Inverleigh 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 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 ...

located west from the City of

Geelong Geelong ( ) (Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in the southeastern Australian state of Victoria, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon River, ...

and from 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 ...

. The town is divided between

Golden Plains Shire The Golden Plains Shire is a local government area in Victoria, Australia, located in the western part of the state. It covers an area of and in June 2018, had a population of 23,120. It includes the towns of Bannockburn, Dereel, Gheringhap, Le ...

and

Surf Coast Shire The Surf Coast Shire is a local government area in the Barwon South West region of Victoria, Australia, located in the south-western part of the state. It covers an area of and in June 2018 had a population of 32,251. It includes the towns of A ...

. In the 2021 census, the central area of Inverleigh had a population of 1,746. Inverleigh is known to be a popular stopover destination on the way to Lorne. The Inverleigh Hotel is very popular attracting customers from

. Since the mid-1970s Inverleigh has become a dormitory suburb of

. Development of larger blocks to the north of town has led to a doubling of residents in the last 25 years. Some residents have decided that it is feasible to commute to Melbourne. The opening of the

Geelong Ring Road The Geelong Ring Road (formerly known as the Geelong Bypass and the Geelong Outer Freeway, officially part of Princes Freeway West) is a freeway ring road in Australia beside Geelong's western suburbs from the Princes Freeway at Corio, Victoria ...

improved access to Melbourne which is now an 70-minute drive away.

History

Inverleigh is situated on the country of the traditional custodians, the Wadurrung people (of the Kulin nation). Very little has been recorded of the original inhabitants of the area. The few records available are reports of conflict. In the summer of 1837-38 there was an incident at the Clyde Company (near Lullote) with two Aboriginal persons being killed and another injured and in 1839 George Russell reported natives sheep duffing. It has been speculated that the first European to arrive in Inverleigh was William Buckley, but the first European known to have visited Inverleigh was the surveyor J.H. Wedge who arrived in 1835, probably naming the Leigh River after his Tasmanian farm '

Leighland John Helder Wedge (1793 – 22 November 1872) was a surveyor, explorer and politician in Van Diemen's Land (now Tasmania, Australia).G. H. Stancombe'Wedge, John Helder (1793 - 1872), Australian Dictionary of Biography, Online Edition Wedge was ...

s'. Very soon thereafter the Weatherboard Station land was taken up either by George Russell or by station manager David Fisher on behalf of The Derwent Company. It was claimed that the weatherboard homestead built by the station manager was Victoria's first weatherboard homestead. The name of the station is now commemorated by Weatherboard Road. Inverleigh Primary School began as a Presbyterian church school in 1865 and was taken over by the Victorian government in 1873. A residence was built at the school in 1912, while the school was extended in 1956. The school had 170 students in 2015. A second school, Murkeduke State School, opened south-west of the township on 10 September 1917 and closed on 2 August 1932. The Post Office opened on 11 October 1856. The Prefabricated Iron Cottage at 24 Weatherboard Road, Inverleigh, is listed on the

Victorian Heritage Register The Victorian Heritage Register (VHR) lists places deemed to be of cultural heritage significance to the State of Victoria, Australia. It has statutory weight under the Heritage Act 2017. The Minister for Planning is the responsible Minister. H ...

for its historical and architectural significance.

The town today

The town has an

Australian Rules 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 ...

football team, the

Inverleigh Football Club The Inverleigh Football Netball Club, nicknamed the ''Hawks'', is an Australian rules football and netball club based in the rural township of Inverleigh, Victoria. From 1970 to 1995, the town was the base for the "Leigh Districts Football Clu ...

, competing in the

Geelong & District Football League The Geelong & District Football League (GDFNL) is an Australian rules football and netball league in Victoria (Australia), Victoria, being the oldest surviving competition in the region. It is one of three leagues in the Geelong area, the other ...

Yerram Yaluk Bun and Inverleigh Hotel from above

The town has an award-winning hotel, specializing in T Bones from the "secret menu" Lawsons Park and Barwon River, Inverleigh from above

The town also has a lawn bowling club with one synthetic green. Golfers play at the course of the Inverleigh Golf Club on Common Road. The railway station is closed to passengers, being a siding on the

Western standard gauge line The Western standard gauge railway line is a standard-gauge railway line in western Victoria, Australia. Completed in 1995, it forms part of the Melbourne–Adelaide rail corridor and serves as the principal interstate rail link between Victori ...

between Melbourne and Adelaide. Inverleigh is from Melbourne by rail.

References

External links

www.inverleigh.net
- Inverleigh Progress Association
www.inverleighhotel.com.au
- Inverleigh Hotel {{authority control Towns in Victoria (Australia)