Little River 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 country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

, approximately south-west of Melbourne's

Central Business District A central business district (CBD) is the commercial and business centre of a city. It contains commercial space and offices, and in larger cities will often be described as a financial district. Geographically, it often coincides with the "city ...

, located within the Cities of

Greater Geelong The City of Greater Geelong is a local government area in the Barwon South West region of Victoria, Australia, located in the western part of the state. It covers an area of and, had a population of 271,057 as of the 2021 Australian census. ...

and Wyndham

local government area A local government area (LGA) is an administrative division of a country that a local government is responsible for. The size of an LGA varies by country but it is generally a subdivision of a State (administrative division), state, province, divi ...

s. Little River recorded a population of 1,353 at the 2021 census.

History

The

Little River Little River may refer to several places: Australia Streams New South Wales *Little River (Dubbo), source in the Dubbo region, a tributary of the Macquarie River * Little River (Oberon), source in the Oberon Shire, a tributary of Coxs River (Haw ...

has headwaters in the nearby

Brisbane Ranges The Brisbane Ranges National Park is a national park in the Barwon South West region of Victoria, Australia, The national park is situated approximately west of Melbourne near the town of and is managed by Parks Victoria. The park covers part ...

. It was also known as the Cocoroc Rivulet, Cocoroc being a locality near the area. Where the road from Melbourne to

Geelong Geelong ( ) ( Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in the south eastern 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 ...

crossed Little River, the Travellers Rest Inn was opened there in about 1839.Little River Historical Society: A Brief History of Little River
/ref> It had been one of the Port Phillip Association's pastoral runs (the first occupier being James Simpson), and later a large part of the district was included in the Chirnside Estate centred on

Werribee Werribee is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, south-west of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Wyndham local government area. Werribee recorded a population of 50,027 at the 2021 census. Werribee i ...

. Early on small farmers had the benefit of an common for grazing. The Post Office opened on 1 February 1858. The railway line through the town was opened in 1857, as part of the line to

. The local railway station is served by

V/Line V/Line is a statutory authority that operates regional passenger train and coach services in Victoria, Australia. It provides passenger train services on five commuter lines and eight long-distance routes from its major hub at Southern Cross ...

passenger services on the Geelong line.

Aboriginal history

In the vicinity of

Mount Rothwell Mount Rothwell is a locality in Victoria, Australia, located to the north east of the You Yangs hills, between Bacchus Marsh and Werribee. It is the location of the Mount Rothwell wildlife sanctuary and the historic Mount Rothwell homestead, bu ...

, near Little River, a semi-circular arrangement of rocks now known as ''

Wurdi Youang Wurdi Youang is the name attributed to an Aboriginal stone arrangement located off the Little River – Ripley Road at Mount Rothwell, near Little River, Victoria in Australia. The site was acquired by the Indigenous Land Corporation on 14 Janua ...

'' was discovered and in 2011 described by an astrophysicist from the

CSIRO The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) is an Australian Government agency responsible for scientific research. CSIRO works with leading organisations around the world. From its headquarters in Canberra, CSIRO ...

as indicating the setting sun at the solstices and equinox. Although the age is unknown, it could range from 200 to 30,000 years.

Heritage sites

Little River contains a number of heritage listed sites, including: * 19-27 River Street,

Little River railway station Little River railway station is located on the Warrnambool line in Victoria, Australia. It serves the town of Little River, and it opened on 1 January 1857.

* 985-995 Little River-Ripley Road, Mount Rothwell Homestead * Old Melbourne Road, Rothwell Bridge * 795-805 Old Melbourne Road, Travellers' Rest (Rothwell Ruins)

Today

The township has a petrol station and post office, a primary school, a kindergarten, a pub, a bed and breakfast, a park, two playgrounds, a train station, a cricket ground and several churches. Visitors from Melbourne pass through the town on the way to the

You Yangs Regional Park The You Yangs Regional Park is a park in southern central Victoria, Australia. The park encompasses much of the southern areas of the You Yangs, a granite range that rises from the Werribee Plains, 60 km southwest of Melbourne. The park i ...

and the

Mount Rothwell Biodiversity Interpretation Centre Mount Rothwell Biodiversity Interpretation Centre is the largest feral-predator-free ecosystem in Victoria, Australia. It is located just north of the You Yangs, near the town of Little River. The fenced 420-hectare site protects a large number ...

. Australian rock band

Little River Band Little River Band (LRB) are a Rock music, rock band originally formed in Melbourne, Australia, in March 1975. The band achieved commercial success in both Australia and the United States. They have sold more than 30 million records; six studi ...

is named after Little River after seeing the name on a road sign on their way to a gig in Geelong.Little River Band
Some scenes for the Australian television series '' We Can Be Heroes: Finding The Australian of the Year'' and ''

Angry Boys ''Angry Boys'' is an Australian television mockumentary miniseries written by and starring Chris Lilley, continuing the mockumentary style of his previous series. In ''Angry Boys'', Lilley plays multiple characters: S.mouse, an American rapper; ...

'' were filmed at Little River, although it was referred to as the fictional town of 'Dunt'. Little River also featured in the movie ''

Mad Max ''Mad Max'' is an Australian post-apocalyptic action film series and media franchise created by George Miller and Byron Kennedy. It began in 1979 with '' Mad Max'', and was followed by three sequels: ''Mad Max 2'' (1981, released in the Unite ...

'', with Little River Road being used as the movie's infamous "Highway 9". Some parts of Little River and surrounding areas were filmed in the Australian television drama series, ''

Blue Heelers ''Blue Heelers'' is an Australian Police procedural, police drama series that was produced by Endemol Australia, Southern Star Group and ran for 12 years on the Seven Network, from 1994 to 2006. Although based around the policing of the town, ...

''. Also, in the nearby

You Yangs The You Yangs are a series of granite ridges that rise up to above the flat and low-lying Werribee Plain in southern Victoria, Australia, approximately due west of the rural town of Little River, southwest of Melbourne CBD and north of Ge ...

, the 2003 film, ''

Ned Kelly Edward Kelly (December 1854 – 11 November 1880) was an Australian bushranger, outlaw, gang leader and convicted police-murderer. One of the last bushrangers, he is known for wearing a suit of bulletproof armour during his final shootout wi ...

'' was shot.

Census populations

References

External links

Australian Places site
{{authority control Towns in Victoria (Australia) Suburbs of Geelong Suburbs of the City of Wyndham