Heywood is a town on the Fitzroy River in the Australian state of

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 ...

. It is situated at an elevation of 27 metres amidst rolling green hills in an agricultural, pastoral and timbercutting district. Heywood is west 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 ...

at the intersection of the

Princes A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...

and

Henty Henty may refer to: Australian geography *Henty, New South Wales * Henty, Victoria * Henty (wine) an Australian geographical indicator and wine region in southwestern Victoria *Division of Henty, a former federal electorate in Victoria *Henty Highw ...

Highways and north of

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

. It is on the railway line to Portland, at the junction of the presently-unused branch to

Mount Gambier, South Australia Mount Gambier is the second most populated city in South Australia, with an estimated urban population of 33,233 . The city is located on the slopes of Mount Gambier, a volcano in the south east of the state, about south-east of the capital Ad ...

. The winner of several past "Tidy Town" awards, it is often referred to as the "Jewel of the Southwest".

History

Prior to European settlement the area was occupied by the

Gunditjmara The Gunditjmara or Gunditjamara, also known as Dhauwurd Wurrung, are an Aboriginal Australian people of southwestern Victoria. They are the traditional owners of the areas now encompassing Warrnambool, Port Fairy, Woolsthorpe and Portland. Their ...

Aborigines.MINISTER FOR ABORIGINAL AFFAIRS - "NEW ABORIGINAL GROUP TO ADVISE ON CULTURAL HERITAGE" - Friday, 6 October 2006
/ref> David Edgar built the Bush Tavern on the townsite in 1842 and a settlement emerged. Formerly known as Fitzroy Crossing it became known as Edgar's. The township was surveyed in 1852 by Lindsay Clarke who named it after

Heywood, Wiltshire Heywood is a civil parish and small village in the county of Wiltshire in southwestern England. The village is approximately north of Westbury and south of the county town of Trowbridge. Heywood village, which has approximately 200 inhabitant ...

in England. The first town allotments were sold in 1854 and a Post Office opened on 8 August 1857. Heywood has won many Tidy Town awards.

Traditional ownership

The formally recognised

traditional owners Native title is the designation given to the common law doctrine of Aboriginal title in Australia, which is the recognition by Australian law that Indigenous Australians (both Aboriginal Australian and Torres Strait Islander people) have rights ...

for the area in which Heywood sits are the Gunditjmara People who are represented by the Gunditj Mirring Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation.

Demographics

At the 2021 census, Heywood had a population of 1,815.

Sport

The town has an

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...

team, the Heywood Lions, which until 2011 competed in the

Western Border Football League The Western Border Football League is an Australian rules football competition based in the Lower South East region of South Australia, and south-western border region of Victoria. It is an affiliated member of the South Australian National Foo ...

. In 2012 it transferred to the lower grade

South West District Football League The South West District Football League is an Australian rules football league based in South-western Victoria, with clubs located in the vicinity of Hamilton, Heywood and Portland. The league is a minor country league, with teams drawn from sma ...

Essendon Essendon may refer to: Australia *Electoral district of Essendon *Electoral district of Essendon and Flemington * Essendon, Victoria **Essendon railway station **Essendon Airport * Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League United Ki ...

midfielder

Nathan Lovett-Murray Nathan Lovett-Murray (born 18 November 1982) is a former Australian rules footballer with the Essendon Football Club. Early life Lovett-Murray has Indigenous Australian heritage and his tribal ancestry can be traced to the Wamba-Wamba and G ...

, played for the Lions in his junior career. Golfers play at the course of the Heywood Golf Club on Golf Club Road.

Climate

Heywood has a

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...

influenced

oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate, is the humid temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring cool summers and mild winters ( ...

with mildly warm, dry summers and cool, very wet winters.

References

* Learmonth, Noel F. (1970). ''Four Towns and a Survey.'' Hawthorn Press: Melbourne

External links

Towns in Victoria (Australia) Western District (Victoria) {{BarwonSouthWest-geo-stub