Bessiebelle is a locality in western

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. The locality is in the

Shire of Moyne The Shire of Moyne is a Local government areas of Victoria, local government area in the Barwon South West region of Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, located in the south-western part of the state. It covers an area of and in June 2018 ...

local government area, in what is commonly known as the Western District. It sits approximately west of the state capital,

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 ...

, on the

Eumeralla River The Eumeralla River is a perennial river of the Glenelg Hopkins catchment, located in the Western District of Victoria, Australia. Course and features The Eumeralla River rises northeast of Macarthur, and flows generally south, and then west ...

adjacent to the Mount Eccles National Park. In 1844,

Thomas Alexander Browne Thomas Alexander Browne (born Brown, 6 August 1826 – 11 March 1915) was an Australian author who published many of his works under the pseudonym Rolf Boldrewood. He is best known for his 1882 bushranging novel ''Robbery Under Arms''. Biogra ...

took up the area for a pastoral property he called Squattleseamere. Approximately half of the original property was sold off to smaller settlers between 1871 and 1896. Bessiebelle Primary School opened as Broadwater State School in 1874. Bessiebelle Post Office opened in May 1884. Bessiebelle Presbyterian Church opened in January 1905, followed by a general store in 1907 and a mechanics' institute around the same time, as well as a sawmill and several stores. The school was renamed Bessiebelle in 1917. The remainder of the Squattleseamere estate was sold for closer settlement and subdivided in 1924. A pastoral and agricultural society had developed by the 1940s. The post office and Presbyterian Church both closed in 1972. The school closed in 2005 as enrolments had dropped to 10. The Bessiebelle Hall (also known as the Bessiebelle Mechanics' Hall) remains in operation. At the the population of Bessiebelle was 195, but at the the population of Bessiebelle was 176. Bessiebelle recorded a population of 98 at the . The locality has an active CFA Branch.

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