Malmsbury is a town in central

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 Old

Calder Highway Calder Highway is a rural highway in Australia, linking Mildura and the Victoria/New South Wales border to Bendigo, in North Central Victoria. South of Bendigo, where the former highway has been upgraded to freeway-standard, Calder Freeway li ...

(C794), 95 km north-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 ...

and 11 km north-west of

Kyneton Kyneton ( ) is a town in the Macedon Ranges region of central Victoria, Australia. The Calder Freeway bypasses Kyneton to the north and east. The town has three main streets: Mollison Street, Piper Street and High Street. Piper Street has ...

. Situated close by the

Coliban River The Coliban River, an inland perennial river of the northcentral catchment, part of the Murray-Darling basin, is located in the lower Riverina bioregion and Central Highlands region of the Australian state of Victoria. The headwaters of the ...

, Malmsbury has a population of 1,101. Malmsbury is in the north western area of the

Shire of Macedon Ranges The Shire of Macedon Ranges is a region in Central Victoria, Australia, best known for its native forests, geographical attraction Hanging Rock, and artisan food and wine industries. The region covers an area of . It is located in between the c ...

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 ...

History

The original inhabitants of the local area were the

Dja Dja Wurrung The Djadjawurrung or Dja Dja Wurrung, also known as the Djaara or Jajowrong people and Loddon River tribe, are an Aboriginal Australian people who are the traditional owners of lands including the water catchment areas of the Loddon and Avoca ...

people. European settlement began with squatters raising sheep and cattle.

Gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

was discovered in 1858 and the town became a service centre for diggers travelling to

Bendigo Bendigo ( ) is an Australian city in north-central Victoria. The city is located in the Bendigo Valley near the geographical centre of the state and approximately north-west of Melbourne, the state capital. As of 2022, Bendigo has a popula ...

and Castlemaine. Malmesbury Post Office opened on 9 November 1854, closed within two months, reopened in 1856, and was renamed Malmsbury around 1896, although the name Malmesbury remains in occasional use. Malmsbury Reservoir began construction in 1866 and was completed in 1877. The dam wall at Malmsbury was enlarged in 1888 and the addition of steel flood gates in 1939 increased storage further. Deterioration has forced the flood gates to remain open which has reduced the capacity of the reservoir to pre-1939 levels. The last of Victoria's early pioneers, James Thornton who came with

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 ...

in 1836 operated public houses for thirty years until the early 1890s.

Edward Davy Edward Davy (16 June 1806 – 26 January 1885) was an English physician, scientist, and inventor who played a prominent role in the development of telegraphy, and invented an electric relay. Davy was born in Ottery St Mary, Devonshire, Engla ...

, who invented the electric relay, making long-distance

telegraphy Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas pi ...

possible, was mayor of Malmsbury three times in the mid-nineteenth century.

The Town Today

The Malmsbury area is known for its deposits of

bluestone Bluestone is a cultural or commercial name for a number of natural dimension stone, dimension or building stone varieties, including: * basalt in Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, and in New Zealand * diabase, dolerites in Tasmania, ...

, used in the construction of notable buildings both locally and throughout the state. The town also houses the Malmsbury Youth Justice Centre, a custodial centre for young adult males aged 18–21 deemed too vulnerable for adult prison. On 25 January 2017, there was a riot at the Youth Justice Centre which involved 30 inmates, 15 of these inmates escaped the premises. 8 of these escapees were arrested shortly after however, the other 7 fled the area in stolen cars. Witnesses reported vehicles travelling at high speed through the Castlemaine area and footage was recorded of offenders stealing petrol from a service station. Malmsbury has a

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

on the Melbourne to Bendigo railway line. The Malmsbury Viaduct is a large masonry arch rail bridge constructed over the Coliban River in 1859 and is classified "A" by the

National Trust The National Trust () is a heritage and nature conservation charity and membership organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Trust was founded in 1895 by Octavia Hill, Sir Robert Hunter and Hardwicke Rawnsley to "promote the ...

. The town's school uses the viaduct as its emblem. A stretch of the

Calder Freeway Calder Highway is a rural highway in Australia, linking Mildura and the Victoria/New South Wales border to Bendigo, in North Central Victoria. South of Bendigo, where the former highway has been upgraded to freeway-standard, Calder Freeway lin ...

(M79) bypassing Malmsbury was officially opened on 12 April 2008, and the removal of heavy through traffic was celebrated eight days later by the holding of a "Monster

Street Party A block party or street party is a party in which many members of a single community congregate, either to observe an event of some importance or simply for mutual solidarity and enjoyment. The name comes from the form of the party, which ofte ...

" in the town. Since the Calder Freeway bypass construction, Malmsbury has gained a reputation as a getaway destination for tourists across the country. During this period several restaurants have opened up in the town. In December 2019, Malmsbury had its pharmacy opened to serve the local community in Malmsbury and its surroundings.

References

External links

Macedon Ranges Shire Council
- Official site
Visit Victoria: Malmsbury
- Official Government tourism site.
Geoscience Australia place names search: Malmsbury1950 - Malmsbury Sports Day photos
{{authority control Towns in Victoria (state) Shire of Macedon Ranges Mining towns in Victoria (state)