Shelford is a rural locality 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 locality is in the

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 ...

near the regional 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 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 ...

. Shelford is nestled in a valley divided by the Leigh River, Golf Hill Station was established in 1836 on the river banks. Most of the local squatters came from Scotland so the town had a strong Presbyterian feel and had two churches. The Post Office opened on 1 July 1847 with the town names ''The Leigh'' which was renamed ''Shelford'' in 1854. By 1865 the town had a court house, post office, a mechanics institute and two hotels. In 1874 the Shelford Bridge was constructed using iron imported from Liverpool. The town was never large; in the 1930s the town had a population of 130 persons. After the Second world war, the larger land holding were carved up for a soldier settlement scheme. Sixty-nine farms covering 45,000 acres were sold off to returning servicemen and their families. In 1994 the Post Office became a Licensed Post Office, and has since closed; the date of closure is unknown.

Heritage listed sites

Shelford contains a number of heritage listed sites, including: * 1372 Rokewood-Shelford Road, Leigh Shire Hall and Toll House * Shelford-Bannockburn Road, Leigh River Iron Bridge

Shelford Today

Shelford today still has a Recreation Reserve where the Shelford Cricket Club play their home games and the Recreation Reserve has tennis courts and a basketball court as well. Shelford also has a Primary School and a Town Hall.

References

Towns in Victoria (Australia) Golden Plains Shire {{GrampiansAU-geo-stub