The Twelve Apostles

Limestone sea stacks rising off the Great Ocean Road, sculpted by Southern Ocean waves.

The name is a bit of a puzzle. It is possible that there were never twelve stacks, and only nine are thought to have stood in the past. Seven of those original nine are still standing. Six can be seen from the best-known viewpoint, and the seventh is a few metres away from the corner of the main viewing platform. The park itself is about 190 km south-west of Melbourne.

How the stacks formed

The rock is called Port Campbell Limestone, laid down in the middle to late Miocene, roughly 15 to 5 million years ago. Harsh weather from the Southern Ocean slowly wore away the soft limestone. First the waves carved caves into the cliffs, then the caves became arches, and when the arches fell, tall stacks were left standing alone. The same waves keep working on them today, and Korean Wikipedia says the stacks lose about 2 cm a year.

Falling stacks and a new name

In July 2005 a 50-metre stack collapsed into the sea, leaving eight, and another fell in 2009, leaving seven. Experts expect that the cliffs nearby will one day become new stacks. The rocks were once called the Pinnacles, and later the Sow and Piglets, with Muttonbird Island as the Sow and the smaller stacks as the Piglets. The name Twelve Apostles was made official to attract more tourists.

A wild coast to explore

The park was set aside on 5 May 1964 to protect the limestone shapes along the coast, and today it covers about 1,750 hectares. Along this Shipwreck Coast you can also see London Bridge, Loch Ard Gorge and the Gibson Steps. Birds are the main wildlife: penguins and terns live along the shore, while gannets and albatrosses live out at sea. In 2023 a court formally recognised the Eastern Maar people as traditional owners of land that includes the Twelve Apostles.

On the globe

The model shows tall limestone stacks rising from the waves. Look for the separate rock pillars in the sea.