Acknowledgement of Country
This website contains stories of towns established on the land of the Bengalat balug of the Wadawurrung people. We acknowledge them as the Traditional Owners of these lands and pay our respects to their Elders, past and present, and Aboriginal Elders of other communities who read these stories.
Several interviews include copies of photographs sourced from either:
• the person being interviewed,
• The Bellarine Historical Society (https://www.bellarinehistory.org)
• Barwon Heads Association. (https://www.barwonheadsassociation.com/new-site/heritage/)
Joanne Stephens
in this interview JoAnne shares her memories of the celebrations and hardships at the end of WW11, also as working as a teenager telephonist at the early Barwon Heads telephone exchange.
Joanne married into the Stephens fishing family which is steeped in the history of Barwon Heads and she relates the many hardships related to the fishing fleet from the early 1900’s
After discovering late in life that her Mother was adopted in 1900, Joanne tells us of her journey to find her Mother's biological family
Audio ->