Redesdale is a town in central

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

, Australia. It is located partly in the

City of Greater Bendigo The City of Greater Bendigo is a local government area in Victoria, Australia, located in the central part of the state. It covers an area of and, in June 2021, had a population of 123,632. It includes the city of Bendigo and the towns of Axe ...

local government area and partly in the

Shire of Mount Alexander The Mount Alexander Shire (officially Shire of Mount Alexander) is a local government area in Victoria, Australia, located in the central part of the state. It covers an area of and, in June 2018, had a population of 19,514. It includes the to ...

. At the , Redesdale and the surrounding area had a population of 240.

History

The Post Office opened on 22 March 1865.

Redesdale bridge

Redesdale is on the opposite bank of the

Campaspe River The Campaspe River, an inland intermittent river of the northcentral catchment, part of the Murray-Darling basin, is located in the lower Riverina bioregion and Central Highlands and Wimmera regions of the Australian state of Victoria. The ...

from the town of Mia Mia. The towns are connected by the heritage listed Redesdale bridge, one of the oldest iron lattice-

truss bridge A truss bridge is a bridge whose load-bearing superstructure is composed of a truss, a structure of connected elements, usually forming triangular units. The connected elements (typically straight) may be stressed from tension, compression, or ...

s in Victoria. The trusses for the bridge were originally imported for a river crossing in suburban Hawthorn in 1859. The ship ''

Herald of the Morning ''Herald of the Morning'' was a three-masted square-rigged sailing ship, built in 1853 or 1854 at Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada, expressly for the Australia run. The contemporary Melbourne press described her as 'a fine ship of 1292 tons reg ...

'' bringing the trusses to Melbourne caught fire and sank in

Hobsons Bay Hobsons Bay is a small open bay in Victoria, Australia, and is the northernmost part of the larger Port Phillip Bay. Its western and eastern boundaries are marked by Point Gellibrand in and Point Ormond in respectively, and defines the c ...

. As a result, the

Hawthorn Bridge The Hawthorn Bridge crosses the Yarra River, east of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, connecting Bridge Road and Burwood Road. It is the oldest extant bridge over the Yarra River and is one of the oldest metal bridges in Australia. It was co ...

, connecting Richmond and Hawthorn, was delayed for a couple of years while new trusses were made and shipped out to Australia. Ten years later the original trusses were salvaged from the Herald of the Morning and used for the Redesdale Bridge. The bridge was constructed on site in 1868 with a divided-lane through-truss design created specifically for the difficult river crossing and unique in Victoria.

Railway

Redesdale was once the terminus for a

branch line A branch line is a phrase used in railway terminology to denote a secondary railway line which branches off a more important through route, usually a main line. A very short branch line may be called a spur line. Industrial spur An industr ...

railway which connected with the Melbourne - Murray River Railway at

Redesdale Junction Redesdale Junction was a railway station and junction for the Redesdale line near Kyneton in Victoria, Australia. The junction employed a station master, porter, assistant gatekeeper and ganger. A post office operated from the junction until ...

, between

Kyneton Kyneton ( ) is a town in the Macedon Ranges region of Victoria, Australia. The Calder Freeway bypasses Kyneton to the north and east. Kyneton is on Dja Dja Wurrung, Taungurung and Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung country. The town has four main streets: ...

and Malmsbury. Other stopping points on the line, going towards

Redesdale Redesdale is a valley in western Northumberland, England. It is formed by the River Rede, which rises in the Cheviots and flows down to join the North Tyne at Redesmouth. Redesdale is traversed by the A68 trunk road, which enters Scotland v ...

, included Edgecombe, Green Hill, East Metcalfe, Emberton and

Barfold Barfold is a locality situated on the Heathcote- Kyneton Road (C326) in Victoria, Australia. It has a community hall, Barfold Hall, and an Anglican church, Barfold Union Church. A significant geological feature in the area is the Barfold Gorg ...

.''Railway Map of Victoria, Australia'', 1946 map reproduced courtesy V/Line, Railway Museum, North Williamstown, Victoria, 1988 The Redesdale line was opened on 15 January 1891 and closed on 29 June 1954. The tracks and stations have since been removed.

Other

Redesdale is currently home to a primary school, a petrol station/general store, a historic bluestone pub/tavern and the Rural café. Australia's worst aircraft disaster occurred two miles east of town. see 1945 Australian National Airways Stinson crash

References

{{authority control Towns in Victoria (state) Bendigo Suburbs of Bendigo