Macarthur () originally known as Eumeralla, is a town in the Western District of

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 ...

on the

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: * Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States * ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda ** ''Hamilton'' (al ...

Port Fairy Port Fairy (historically known as Belfast) is a town in south-western Victoria, Australia. It lies on the Princes Highway in the Shire of Moyne, west of Warrnambool and west of Melbourne, at the point where the Moyne River enters the Souther ...

Road. It is in the

Shire of Moyne The Shire of Moyne 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 at the 2021 ...

local government area and the federal

Division of Wannon Division may refer to: Mathematics *Division (mathematics), the inverse of multiplication * Division algorithm, a method for computing the result of mathematical division Military *Division (military), a formation typically consisting of 10,000 t ...

. At the 2016 census, Macarthur and the surrounding area had a population of 522.

History

Aboriginal residency and traditional ownership

Before British colonisation, the region around Macarthur was occupied by the Worerome killink gundidj clan of the

Gunditjmara The Gunditjmara or Gunditjamara, also known as Dhauwurd Wurrung, are an Aboriginal people of southwestern Victoria in Australia. They are the Traditional Owners of the areas now encompassing Warrnambool, Port Fairy, Woolsthorpe and Portland. ...

people. The formally recognised

traditional owners Native title is the set of rights, recognised by Australian law, held by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander groups or individuals to land that derive from their maintenance of their traditional laws and customs. These Aboriginal title rig ...

for the area in which Macarthur sits are groups within the

Eastern Maar The Eastern Maar people are a group of Aboriginal Australian peoples whose traditional lands are in the south-western part of the state of Victoria, Australia. It is a name adopted by a number of Aboriginal Victorian groups who identify as Maar ...

and

peoples, who are represented by the

Eastern Maar Aboriginal Corporation The Eastern Maar people are a group of Aboriginal Australian peoples whose traditional lands are in the south-western part of the state of Victoria, Australia. It is a name adopted by a number of Aboriginal Victorian groups who identify as Maar ...

(EMAC) and the

Gunditj Mirring Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation The Gunditjmara or Gunditjamara, also known as Dhauwurd Wurrung, are an Aboriginal people of southwestern Victoria in Australia. They are the Traditional Owners of the areas now encompassing Warrnambool, Port Fairy, Woolsthorpe and Portland. T ...

(GMTOAC).

British pastoral licences

In 1840, the Bolden brothers were the first British pastoralists to obtain crown leaseholds in the region. The immense leasehold, named Bolden's run, covered large amounts of land west of the Hopkins River. In 1842, the Boldens' leasehold was divided up and the resultant properties around what was to become the Macarthur region were known as Eumeralla East, Eumeralla West and Harton Hills (which was also known as Blackfellows Creek). The Eumeralla leaseholds were taken up by James Hunter and his associates, while Harton Hills was occupied by William Carmichael.

Township of Macarthur

In 1852, the Eumeralla Inn, built by Mr. Gwyther was the first building constructed. The township was laid out near the Eumeralla River by surveyor John Turner, with the first land sales taking place shortly after on 17 July 1857. Macarthur Post Office opened 1 January 1862. The Macarthur Magistrates' Court closed on 1 January 1983.

Community

The town in conjunction with neighbouring township Hawkesdale 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 Australian rules football playing field, oval field, often a modified ...

football team competing in the Mininera & District Football League. Golfers play at the course of the Macarthur Golf Club on Hamilton Road. Macarthur is also the site of the large

Macarthur Wind Farm The Macarthur Wind Farm is a wind farm located in Macarthur, Victoria, Australia, near Hamilton, 260 km west of Melbourne. It is on a 5,500 ha site which has an installed capacity of 420 megawatts (MW). Based on a capacity factor of around ...

, completed in 2013. Macarthur was Victoria's Tidiest Town in 1988.

References

External links

Community website
Towns in Victoria (state) Western District (Victoria) {{BarwonSouthWest-geo-stub