The Twelve Apostles, Victoria

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The leftmost stack disintegrated on July 3, 2005

This picture was taken one hour after the stack had crashed on July 3, 2005

The Twelve Apostles as seen eastward from the lookout point

The Twelve Apostles

The Twelve Apostles are a collection of natural limestone stacks standing just off shore in the Port Campbell National Park, on the Great Ocean Road in Victoria, Australia. Their proximity to one another has made the site a popular tourist attraction. Originally the site was called the Sow and Piglets. The name was changed in the 1950s to the more majestic "The Twelve Apostles" to lure more visitors, even though there were only nine stacks.

Erosion of the Apostles

The stacks have been formed by erosion, and are varying heights and thicknesses. A number have fallen over entirely as waves continually erode their bases. A 50-metre tall Apostle collapsed on July 3, 2005, leaving eight.

The previous well known feature in Port Campbell National Park to succumb to erosion was the 'London Bridge.' Two visitors were trapped when a natural arch collapsed - the people were rescued by helicopter a few hours later. The island of rock has since been called 'London Arch.'

The rate of erosion at the base of the limestone pillars is approximately 2 cm per year.

See also

• London Arch (formerly London Bridge)
• Loch Ard Gorge
• The Gibson Steps

External links

• [BBC article about the collapse]

 

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