Alberton ( Gunai: ''Lurt-bit'') is a small town in

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. It is located along the South Gippsland Highway, 7 kilometres south of

Yarram The township of Yarram (formerly Yarram Yarram) is in Victoria, Australia, in the Shire of Wellington, located in the southeast of Gippsland. At the , the population of the town was . The town is the regional centre of a prosperous farming distri ...

and 216 kilometres east of

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

. Albert River passes through the town. At the , Alberton had a population of 162. The township was surveyed in 1842 and named after

Prince Albert Prince Albert most commonly refers to: *Albert, Prince Consort (1819–1861), consort of Queen Victoria *Albert II, Prince of Monaco (born 1958), present head of state of Monaco Prince Albert may also refer to: Royalty * Albert I of Belgium ...

, the husband of

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...

. Initially the township consisted of two settlements, one named Alberton and the other named Victoria, which were separated by Victoria Street (renamed Brewery Road in 1847). Alberton Post Office opened on 10 January 1856. An earlier Alberton office opened in 1842 was renamed Port Albert some days earlier. The town's population grew steadily. Stores, hotels, and churches were built, as well as the Police Magistrate and Court of Petty Sessions. By the 1880s the town's growth stagnated. The announcement of a new railway line increased growth, with new houses and factories being built. Shire Offices were planned for the town, but in 1897 the location was changed to nearby Yarram. This led to many businesses moving to Yarram, and by 1921 the railway had been extended there. Today, Alberton is a small cattle grazing community. There is also a primary school which was built in 1858 and celebrated its 150th birthday in 2008. The Victoria Hotel, built in 1890, still stands.

References

External links

Local History of Alberton
{{authority control Towns in Victoria (Australia) Towns in South Gippsland Shire of Wellington