German Cottage, a house from this period located on the Surf Coast Highway (Torquay Road), is listed on the Victorian Heritage Register.

A well-attended meeting at Germantown on 31 May 1915 agreed to recommend to the South Barwon Shire Council that the name should be changed to Marlborough or Cornwall.

The hilly country and volcanic soil were ideal for orchards and vineyards, and the area became Victoria's largest wine-producing region, particularly thanks to the efforts of German migrants.

[10] The suburb previously included land south of the Warrnambool railway line; however, on 23 February 2012, the state government made significant changes to the suburban boundaries in the area, creating two new suburbs (Armstrong Creek and Charlemont) on the east side of the Surf Coast Highway, and extending the boundaries of Mount Duneed to the railway on the west side of the highway.

The 2003–04 Victorian State Budget saw funding made available for an extension of rail services on the line between Melbourne and Geelong southwards to Grovedale.