Lavers Hill is a town 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 ...
, located inland from
Port Campbell
Port Campbell () is a 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 after ...
and from
Apollo Bay
Apollo Bay is a coastal town in southwestern Victoria, Australia. It is situated on the eastern side of Cape Otway, along the edge of the Barham River and on the Great Ocean Road, in the Colac Otway Shire. The town had a population of 1,790 at ...
. The township is located approximately south-west 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 ...
. At the
2016 census, Lavers Hill had a population of 78.
History
Lavers Hill was named after two settlers from Gippsland called Stephen and Frank Laver. The first saw mill was opened in 1900 and so was the church next to the College. Old families from as far back as the 1880s still reside near Lavers Hill, e.g. Speight, Hampshire and Farrell. Development of Lavers Hill happened quickly. Lavers Hill depended on logging and agriculture for its income. It also is dependent on tourism.
A bank was opened in 1906, the community hall was opened, a cheese factory and butcher shop were built and also a hotel. A lot of these businesses have closed down. The Community hall was literally blown over in 1930 and rebuilt in 1933. The hotel was burnt down in 1919 and again in 1930. The cheese factory closed and so did the butcher.
Lavers Hill School
The Lavers Hill school was opened in 1910 as a rented room in the cheese factory. Another school was built near the church in 1911. In 1953, Johanna school and this were consolidated. At one point, Lavers Hill school had 500 kids. Today it has around 100 students from
Beech Forest
Beech (genus ''Fagus'') is a genus of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to subtropical (accessory forest element) and temperate (as dominant element of mesophytic forests) Eurasia and North America. There are 14 accepted species i ...
, Ferguson, Gellibrand, Colac, Lower Gellibrand,
Johanna
Johanna is a feminine name, a variant form of Joanna that originated in Latin in the Middle Ages, including an -h- by analogy with the Latin masculine name Johannes. The original Greek form ''Iōanna'' lacks a medial /h/ because in Greek Spiritus ...
and Hordernvale and was opened in 1911. This school has recently celebrated its centenary on 2/3 April 2011.It caters for students ranging from kindergarten to Year 12.
Town Features
Tourist information is located at the newest establishment in Lavers Hill. Built from recycled local materials "The Shoppe" showcases the produce and products of the local residents and has an onsite cafe serving homemade pastries and great coffee.
Lavers Hill Post Office opened around 1902. Its name is Yatzies and is currently owned by the Yates family. This town used to have a bakery called McDuff's, however it has ceased to function and is up for sale.
There is a town hall, opened in 1933. Locals use it for CERT meetings, badminton matches, progress meetings and other uses like that. On the way to Port Campbell, along the right of the road, there is a police station. Opposite to the Police Station there is the roadhouse and the tavern.
Lavers Hill is a favourite among tourist hotspots as it is only half an hour to the Twelve Apostles, an hour to Colac, is on the Great Ocean Road, is half an hour to the Otway Fly, and is less than an hour to Apollo Bay. It is the meeting point of the roads to Colac, Cobden, Apollo Bay and Port Campbell.
References
External links
Great Ocean Road info
{{authority control
Towns in Victoria (state)
Otway Ranges