Mansfield, Victoria

Not to be confused with Shire of Mansfield.
Mansfield
Victoria

Police memorial with the Mansfield Hotel in the background
Mansfield
Coordinates 37°03′0″S 146°05′0″E / 37.05000°S 146.08333°E / -37.05000; 146.08333Coordinates: 37°03′0″S 146°05′0″E / 37.05000°S 146.08333°E / -37.05000; 146.08333
Population 4,360 (2011 census)[1]
Postcode(s) 3722
Location
LGA(s) Shire of Mansfield
State electorate(s) Eildon
Federal Division(s) Indi
Mean max temp Mean min temp Annual rainfall
20.9 °C
70 °F		 5.1 °C
41 °F		 706.6 mm
27.8 in
Aerial view of Mansfield.

Mansfield is a small town in the foothills of the Victorian Alps in the Australian state of Victoria. It is approximately 180 kilometres (110 mi) north-east of Melbourne by road. The population of Mansfield was 4,360 as at the 2011 census.[1]

Mansfield is the seat of the Mansfield local government area. Mansfield was formerly heavily dependent on farming and logging, but is now a tourist-centre. It is the support town for the large Australia ski resort Mount Buller. It is associated with the high country tradition of alpine grazing, celebrated in the film made around Mansfield, near the now famous Craigs Hut, called The Man from Snowy River (based on a poem by Banjo Paterson).

History

European history

Mansfield, originally known as Mount Battery, was at the boundary of a number of pastoral runs, and a township was surveyed in 1851 and named after Mansfield in Nottinghamshire, England.[2] Settlement came after the discovery of gold nearby and the Post Office opened on 1 January 1858.[3]

The railway to Mansfield arrived in the town from Tallarook in 1891, being closed on November 18, 1978.[4] The last passenger service was on May 28, 1977.[5]

The area round Mansfield named as Banbury was also the location of the novel The Far Country by Nevil Shute which featured logging on Mount Buller and previous forest fires, which having swept through Howqua obliterated almost all traces of a former settlement.

Mansfield is famous as part of the Ned Kelly Trail. Significant memorials include the Memorial to Police erected in the centre of the town's roundabout. Mansfield Cemetery is the burial ground for police officers slain by Ned Kelly and his gang at Stringybark Creek.

John Pearson Rowe

Dr. John Pearson Rowe (1810–1878) was a physician and squatter who owned the 'Loyola Run' (also known as Mount Battery) near Mansfield. Reputed as the first Roman Catholic resident of the district, it is recorded that nearby Rochester was named after J. P. Rowe as he owned land on the Campaspe River.[6] Rowe was a principal founder of the University of Melbourne. He fired a shot at a 14-year-old Ned Kelly accompanied by bushranger Harry Power in 1869.[7] Rowe stood for the Upper House seat of the Murray District in 1859 and was defeated.[8] In October 1878 Rowe supplied information to police Sergeant Kennedy on the whereabouts of Ned Kelly. Acting on Rowe's verified advice, Kennedy and his police party rode into the Wombat Ranges, where three of them were killed; and the Kelly Gang legend was born.[9]

Recreation

Mansfield is very close to two large lakes, Lake Eildon and Lake Nillahcootie. During the summer these sites are popular waterskiing destinations.

The nearby Mount Buller and Mount Stirling offer attractions all year round. During winter they are visited for skiing, lifted and back country respectively. In the summer hiking and mountain biking are popular. Ski lifts operate year-round at Mount Buller allowing bikers to easily get to the top of downhill mountain biking runs.

The bushland around Mansfield is used for horse riding, trail biking and four wheel driving on extensive tracks throughout the region.

In past years, the "Mansfield Balloon Festival" celebrated hot air balloons, and drew crowds and enthusiasts from across the state. The balloon Festival hasn't been to Mansfield for several years.

Mansfield is also the home to the Mansfield Eagles football club, an Australian Rules team competing in the Goulburn Valley Football League.[10]

Mansfield has a horse racing club, the Mansfield District Racing Club, which schedules two race meetings a year, including the Mansfield Cup meeting on 27 December).[11]

Golfers play at the Mansfield golf course on Kidston Parade.[12]

Notable residents

References

  1. 1 2 Australian Bureau of Statistics (31 October 2012). "Mansfield (State Suburb)". 2011 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 20 January 2014.
  2. ↑ "gazetteer Mansfield". Monash University Arts. Archived from the original on 12 February 2004. Retrieved 11 April 2008.
  3. ↑ Premier Postal History, Post Office List, retrieved 11 April 2008
  4. ↑ Brown, Sid (March 1990), "Tracks Across the State", Newsrail, Australian Railway Historical Society (Victorian Division): 71–76
  5. ↑ Banger, Chris (March 1997), "Rail Passenger Service Withdrawals Since 1960", Newsrail, Australian Railway Historical Society (Victorian Division): 77–82
  6. ↑ Ebsworth, Walter (1973). Pioneer Catholic Victoria. p. 489.
  7. ↑ Jones, Ian (1995). Ned Kelly: A Short Life. p. 34.
  8. ↑ O'Brien, Antony (2005). "Chapters 4-5". Shenanigans on the Ovens Goldfields: The 1859 Election.
  9. ↑ McQuilton, John (1979). The Kelly Outbreak: 1878-1880: The Geographical Dimension of Social Banditry. p. 95.
  10. ↑ Full Points Footy, Mansfield, archived from the original on 14 April 2008, retrieved 25 July 2008
  11. ↑ Country Racing Victoria, Mansfield District Racing Club, retrieved 29 March 2012
  12. ↑ Golf Select, Mansfield, retrieved 11 May 2009
  13. ↑ Mulford, John G. Towers, Cyril Henry Thomas (1906–1985). Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University.

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