In August 2010 the Great Ocean Road Coast Committee began construction of a new look-out platform. The lookout is located in Airey’s Inlet on a cliff-edge overlooking Eagle Rock, with magnificent views of the coast and the iconic Split Point Lighthouse. Track works were also completed to improve the site's overall accessibility and reduce erosion and sedimentation.

The works represented one of the actions emerging from the Split Point Lighthouse Precinct Masterplan, which the committee jointly developed with Surf Coast Shire in 2009.

In October 2010, the lookout was  the then Parliamentary Secretary for the Environment and Water Michael Crutchfield visited the completed platform. [Media release]

The location of the new lookout gives visitors the exceptional opportunity to take in dramatic views from the very edge of the cliff – an unsurpassed vantage point allowing visitors further appreciate the beauty, fragility and history of the Surf Coast, whilst nestling unobtrusively into the Split Point landscape.

Steps were taken to ensure the lookout balanced visitor safety, improving visitor access, enhancing the visitor experience, protecting the natural environment and promoting the site’s environmental and historical significance.  Features of the lookout include: 

• The lookout has been designed to be barely visible from the shores it overlooks.
• The lookout’s slender, black painted steel railings are designed to be as see-through as possible, providing a high degree of safety, particularly for children, without impinging on views.
• The lookout’s curved shape and unpolished timber decking and seat are designed to suit the form and natural colours and textures of its setting.
• The lookout and the main pathway to it are designed to be accessible to people with disabilities, although the steep site means wheelchair accessibility is unachievable.
• The structure was created using very high standard materials in order to prolong design life, minimising the need for long term maintenance or replacement and therefore also disruption to the surrounding area in the future.
• The lookout was designed to allow for construction by a small team using small machinery to minimise impacts on native vegetation and rock outcrops. Contract documentation and contract supervision also focused on low-impact construction methods.
• Bare earth surrounding the lookout, that formed part of the original lookout’s footprint, has been revegetated.
• The lookout’s steel and concrete frame and footings are designed to withstand wildfire
   

 The Department of Sustainability and Environment contributed funding towards the project from its Risk Mitigation Grants Program.

 

The next step - telling the site's story.

Plans are underway for the installation of interpretive signs which will tell the site's story and enhance visitors' experiences, with the story focusing on the Eagle Rock Marine Sanctuary and the seascape and landscape surrounding the lookout.

Michael Crutchfield and Great Ocean Road Coast Committee Coast Project Coordinator Mike Bodsworth at the look-out

The completed Split Point look-out includes tracks to improve accessibility and reduce erosion and sedementation.