The clipper ship Victoria Tower, on its maiden voyage to Melbourne, was wrecked on rocks at Point Impossible in 1869.

During the Great Depression, squatters constructed more permanent buildings, rate-free, and eked out meals from the creek and the ocean.

[citation needed] The existence of the settlement, hitherto known as Bream Creek, was formally acknowledged by the government in October 1941 when it was proclaimed in the Government Gazette and renamed Breamlea,[4] creating a small linear township huddled behind the high, Moonah-covered sand dunes.

Breamlea State School opened in the local hall on 27 May 1952 and moved to a standalone site on 31 January 1955.

Halfway along Horwood Drive is a recreation reserve with an oval, children's playground, barbecue facilities and toilet.

The architecture of Breamlea is a mix of fibro-cement beach shacks built in the 1950s and 1960s, and modern, architect-designed houses.

Barwon Water's Black Rock sewage treatment plant is located to the north-east of Breamlea, processing effluent from Geelong and surrounding areas.

[8] Initially, the sewage was left untreated before being discharged into the ocean, increasingly polluting several adjacent beaches.

[9] In 1997, the plant was further upgraded, with secondary filtration being provided, and a pipeline was installed to allow recycled water to be used on a flower farm at Torquay.

Each summer, a nipper program is run to educate and enhance the surf skills of young members.

[12] As a consequence of the privatisation of electricity supply in Victoria, the generator was sold in 1994 to the Alternative Technology Association of Melbourne.