"Port Fairy - at the end of t ..." a Port Fairy Travel Page by Kate-Me

Port Fairy is a small seaside town (these days they're calling it a 'seaside village) at the end of the Great Ocean Road, about 30 kms west of its much larger cousin, the city of Warrnambool.
I'd never been there before, or remembered passing through, or I would have stopped for a closer look, as many of the buildings in the centre of town and towards the waterfront are quite historic (by Australian standards - some 1850's). Indeed, a sign at the entrance to the town says that there are 50 historic/heritage buildings in the town.

At the beach, the part of the shoreline we visited is rather rocky, and seems to be a popular surfing spot.
There are swimming beaches too, though we didn't have time to go and check them out.

Port Fairy's main claim to fame is that every year it has been holding its nationally famous, long running Folk Music festival.
Numbers for 2002 were stated at around 65,000 visitors, to give you an idea of the size of it.
(see www.portfairyfolkfestival.com for more info.)
The 2004 festival, (its 28th) which was held at the beginning of March, featured 22 international and 100 national performers over 300 performances.

At nearby Koroit, there is also another important event, the annual Irish Festival.
While Irish heritage in Australia is extremely common, large festivals such as this to celebrate it aren't, so this is one reason why it's so special, I guess.
It's being held from April 30, 2004 till May 1, including Irish history, music and dance.
Port Fairy also has its fair share of Irish heritage, which seems to become increasingly evident during the Folk Festival (many celtic/irish performers and an Irish pub or two)