Elphinstone is a 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. The town sits at the junction of the former

Calder Highway Calder Highway is a rural highway in Australia, linking Mildura and the Victoria/New South Wales border to Bendigo, in North Central Victoria. South of Bendigo, where the former highway has been upgraded to freeway-standard, Calder Freeway lin ...

and the former

Pyrenees Highway Pyrenees Highway is a rural highway in western Victoria, Australia, linking Glenelg Highway in Glenthompson to Calder Highway in Elphinstone. It intersects with the region's major road freight route, Western Highway in Ararat, in addition ...

between

Malmsbury Malmsbury is a town in central Victoria, Australia on the Old Calder Highway (C794), 95 km north-west of the state capital, Melbourne and 11 km north-west of Kyneton. Situated close by the Coliban River, Malmsbury has a population ...

and Castlemaine near Taradale and Chewton. Its local government area is the

Shire of Mount Alexander The Mount Alexander Shire (officially Shire of Mount Alexander) is a local government area in Victoria, Australia, located in the central part of the state. It covers an area of and, in June 2018, had a population of 19,514. It includes the to ...

. The town has a disused

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a prep ...

on the

Bendigo Line The Deniliquin railway line (also known as the Echuca railway line) is a broad-gauge railway line serving northwestern Victoria, Australia. The line runs from the border settlement of Deniliquin into Bendigo, before turning south-southeast to ...

. At the , Elphinstone and the surrounding area had a population of 670. The town was originally called Sawpit Gully, but was renamed Elphinstone after Baron

Mountstuart Elphinstone Mountstuart Elphinstone (6 October 1779 – 20 November 1859) was a Scottish statesman and historian, associated with the government of British India. He later became the Governor of Bombay (now Mumbai) where he is credited with the open ...

, Lieutenant-Governor of Bombay from 1819 to 1827. The town's hub is the Elphinstone Hotel in Wright Street. Elphinstone's fair, renowned for its specialty foods and boutique local wines, is usually held in mid-November each year around the time of the fair in nearby

Kyneton Kyneton ( ) is a town in the Macedon Ranges region of Victoria, Australia. The Calder Freeway bypasses Kyneton to the north and east. Kyneton is on Dja Dja Wurrung, Taungurung and Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung country. The town has four main streets: ...

. It is called the 'Sawpit Gully' fair, in honour of the town's original name. The countryside around Elphinstone is well known for its diverse flora and fauna which attract local and visiting bush walkers. The local terrain of undulating hills and gently winding roads also brings a number of cyclists and motorcyclists. Elphinstone Post Office opened on 1 February 1854. Cable and Wireless Optus built their first solar powered base station at Elphinstone in 2001. By making the mobile phone tower solar powered the company did not have to put expensive electrical power cables through the nearby state forest. The tower would improve reception in the Elphinstone area. Elphinstone is also well known for its apple and pear industry. For many years there were 5 large orchards, 4 being owned by members of the Pollard family. The other by the Mertikis family. Only two remain one owned by Louise Mertikis and one by Gary Pollard. The town also had a garage on the old Calder Highway which is now the corner of Thomas Street and Wright Street. It became the Elphinstone Fire Brigade and Metcalfe group headquarters during the 1990s and early 2000s until it was decommissioned and the new fire station was built next door. It is now used for storage and training for the brigade. Opposite the hotel was Bateman's garage which the late Daisy Bateman and her husband Vic ran for many years. It is now an engineering plant that makes steel sculptures. Census Date - Town population 1861 - 187 1871 - 404 1891 - 125 1911 - 204 1933 - 146 1954 - 173 1966 - 151 2011 - 670

References

External links

* Elphinstone Community Newsletter - the Elpho Inf

Towns in Victoria (Australia) {{VictoriaAU-geo-stub