Last Sunday, one of the so-called Twelve Apostles sea stacks crumbled into the sea in front of bemused onlookers. I say "so-called" as there actually were nine stacks, and now there are eight. The Twelve Apostles are one of the most-photographed destinations in Australia, and are located several hundred kilometres south-west of Melbourne. The stack which collapsed was one of the most prominent, with its distinctive wave-like shape, so the remaining formation has lost much of its allure.

Last Sunday, one of the so-called Twelve Apostles sea stacks crumbled into the sea in front of bemused onlookers. I say "so-called" as there actually were nine stacks, and now there are eight. The Twelve Apostles are one of the most-photographed destinations in Australia, and are located several hundred kilometres south-west of Melbourne. The stack which collapsed was one of the most prominent, with its distinctive wave-like shape, so the remaining formation has lost much of its allure.

I saw a photo of it this morning on another forum. You are right, the scene loses a lot of its allure - good thing I took pictures there last year.

It was a great shame Kevin. If there is a sunny side, I guess it is that yours, Robert T's and Ken Duncan's images of the 12 Apostles may have their values enhanced even further!

Ken Duncan's 12 Apostles (http://www.kenduncan.com.au/galshop.php?fn=prod&id=2320)

Mine is not on the same level as Ken's, and I guess I won't have the opportunity to get better at this location. From what I was told, it is practically impossible to get permission to shoot the apostles from the beach - Ken pulled a lot of strings to get down there for that shot.

That's true, John. I've never sold a print of anything, but I certainly have a LOT of images of the Twelve Apostles in all manner of weather conditions. One thing I don't have though is an image from the lower viewpoint such as that one by Ken Duncan. That part of beach is inaccessible to the general public. I have one image of the Twelve Apostles in my gallery, but the two stacks shown are on the one part of beach which is accessible.

Here is a link to the photo that I found earler today: http://www.photosig.com/go/photos/view?id=1560844&forward=

It was a great shame Kevin. If there is a sunny side, I guess it is that yours, Robert T's and Ken Duncan's images of the 12 Apostles may have their values enhanced even further!

Ken Duncan's 12 Apostles (http://www.kenduncan.com.au/galshop.php?fn=prod&id=2320)

60,000 dollars!!!!!!!

Well maybe Ken's will not go up in value much :p .

There must be cheaper options than $60,000. Ken Duncan isn't the only person ever granted access to that strip of beach.

what I want to know is will they dredge that ugly looking lump of rock out of the way or let some seals claim it as home!

why is it so hard to get on the beach?

why is it so hard to get on the beach?

It's a penguin rookery, or something like that.

why is it so hard to get on the beach?

It's a fairly rugged coastline and as such it's very dangerous. Pieces of cliff-face routinely shear off. Apparently it used to be accessible through an arch from the Gibsons Steps side, but they filled in the arch because of the danger to the people and to the fairy penguin colony.

All these types of things will eventual crumble away. Didn't the granite face in a mountain in Vermont or New Hampsire break away a few years ago?
Even all those precious arches in Utah will turn to so much dust.

I think you are right Jim...."The Old Man in the Mountain" it is on the New Hampshire commemoritive quarter......but no longer on the mountain

What makes this a noteworthy news event, is that this particular strech of rocks - the 12 Apostles - really epitomizes the entire coast. At the location where this particular image was taken is a boardwalk that people line up every evening to take sunset shots of these rocks. With the one rock now missing - the most prominent rock - the scene becomes less spectular, and I read that some authorities in the area are concerned how this even will impact the tourist industry in the area. This particular spot is right in the middle of Port Campbell National Park. But, they said the same thing when "London Bridge" fell down a few years ago, and it seems to have increased its popularity. Time will tell.

http://www.greatoceanroad.org/shipwreckcoast/portcampbell/apostles.asp
http://www.parkweb.vic.gov.au/1park_display.cfm?park=175