Scotsburn is a locality in 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 ...

. It is approximately from

Ballarat Ballarat ( ) () is a city in the Central Highlands of Victoria, Australia. At the 2021 census, Ballarat had a population of 111,973, making it the third-largest urban inland city in Australia and the third-largest city in Victoria. Within mo ...

on the Midland Highway toward

Geelong Geelong ( ) (Wathawurrung language, Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in Victoria, Australia, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon River (Victo ...

. Its

local government areas 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 state, province, division, or territory. The ph ...

are the

Shire of Moorabool The Shire of Moorabool is a local government area in Victoria, Australia, located in the western part of the state. It covers an area of and, in June 2018, had a population of 34,158. It includes the towns of Ballan, Bacchus Marsh, Balliang, ...

and the

City of Ballarat The City of Ballarat is a local government area in the west of the state of Victoria, Australia. It covers an area of and, in June 2023, had a population of 118,137. It is primarily urban with the vast majority of its population living in the ...

History

Located at the foot of

Mount Buninyong Mount Buninyong is an extinct volcano in western Victoria, Australia rising to AHD. It lies within the Mount Buninyong Scenic Reserve, north of the town of Buninyong and south of Ballarat, on the regional city's rural-urban fringe. Snow ...

, it was named after the Scott family which settled in the area around 1840. Andrew and Celia Scott, who arrived in Australia in 1839, established a cattle farm of . After a period of growing potatoes in 1841-42 during poor financial times, in 1843 the Scott family began to run sheep. In addition to their original farm, the Scott family expanded their holdings by acquiring property in Victoria’s western district and

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

, where some family members relocated to manage sheep stations. Over time various sections of the original farm were sold to new farmers in the district. In 1876 the first school was opened, known for a short time as Burnt Hill State School (State School number 2176). Four years later the school was renamed Scotts Marsh and in 1889 it was again renamed, this time to Scotsburn. The school is now an annexe of Buninyong Primary School. The

post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letter (message), letters and parcel (package), parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post o ...

opened on 9 August 1880 as Scott's Marsh, was renamed Scotsburn in 1889 and closed in 1971. In 1884 the Scotsburn Union Church was formed, with an acre of land donated by Andrew Scott. The same church structure remains and still holds regular services. In 1891 the Scotsburn Hall was built, funded by donations and land donated by the Eason family. Since its establishment it has been utilised by the local primary school, the Scotsburn Tennis Club, and local residents for various functions.

Recent history

bushfire A wildfire, forest fire, or a bushfire is an unplanned and uncontrolled fire in an area of Combustibility and flammability, combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire may be more specifically identified as a ...

with an extent of 4600 hectares burned through Scotsburn and surrounding areas on 19 and 20 December 2015, killing livestock and pets and destroying at least twelve houses. Relief centres were set up for all evacuated people.

References

Scotsburn, The Early Settlers, 1838 - 1988 Towns in Victoria (state) {{VictoriaAU-geo-stub