Broadford is a town in central
Victoria,
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 ...
. At the
2021 census, Broadford had a population of 4,076.
The town is the headquarters of the
Shire of Mitchell 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 ...
and is approximately north of the state capital,
Melbourne
Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...
.
Broadford lies on the major transport routes between
Melbourne
Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...
and
Sydney
Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...
. The town is bypassed to the east by the
Hume Freeway
The Hume Highway, including the sections now known as the Hume Freeway and the Hume Motorway, is one of Australia's major inter-city National Highway (Australia), national highways, running for between Melbourne in the southwest and Sydney in ...
and the
railway line linking the two cities passes through
Broadford. Broadford is located on the banks of Sunday Creek, a
tributary
A tributary, or an ''affluent'', is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream (''main stem'' or ''"parent"''), river, or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries, and the main stem river into which they ...
of the
Goulburn River
The Goulburn River, a major inland perennial river of the Goulburn Broken catchment, part of the Murray-Darling basin, is located in the Alpine, Northern Country/North Central, and Southern Riverina regions of the Australian state of Victor ...
and is set amongst dramatic central Victorian scenery.
History
The original inhabitants of Broadford are the
Taungurung people, a part of the
Kulin nation that inhabited a large portion of central Victoria including Port Phillip Bay and its surrounds. A 1934 document recalling the 1870s notes the "Puckapunyal tribe, and there were about twenty in number. … I knew four of them fairly well, one of whom was called Billy Hamilton (and claimed to be the son of the Chief of the Puckapunyal tribe) his lubra, Mary, Gelibrand and Lankey."
Hamilton Hume and Captain William Hilton Hovell were the first Europeans to set foot on the future township of Broadford during their pioneering journey into inland Victoria in 1824.
Hovell recorded that on Sunday 12 December, the party reached the top of the Murchison Gap East of Broadford and took a compass bearing of the 'remarkable' Sugarloaf Hill that they could see. They named it Mount Piper and noted its dramatic triangular shape. The bearing was written as "W. b. S" which is the navigator's standard compass point of West by South or 258.75 degrees. It is nearly due West to the layman.
[Williams, Martin. Hamilton Hume Sketch Maps: Origins and Modern Treatment, Victorian Historical Journal, Vol. 92, No. 1, June 2021, p. 19]
The party continued on that bearing, crossed Black Swamp Gully, and reached the confluence of Dry Creek (Sunday Creek tributary), Dry Creek with Sunday Creek, now the township of Broadford, where they camped for the night. They named the larger creek as Sunday Creek.
This meant that Broadford was also the first future township in
Victoria where Europeans camped overnight.
The next morning they were forced to travel for seven miles along Sunday Creek in a South by East direction (nearly due South), before they could find a crossing over its muddy banks at the now
Waterford Park. They then proceeded on through the middle of
Wandong and crossed the Dividing Range at
Hume's Pass.
The first European resident of the townsite of Broadford was Lt. Col. Henry White who was reported as being "of Mount Piper" in October 1838. Mount Piper, which today is known for its natural beauty and unique butterfly fauna is located within the boundary of Broadford. White was the first recorded land holder in the vicinity. The first survey map of the region in 1842 shows Colonel White's Station on Sunday Creek only 4 km downstream of its junction with Dry Creek. That junction became the future townsite of Broadford.
This map also shows Gideon Stewart's sheep station exactly on the future Broadford townsite, 9 chains (181 metres) East of the junction of Dry Creek with Sunday Creek. Stewart arrived from Hobart and took out a licence for a sheep station from 1 July 1840.
Stewart was an associate of the well known Hobart publican Reay Clarke. Clarke left Hobart and set up an inn at the location of Stewart's sheep station in 1843. The location was referred to as "Clarke's Ford" in October, 1843. Clarke was granted a General Licence for the "Broadfoot" Inn, Sunday Creek on 27 April 1844. By April 1845 it was recorded as "Broadford" Inn.
In 1842, the Sunday Creek Inn (beside the creek named by Hume and Hovell in 1824) and Stockyard Inn were built to cater for passing trade. Blacksmiths and small stores soon appeared and the town was gazetted in 1854 with original allotments selling at £2 a piece. The area between the two inns became the focal point of business and leisure activities.
An area traditionally connected with Broadford has been
Sugarloaf Creek, Victoria. The Sugarloaf Creek Station near Broadford was the first inland settlement in Victoria when it was set up by
Charles Ebden and
Charles Bonney on about 14 March 1837.
Gold was discovered in 1858 in the nearby Reedy Creek, and later at Strath Creek and Sunday Creek but was not long-lived.
The Post Office opened on 1 July 1852.
The
North East railway line
The North East railway line is a railway line in Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. The line runs from Southern Cross railway station on the western edge of the Melbourne Melbourne City Centre, central business district to Albury rail ...
was built through the town in 1872.
The Broadford Courier printing office was opened in 1891, operating until 1978. It is maintained as a historical site by the Broadford Historical Society.

The Broadford Magistrates' Court ceased operation in July 1980 and was formally closed in November 1981. The former courthouse was subsequently used by a local religious group.
On 7 February 2009, Broadford was a part of the
Black Saturday bushfires, with th
Kilmore East Firewhich saw 119 deaths, 232 injured and 1,242 homes lost.
The town today
Broadford is a growing town, with an increasing population of residents taking advantage of its location and transport links into Melbourne CBD.
Industry in Broadford includes a
paper mill
A paper mill is a factory devoted to making paper from vegetable fibres such as wood pulp, old rags, and other ingredients. Prior to the invention and adoption of the Fourdrinier machine and other types of paper machine that use an endless belt ...
, the Broadford Mill. It opened in 1890, built by James McDougall. Now named the Australian Paper Mill and owned by National Paper Industries, it no longer produces paper but products for the packaging and allied industries. There is also a Nestlé factory. The town's substantial reserves of fine white kaolin clay are used both as a medical absorbent and for the manufacture of pottery. It has a primary school, a secondary college and a kindergarten.
Broadford is also home to the
Victorian State Motorcycle Complex, which has both road and off-road tracks, and hosts National riding events, as well as amateur track days. In 2014 Calibre Sports Inc. leased some land on the complex and in 2015 the complex hosted the
Tough Mudder Australia event.
Popular sports in Broadford include
Australian rules football
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 Australian rules football playing field, oval field, often a modified ...
and the town has a team, the
Kangaroos, competing in the
Outer East Football League.
The Broadford juniors play in the Seymour Junior Football Netball League.
Lawn bowls is also enjoyed with the club located next door to the Lions Park on the old caravan park grounds.
Broadford cricket club has three seniors teams playing across A, B and C grade, the club also has several junior teams competing in the U11's and U13's age groups.
Golfers play at the Broadford Golf Club on Horwood Road.
Future plan
As Broadford is expected to grow substantially over coming years, with new residents attracted into the area by its transport links into
Melbourne
Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...
, high quality residential developments and natural beauty, Mitchellshire Council created an overarching strategic vision for the town. The plan included core strategies to manage expected population growth; improve facilities; and to maintain the heritage and character of the town.
In early 2025, an independent report commissioned by residents highlighted the key challenges and future opportunities for the town.
RSL fire
On the night of 9 January 2008 firefighters were called to a blaze at the Broadford
RSL, but there was little crews could do to save the weatherboard hall. The
Country Fire Authority's Scott Hamilton says the blaze caused about $300,000 damage to the building and destroyed its contents.
Climate
Broadford has an
oceanic climate
An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate or maritime climate, is the temperate climate sub-type in Köppen climate classification, Köppen classification represented as ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of co ...
(
Köppen: Cfb), with hot, dry summers and cool winters. Average maxima vary from in January to in July, while average minima fluctuate between in February and in July.
Precipitation
In meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls from clouds due to gravitational pull. The main forms of precipitation include drizzle, rain, rain and snow mixed ("sleet" in Commonwe ...
is moderately low (averaging per annum), and is spread across 94.0 precipitation days.
All climate data was sourced from
Seymour, located north of Broadford.
Notable residents
Notable people from Broadford include
*
Barry Hall, Australian rules footballer
*
Alan Ezard, Australian rules footballer
*
Richard Douglas, Australian rules footballer
* Thomas George Wittingslow, founder of
Wittingslow Amusements
References
External links
*Davern, R. 2015. ''When Broadford was young and so was I: my memories of its buildings and people''. Broadford, Vic.: TB Books.
*Fletcher, B.J. (ed.). 1975. ''Broadford: a regional history'' Kilmore, Vic.: Lowden Publishing.
*Fletcher, B.J. (ed.). 2023. ''Broadford: a regional history - with additional notes'' Donvale, Vic.: Lowden Publishing.
*McDonald, E.H. 2010. ''Country life: a history of Broadford and district 1891-1981''. Broadford, Vic.: Broadford and District Historical Society.
Broadford Cemetery deceased records and online mapat Chronicle Cemetery Map
{{authority control
Towns in Victoria (state)
Shire of Mitchell
Hume Highway