The F2 Architecture-designed Queenscliff Ferry Terminal has opened on Victoria’s Bellarine Peninsula, providing a gateway to Geelong and the Great Ocean Road.
The ferry service between Sorrento and Queenscliff is regarded as the busiest car and passenger ferry service in Australia, carrying in excess of 250,000 vehicles and 960,000 people each year.
Opening prior to completion, the attendance of local, state and federal members at a formal opening last week signifies the final stage of the terminal has now been constructed. The new terminal features modern facilities and bathrooms, improved access and parking, function rooms, retail tenancies and indoor and outdoor dining holding views of Port Phillip Bay and Port Phillip Heads.
“The Queenscliff Ferry Terminal will open up another gateway into our beautiful city of Geelong and its surrounds,” says Federal Member for Corio, Richard Marles.
“The modern new terminal along with the many thousands of passengers that Searoad Ferries will bring is going to be great for local tourism and business.”
The final stage of the project includes a public boardwalk and gantry, improving the route for passengers to board and disembark the ferry, as well as an upper level of the terminal building.
“This exciting development creates an unbeatable experience for locals and visitors and delivers a tourism drawcard for the region that will strengthen the local economy and build new jobs in our communities,” says Victorian Member for Bellarine, Alison Marchant.
71 new jobs were supported during construction, with an additional 22 new ongoing jobs to support the operation of both the ferry and the terminal. The project was funded by the Geelong City Deal, with the Federal Government contributing $10 million, while Searoad Ferries contributed the balance of project costs.
Image: Searoad Ferries
