Fortunately the Geelong region is not normally prone to tornadoes or twisters as they are commonly known. They are usually associated with the mid lands of the USA although they can occur on all continents. Southern Australia does have the right conditions for tornadoes to form and on a few rare occasions some have hit the Geelong region.
The most recent tornado or twister occurred on the 14th of May 2007 to the north of the You Yangs, luckily no serious damage or injury was reported but over the years it has been a different story.
The Highton twister left nothing more than rubble resembling that of a war zone
In recent years the Bellarine Peninsula had been struck by serious twisters, in October of 2001 Leopold was struck but no damage was reported but in 1984 the area around Portarlington was destroyed with over 50 caravans, trees and rooftops destroyed in a nasty tornado.
As you will see from our exclusive historical photographs below, Highton suffered serious damage from a tornado on July 21, 1926. These pictures show the Highton Anglican Church St John’s reduced to what could only resemble a war zone. Reports show there were 250km winds associated with the twister and over 20 houses and public buildings were destroyed. Tragically several people were seriously injured and a man and young boy was killed. The tornado crossed Highton and then demolished a path through the back of Belmont into Marshall and Breakwater.
The devastation of St John’s Church after the tornado
The Church was later rebuilt using as much of the original materials as possible and was reopened 12 months later. The Church still stands today along with a few additions that have been added on over the years.
According to the church’s record compiled for their recent 150th birthday many of the church’s historical records were lost on that day making research of the early history of the church much more difficult.
