Arthurs Creek is a locality in

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

, 33 kilometres north-east of Melbourne's

Central Business District A central business district (CBD) is the Commerce, commercial and business center 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 wit ...

, located within the

Shire of Nillumbik The Shire of Nillumbik ( ) is a local government area in Victoria, Australia. It contains outer northern suburbs of Melbourne and rural localities beyond the urban area. It has an area of 432 square kilometres and at th2021 census the Shire had ...

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 federated state, state, province, division (politica ...

. Arthurs Creek recorded a population of 478 at the . It is named after

Henry Arthur Henry Arthur (1801 – 9 June 1848) was nephew to the fourth lieutenant-governor of Van Diemen's Land, George Arthur. He was an original investor in the Port Phillip Association and was the first European to settle in the area now known as Ar ...

, a member of

John Batman John Batman (21 January 18016 May 1839) was an Australian Pastoral farming, grazier, entrepreneur and explorer, who had a prominent role in the foundation of Melbourne, founding of Melbourne. He also was involved in many attacks against Indigen ...

's Port Phillip Association and nephew of

George Arthur Sir George Arthur, 1st Baronet (21 June 1784 – 19 September 1854) was a British colonial administrator who was Lieutenant Governor of British Honduras from 1814 to 1822 and of Van Diemen's Land (present-day Tasmania) from 1824 to 1836. ...

, a governor of

Tasmania Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...

. Another source says that it was named by the surveyor Thomas Nutt, supposedly because one of his party, a Mr Arthur, died and was buried in this location.

History

The proclamation of the Duffy Land Act in 1862 saw the beginning of the permanent settlement at Arthurs Creek. Arthurs Creek began as a horticultural settlement with numerous orchards, with the Post Office opening on 7 October 1889 (it closed in 1972). After the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, cattle and sheep farms replaced orchards as the principal industry. Today, the land-holdings of Arthurs Creek are a mixture of smaller farm properties including vineyards, orchards, and life-style properties. The township centre of Arthurs Creek consists of a primary school, Mechanic's Institute Hall, CFA Station and a Uniting church. There is also a cricket oval known as Ryders Flat and the Arthurs Creek Cemetery, dating back to the 1840s. The Hazel Glen Cemetery, now the Arthurs Creek Cemetery, was established by Patrick Reid as a private burial ground for his young wife Agnes (née Hay) who died on 17 May 1847 at the early age of 49. Agnes had expressed a wish to be buried at her favourite picnic spot on the nearby hilltop overlooking the Hazel Glen homestead and former Stewart's Ponds pastoral run. Members of the local community commenced work on the Mechanics's Institute hall in 1886, and a grand concert and ball to celebrate the official opening was held on the evening of Friday 2 September 1887. A public library was later added. Historical residents of Arthurs Creek include Frank Dalby Davison, the author of novels such as ''Man-shy'' and ''Dusty''. Davison lived on a property called "Folding Hills" from 1951 to 1970. Frank Dalby Davison Arthurs Creek was hit by the

Black Saturday bushfires The Black Saturday bushfires were a series of bushfires that either ignited or were already burning across the Australian state of Victoria. Saturday, 7 February 2009 was one of Australia's all-time worst bushfire disasters. The fires occurred ...

in February 2009. The East Kilmore fire hit parts of Arthurs Creek and adjoining communities of Strathewen, Kinglake and

St Andrews St Andrews (; ; , pronounced ʰʲɪʎˈrˠiː.ɪɲ is a town on the east coast of Fife in Scotland, southeast of Dundee and northeast of Edinburgh. St Andrews had a recorded population of 16,800 , making it Fife's fourth-largest settleme ...

Facilities

Arthurs Creek Cemetery, first called Linton, was gazetted as a cemetery in 1867. Arthurs Creek Primary School is situated at 900 Arthurs Creek Road, Arthurs Creek VIC 3099, and is a Prep to Grade 6 school. It was opened in 1876. The school and schoolhouse was burnt in 1962 and a new school was built in 1963. A Mobile library services Arthurs Creek which is managed by Yarra Plenty Regional Library The Mechanics Institute Hall is located at 906 Arthurs Creek Road, Arthurs Creek, and is a function room available for hire. It is run and maintained by the Arthurs Creek Hall committee.

References

External links

Australian Places - Arthurs CreekVictorian Places - Arhurs CreekUp the Creek: a collection of published and unpublished historical articles by Bruce G. Draper
{{authority control Towns in Victoria (state) Shire of Nillumbik

History

Facilities

See also

References

External links