Simpson is a town in the Western District 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 ...

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 ...

. The town is in a

dairy A dairy is a business enterprise established for the harvesting or processing (or both) of animal milk – mostly from cows or buffaloes, but also from goats, sheep, horses, or camels – for human consumption. A dairy is typically located on ...

ing region and lies about halfway between Colac and the coastal fishing resort of

Port Campbell Port Campbell () is a coastal town in Victoria, Australia. The town is on the Great Ocean Road, west of the Twelve Apostles, in the Shire of Corangamite. At the , Port Campbell had a population of 478. History The port and the town are named ...

. Most of the town is located in the

Corangamite Shire The Shire of Corangamite 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 Jun ...

, but a small, forested section lies in the

Shire of Colac Otway The Shire of Colac Otway 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 21,503. It includes the towns o ...

. Simpson is south of Cobden. At the , Simpson had a population of 569. The town is named after

Les Simpson Hugh Leslie Simpson CBE (3 October 1894 – 7 June 1968) was an Australian farmer and soldier-settlement administrator. Simpson was born at Birchip in Victoria to bookseller Albert Edward Simpson and Ellen, ''née'' Campbell. He attended loc ...

, the first chairman of the Soldier Settlement Commission. Prior to the formation of the Soldier Settlement Commission in 1946, the large bush land tract known as the Heytesbury Forest was under consideration as a possible settlement area. Simpson is part of one of the most productive dairying centres in

. Dairying has become a major activity in the area and a significant contributor to the State’s dairying industry. The region consists of dissected plains exposing a range of land types with different topography,

lithology The lithology of a rock unit is a description of its physical characteristics visible at outcrop, in hand or core samples, or with low magnification microscopy. Physical characteristics include colour, texture, grain size, and composition. Lit ...

and soils. This results in a range of responses to land use and climate. The town today services the needs of 400 plus farms, through Education, Health and Produce.

History

Simpson was part of the

Heytesbury Settlement The Heytesbury Settlement Scheme was a soldier settlement scheme established in the Western District of Victoria, Australia after World War II. The scheme involved the clearing of the Heytesbury Forest south of Colac, Victoria and adjacent to ...

. The Heytesbury region was settled as part of a returned soldier program. In 1960 the first settlers took up their farms, Simpson Post Office opened on 4 September 1962 as the population grew, and by 1976 there were 378 families in occupation with further families to follow as more land was cleared. The amount of the Heytesbury Settlement developed to pasture was . The Heytesbury Shire established a committee to help promote the scheme in collaboration with the Colac Otway Shire councils. In 1946 an advisory committee was appointed by the Soldier Settlement Commission. This committee associated itself with several government departments with the intention of establishing an operation of an experimental area which was started in 1947. The potential of this country for pastures was overwhelming, the project commenced in 1956. Jack Shepherd owner of a local earth moving business won the contract to build the first 5 miles (8 km) of gravel road (now sealed) into the settlement, branching off from the Scotts Creek- Colac Road as it was then called. He then went on to build a number of dams for the farmers and buying and selling the farmers' calves in Colac.

Parks

A park has been set beside a natural dam in the heart of town offering visitors the chance to learn about the development of the Heytesbury Settlement, a display featuring the large equipment used to help with the clearance of the Heytesbury Forest can also be seen here. A 5 tonne steel land clearing "high Ball" was constructed from mild steel plate in 1953 by Hume Steel Pty. Ltd. In 1956 it was employed in Heytesbury Forest for all timber clearing operations on the project until completion in 1971. In operation the ball was pulled by two tractors one attached to chains on either side. A tree pusher tractor followed to assist the pulling of larger trees.

Education

The town has a primary school for children from prep to year 6. Secondary school students are bused to Cobden Technical School, Timboon P12 school , Mercy Regional College or Camperdown College.

Sport

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 playing in the Colac & District FL.

References

External links

{{authority control Towns in Victoria (Australia) Australian soldier settlements