Community
10 December, 2025
Port Campbell promotes beach inclusion
THIS Saturday Port Campbell will be celebrating beach access for all with a beach inclusion day.
The day will aim to bring the community together with fun planned for everyone as well as a guest speaker session planned for the afternoon.
Port Campbell beach inclusion group member Sharon Cotton said there would be plenty of activities on the agenda.
“We’ve got the disabled surfing group there, we’ve got guided beach walks, with the mobi-chairs and walkers available with support,” she said.
“We’re going to have WonderSense there with a sensory tent and Creative Minds will be there with an art table because we will also be running an art competition.
“People can come along and colour their colouring-in on the day and that’s going in to win a $100 art pack prize.
“We’ve also got an all-day barbecue thanks to Corangamite Shire.
“There will be volleyball and beach cricket for those interested in those activities.”
Ms Cotton said a variety of guest speakers would be talking throughout the afternoon about specialised topics.
“We’ll have the Great Ocean Road Coast and Parks Authority (GORCAPA) doing the opening at 2pm in the function room at the surf club,” she said.
“This will be followed by Georgie Selman, who runs Port Farm and Port Cottage in Port Campbell, and she’s going to be speaking about how she has created accessible accommodation.
“We’ll also have Brendan Hyland doing a quick rundown of the accessibility improvements we’ve made at the beach and what our plans are for the future in advocating for permanent beach accessibility.
“Our key speaker for the day is Tania Rowan and she’s a qualified ADHD coach, and she’s going to be speaking about executive functioning support, ADHD, neurodiversity and how we can build understanding to create inclusive communities.”
Mrs Rowan draws on her lived experience with ADHD and works with children and adolescents to help them understand their ADHD nervous system and develop strategies to support their daily life.
She collaborates with schools and community organisations to support parents and educators with trauma-informed professional development to build environments where neurodivergent learners can thrive.
The beach inclusion day is hosted by the Port Campbell Surf Lifesaving Club and proudly supported by GORCAPA, the Port Campbell beach inclusion group and Corangamite Shire Council.
Ms Cotton said they hoped to see attendance from all across the community.
“We are strongly encouraging businesses and community members to come along and afternoon tea will be provided, so we can be inspired about how we can create a more accessible and inclusive community – both through our businesses and our personal interactions,” she said.
“We’re hoping to bring the community along on a process of moving through accessibility, acceptance and inclusion to ensure all members of our community feel welcome and supported and that the visitors to our area also feel welcome and supported.
“It’s not just for people with disabilities it’s for people who need the support to access our beach.
“It might be a family with young children – that’s another reason why we pushed for the beach matting, so families with prams can get to the beach because we know how hard it is to carry all the resources necessary to have a beach day out.
“It’s also for older community members who might need some more stable footing to be able to reach the sand and the ocean.”
Earlier this year, beach matting was officially unveiled at Port Campbell beach, with an accessible ramp allowing those with mobility aids to access the sand safely.
The ramp was coined Goldie’s Way, named after a young Port Campbell resident in a wheelchair who needs the ramp to access the beach.
Charlene Elsum, Goldie’s mum, said the beach inclusion day meant a lot to her family.
“The first time we actually went to a beach inclusion day was two years ago and that was the very first time our family all together were able to be on the beach in the water,” she said.
“We’ve got two kids – Rocky, he’s five, and Goldie, she is seven, and Goldie is in a wheelchair, and it was just too tricky to try and get her onto the sand and into the water whilst we also have another little one at the time.
“Last year they also incorporated a ramp down to the beach which means a lot more often over the summer we’ll be able to go down by ourselves and actually get Goldie down onto the sand without one of these particular days that we have to wait for.
“We are actually able to do it a lot more often but these days are just great – you really feel a part of the community, they’re all so helpful.
“The first time we went we had no idea what to expect and they just welcomed us with open arms and it was just made easy whereas a lot of things when having a kid with a disability are just hard automatically.”
Ms Elsum said it was important to spread awareness through days like these so the community understood not everyone could access the beach so easily.
“I think a lot of people don’t really think about the fact that not everyone can access the beach – people just take it for granted that if you want to go to the beach you can go to the beach,” she said.
“It’s not that easy for everyone.
“Having the ramp named after Goldie was super special, we didn’t expect it at all, but it’s really nice to know the community’s got our back.”
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