to length* Sawmills Studio, a famous UK music recording studio* Sawmills, North Carolina...

.
Farmers later moved into the area and a small settlement on Apollo Bay named Middleton developed.