Events
Apollo Bay Community Voice (ABCV) is an organisation that regularly hosts community events and gatherings. We believe in bringing people together to celebrate and strengthen our community. Keep an eye out for our upcoming events. We would love to see you there!
Annual General Meeting 2026
Date & Time: Sunday 25 October 2026, 2pm - 3pm
Location: Apollo Bay Community Hall, 4 Whelan Street, Apollo Bay
Members, guests, residents; all are warmly invited to attend the Apollo Bay Community Voice Annual General Meeting 2026.
Coffee, tea and refreshments will be provided.
Individuals wishing to nominate for Committee positions should download and complete a Nomination Form. Members unable to attend should complete a Proxy Form to appoint someone to vote on your behalf.
Forms should be emailed to apollobayvoice@gmail.com or mailed to the Secretary, Apollo Bay Community Voice.
< Click here to download a Committee Nomination Form
< Click here to download a Proxy Form
Past Events
On Sunday 30 August 2026, around 70 members of our community came together to explore the question:
How do we build on our strengths, discover what’s possible and move us forward together?
It was an opportunity to reflect on Apollo Bay’s achievements, share stories and celebrate the many strengths and assets that make our community special. Through conversations and activities, we identified the people, groups, organisations, businesses, places, culture and connections that we
value – and explored ideas and possibilities for the future.
The day was expertly facilitated by Lisa and Chelsey of Hatrick & Co, who brought energy, thoughtfulness and a strong focus on meaningful community connection. We were pleased Andrew Tenni, CEO of Colac Otway Shire; Steve Blackley, Strategic Planning Coordinator with GORCAPA; and Tatiana Resk, Strategic Engagement Adviser with Barwon Water,
could attend to hear first-hand the aspirations of our community. We also appreciated the participation of our resident Councillors Phil Howard and Chrissy De Deugd.
Thank you to Nattie Murray, Potoroo Pantry and the Apollo Bay Bakery for providing a wonderful lunch. And thank you to Donna for performing the poem We are Apollo Bay, which she so cleverly crafted from the community’s words. This amazing poem can be read below. We are extremely grateful to the Foundation for Rural & Regional Renewal (FRRR) for its Strengthening Rural Communities Grant, which made the event possible.
What happens next?
Lisa and Chelsey will collate the ideas, strengths and priorities identified during the day into a summary document to be shared with participants.
We hope this will become a valuable resource to help guide future projects, advocacy and grant applications by clearly demonstrating what matters to our community. Apollo Bay Community Voice will review the outcomes and consider what we can progress, but the next steps belong to all of us. The real opportunity is for individuals, businesses, organisations and
community groups to connect and collaborate to turn ideas into action.
Thank you to everyone who came along, shared their ideas and contributed so enthusiastically. Apollo Bay has a wonderful history of achieving great things when we work together – and this day was about building on those strengths and looking towards what we can achieve next, together.
Jane Gross
President, Apollo Bay Community Voice
We are Apollo Bay
In the lead up to the Apollo Bay Community Voice’s Looking Ahead consultation, people were asked to write what they
love about Apollo Bay. This was captured on butcher’s paper at the Poetry and Pies night at Apollo Bay Wordfest, and
passed onto Donna Gross, a poet who grew up here, to weave together.
This is that poem.
We are the shell-seekers,
the sea-air breathers,
the beach walkers,
the main-street talkers.
We are from Gadabanud country.
We are from
natural horizons, uninterrupted
shipwreck remnants, eclectic and carefully constructed
from the hills, the shrubbies, late night beers and the birds
from the place where the forest and the ocean blurs.
We are from bold plonkers and the museum
deep time, prehistoric treasures and aeons
of life and people and stories
changing with the times.
We are from the ever-changing light of nature’s vistas
from a community that feels like our brothers and sisters
We are from King Parrots on our balconies
silhouetted by the ocean, crashing
from drifting off to sleep
to the roar or murmur of the waves splashing
from the community that sticks by you through anything
coffee dates, laughs with mates, funerals and weddings.
We are the swimmers, the strollers, the surfers, the sailors
the fishermen, marriners, the forest bathers
the plonking wondersmiths, the friendly neighbours
the fungi walkers, inspirers, creators
From the forest, the birds, the sounds of nature.
We are from the open skies that change colour,
from a community like no other,
from the expanse of beach,
the chance to see a rainbow, complete
from this balm for the heart like a mother.
We are from a village that’s good for the soul
A village for our grand-kids that’s whole
A village that’s supportive, quiet and wholesome
Built on past, shaping present, evolving
A place of quirky characters, blending
Where the locals are open and friendly
We are from art, from beaches, from whales and from sky
from rocks, music, seals, from the choir alive
from a place that’s more than all that, it’s the people
welcoming, talented, uniqueness unequalled
with many diverse talents and stories to share
with smiles for everyone and such deep care
We are from the open-hearted and the amazing
from prehistoric treasures,
from exquisite, beaded flapper dresses,
from reflections of change and we’re changing
We’re from those not afraid to be themselves.
We are from the environment and its purity
from real townsfolk intensity
from walks by the sea in the evening light
from the stars and the moon on the water at night
from a place of poetry and healing
from shared experience and feeling
from close-knit community, we’re here to stay
We’re from this wonderful place called Apollo Bay.