Jan Juc, Victoria
History
Nearby Bellbrae was originally called Jan Juc but was renamed in 1923, so the Jan Juc Post Office, which opened on 25 January 1862, was in fact in Bellbrae. There has never been a post office in the current Jan Juc.
As of 2024, housing estates almost link Jan Juc to adjacent Torquay, across the Spring Creek. Along with many other parts of the Surf Coast, increasing popularity is placing pressure on the coastal environment.
Jan Juc beach
The Jan Juc beach lies between Rocky Point to the east and Bird Rock to the west, and is bounded by high cliffs, apart from the middle where an ephemeral creek enters Bass Strait through sand dunes. The beach is patrolled during summer months by the Jan Juc Surf Life Saving Club.
Jan Juc beach is home to the Jan Juc Formation, of which its Marl formation has been biostratigraphically and radiometrically dated to the Chattian (Oligocene) (28.4 - 23.0 Ma). The Formation is known for various fossil discoveries. In the late 1990s, a surfer found the fossilised remains of an extinct genus of whale on a beach near Jan Juc. It was named Janjucetus hunderi, after the location. The remains of other extinct whales Mammalodon, Prosqualodon and Waipatia have also been discovered at Jan Juc.
Sport
Jan Juc has a Surf Life Saving Club which includes a junior "Nippers" program. The Jan Juc Sharks cricket club has eight junior teams and four senior teams that compete in the Geelong Junior Cricket Association and the Bellarine Peninsula Cricket Association respectively. Jan Juc Boardriders is the local surfing club.
References
- ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (27 June 2017). "Jan Juc (State Suburb)". 2016 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 16 November 2017.
- ^ Phoenix Auctions History. "Post Office List". Retrieved 21 March 2021.
- ^ "Fossilworks: Gateway to the Paleobiology Database".
- ^ Ancient whale broke all the rules ABC News in Science 16 August 2006