[5] The Pyipkil gunditj constructed stone and timber fishing-weirs called yereroc across creeks to catch fish and eels.

[6] The crew of the sealing cutter The Fairy (Captain James Wishart) reportedly gave the bay its current name in 1828.

These clashes, later known as the Eumeralla Wars, formed part of the battle over land use and resources between traditional owners and Europeans across the Victoria's western district.

[18] Port Fairy was voted as one of the world's most livable cities with a population under 20,000 after winning the 2012 International LivCom award.

Griffiths Island nearby holds a breeding colony of the short-tailed shearwater or Australian muttonbird.

The Port Fairy Folk Festival is held during the Labour Day long weekend in March each year.

[20] The inaugural Port Fairy Spring Music Festival was held in 1990, founded by British/Australian composer Michael Easton and pianist Len Vorster, and is run annually.

Its past artistic directors have included Vorster, Marco van Pagee (who also founded the Melbourne International Chamber Music Competition in 1991 and was in 2009 artistic director of Chamber Music Australia[21]), Erich Fackert, Stephen McIntyre, Anna Goldsworthy and Iain Grandage.

As of 2023[update] its program includes 24 performances over three days, and the artistic directors are Monica Curro and Stefan Cassomenos.

[23] The annual Tarerer Festival, taking place over a weekend, is a celebration of the region's multicultural identity, its history relating to its Aboriginal peoples (Koori, in particular those of the Warrnambool district[24]), and the environmental significance of the land.