Bells Beach

Bells Beach is an internationally renown surf beach in Victoria, Australia. It is located 100 km south-west of Melbourne on the Great Ocean Road in the section of the Road known as the Surf Coast. It is approximately half way between the towns of Torquay and Anglesea and was named  after the family that first took up the pastoral run in the 1840s.

As early as 1939 surfers from Torquay would travel to surf the break at Bells Beach but it wasn't until 1949 that Vic Tantau, Peter Troy and Owen Yateman recognised the greater surfing potential.  Access to the beach was a problem until 1960 when Torquay surfer and Olympic wrestler Joe Sweeney hired a bulldozer and cleared a road along the Bells cliff from the Cobb & Co Road, where the concrete wave now stands, down to the beach. He charged one pound per surfer to recover his expenses. This is now part of the Torquay to Anglesea walking track.

The first surfing competition was held on Australia Day 1961 and was won by George 'Ming' Smith who collected the 1 Pound  prize money. The event was soon moved to the Easter and has since attracted national and international competitors. The Bells Beach Easter Surfing Classic is the the world's longest running surfing competition. When conditions at Bells are unsuitable the competition is transferred to other breaks such as Johanna.

The main break is known as the Bells Bowl or Bowl section. It is a point break and works through all tides depending on the size of the swell. It is surfable from 2' up to 15', and a north-west to west wind is optimal wind direction.

'Bells' is a broad sediment-rock reef break which is exposed to a range of swells from major southern ocean storms, which sweep beneath the Australian continent every few days. These swells often move on to the south-facing coasts of Fiji, Tahiti, Hawaii and California. The swells make a turn around Cape Otway, 70 miles southwest of Bells then filter up the Surf Coast and wrap into the wide expanse of Bells' bay. The resulting surf ranges from 2 to 12 feet and occasionally larger, breaking over several different sections of reef, including Centerside, Rincon, Outside Bells and Bells' Bowl.

Although the beach was 'featured' in the final scene of the film Point Break, the scene was not actually filmed there. Bells Beach is a straight stretch and the beach in the film is a cove with pine trees atop a hill. The actual location of the film was a beach called Indian Beach, in Ecola State Park, located in Cannon Beach, Oregon, USA.

Nearby surf breaks include 'Southside', 'Centreside', 'Rincon', 'Winki Pop' (Uppers and Lowers), Boobs and Steps. Although Bells is known internationally as one of the best breaks in Victoria, 'Winki Pop' often works better under more diverse conditions than the other nearby breaks.