Springfield is a locality in the
Shire of Macedon Ranges
The Shire of Macedon Ranges is a region in Central Victoria, Australia, best known for its expansive native forests, iconic geographical attraction Hanging Rock, and thriving artisan food and wine industries. The region covers an area of . It is ...
local government area in central
Victoria,
Australia approximately 65 kilometres north of the state capital,
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a me ...
. It is within the catchment area of
Deep Creek, a tributary of the
Maribyrnong River
The Maribyrnong River is a perennial river of the Port Phillip catchment, located in the northwestern suburbs of Melbourne, in the Australian state of Victoria.
Course
The Maribyrnong River draws its headwaters from near Mount Macedon with ...
.
History
In 1838, the Springfield
pastoral run
A pastoral lease, sometimes called a pastoral run, is an arrangement used in both Australia and New Zealand where government-owned Crown land is leased out to graziers for the purpose of livestock grazing on rangelands.
Australia
Pastoral le ...
was taken up by James Fulton. This property actually lay to the west of Deep Creek, whereas present day Springfield is located on the eastern side of the creek.
Along with the Shire of Lancefield, the historic
Shire of Springfield
Shire is a traditional term for an administrative division of land in Great Britain and some other English-speaking countries such as Australia and New Zealand. It is generally synonymous with county. It was first used in Wessex from the begin ...
was merged into the existing
Shire of Romsey on 31 May 1916. More recently, in 1995, further amalgamations merged Romsey Shire and others to form the present
Macedon Ranges Shire
The Shire of Macedon Ranges is a region in Central Victoria, Australia, best known for its expansive native forests, iconic geographical attraction Hanging Rock, and thriving artisan food and wine industries. The region covers an area of . It is ...
.
While it was once the centre of its own local government area, Springfield now lies on the extreme eastern edge of the shire, with
Kyneton, the administrative centre, almost 40 km away by road.
Springfield was a stopping point on the ill-fated
Lancefield-Kilmore railway, which operated briefly during the 1890s.
Although at one point the small settlement had its own Post Office and State School, today the Springfield area consists mostly of scattered farmhouses and cattle and sheep grazing properties.
There is also a
CFA firestation in Springfield.
See also
Shire of Romsey
References
External links
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Towns in Victoria (Australia)
Towns in Loddon Campaspe
Shire of Macedon Ranges