Stratford, Victoria
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Stratford is a town on the Avon River in
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 ...
, east of
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 ...
on the
Princes Highway Princes Highway is a major road in Australia, extending from Sydney via Melbourne to Adelaide through the states of New South Wales, Victoria (Australia), Victoria and South Australia. It has a length of (along Highway 1) or via the former ...
in
Shire of Wellington The Shire of Wellington is a local government area in Victoria, Australia, located in the eastern part of the state. It covers an area of and in June 2018 had a population of 44,019. It includes the towns of Heyfield, Rosedale, Maffra, S ...
. At the , Stratford had a population of 2,980. The town services the local regional community and travellers on the Princes Highway. Stratford's principal industries are dairying, sheep, cattle and horse breeding and vegetable crops. The town has numerous coffee shops and cafes, a cellar door for a local winery, Design Gallery, model railway shop, a pub, parks and playgrounds for car travelers to break their journey.


Town name

The origin of the town's name is unclear. Many believe it derives from
Stratford-upon-Avon Stratford-upon-Avon ( ), commonly known as Stratford, is a market town and civil parish in the Stratford-on-Avon (district), Stratford-on-Avon district, in the county of Warwickshire, in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands region of Engl ...
in
England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
,
William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
's birthplace, a view which is lent credence by the fact that it is located by the river Avon, although the name of the river Avon comes from a Scottish river. Locals have embraced the connection with Shakespeare and a ''Shakespeare on the River Festival'' has been a successful annual event since 1989, incorporating works of Shakespeare and modern Australian plays. In 1998 the town formally became a member of the Stratford Sister Cities program to promote friendship and cultural exchange between participating countries.


Geography

The River Avon has a local reputation as a source for river polished gemstones, particularly
agate Agate ( ) is a banded variety of chalcedony. Agate stones are characterized by alternating bands of different colored chalcedony and sometimes include macroscopic quartz. They are common in nature and can be found globally in a large number of d ...
, and for rapidly rising during increased rainfall upstream. Three kilometres south-east of Stratford is a park called Knob Reserve (formerly known as the "Forest of Arden"), part of the Gunai/Kurnai ''Bataluk Cultural Trail'', which winds its way through East Gippsland, highlighting the places of cultural significance to the first inhabitants. There are picnic facilities and an annual country music festival is held at Knob Reserve. Stratford 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 Bairnsdale railway line, which was reopened for passenger use in 2004. The Howitt Bicycle Trail passes through Stratford.


Sports

The town has an
Australian rules football 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 ...
team, nicknamed the Swans; who have been competing in the
East Gippsland Football League The East Gippsland Football League is an Australian rules football League in the East Gippsland region of Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. History The East Gippsland FL in its present incarnation began in 1974 with the merger of the G ...
since 2012. They had previously competed in the
North Gippsland Football League The North Gippsland Football League (NGFL) is an Australian rules football league in the Central Gippsland area of Victoria, Australia. History The NGFL was formed in 1955 through the merger of the Cowwarr Football League and the Sale Distric ...
from 2004 to 2011. The town has a cricket team competing in the Sale-Maffra Cricket Association. They have won 4 A-Grade premierships since reforming in 1978.


History

The land around the Avon River was occupied by the Brayakuloong people of the Gunai/Kurnai
indigenous Indigenous may refer to: *Indigenous peoples *Indigenous (ecology) In biogeography, a native species is indigenous to a given region or ecosystem if its presence in that region is the result of only local natural evolution (though often populari ...
nation for thousands of years prior to European settlement.
Angus McMillan Angus McMillan (14 August 1810 – 18 May 1865) was a Scottish-born explorer, pioneer pastoralism, pastoralist, and perpetrator of several of the Gippsland massacres of Gunai people. Arriving first in New South Wales in 1838, McMillan rose sw ...
named the Avon River after the river of the same name in his native Scotland. In 1840 he established a pastoral run at Bushy Park, north-west of the township. William Odell Raymond established a run in the area in 1842, and built his house, ''Strathfieldsaye'', during 1848–54. European settlement did not take place without resistance, and in return, massacres were inflicted by Angus McMillan and others on Gunai people, especially between the years of 1840 and 1850. The township was established in the late 1850s and the Post Office opened on 1 May 1858. With the 1860s gold rush to the
Omeo Omeo ( ) is a town in Victoria, Australia on the Great Alpine Road, east of Mount Hotham, in the Shire of East Gippsland. At the 2016 census, Omeo had a population of 406. The name is derived from an Aboriginal word for 'mountains' or 'hi ...
and Dargo goldfields, the town of Stratford prospered. Historic buildings include the RSL Hall (1866), the Church of Holy Trinity (1868), the Methodist Church (1873), and the Post Office (1884). In 1863 Reverend
Friedrich Hagenauer Friedrich Hagenauer (1829–1909) was a Presbyterian minister and missionary in Australia who established Ebenezer Mission and Ramahyuck mission.Robert Kenny, pg 134-145, ''The Lamb Enters the Dreaming - Nathaniel Pepper and the Ruptured World'', ...
established Ramahyuck Mission on the banks of the Avon River near Lake Wellington to house the Ganai survivors from west and central Gippsland. The name combines " Ramah", the home of
Samuel Samuel is a figure who, in the narratives of the Hebrew Bible, plays a key role in the transition from the biblical judges to the United Kingdom of Israel under Saul, and again in the monarchy's transition from Saul to David. He is venera ...
in the
First Book of Kings The Book of Kings (, '' Sēfer Məlāḵīm'') is a book in the Hebrew Bible, found as two books (1–2 Kings) in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. It concludes the Deuteronomistic history, a history of ancient Israel also including ...
, with "yuck", an Aboriginal term reputedly meaning "our place". The mission sought to discourage all tribal ritual and culture, and replace it with Christian values and European customs. The Mission closed in 1908 and the few remaining residents were moved to
Lake Tyers Mission Lake Tyers Mission, also known as Bung Yarnda, was an Aboriginal mission established in 1863 on the shore of Lake Tyers in Victoria's Gippsland, region as a centralised location for Aboriginal people from around Victoria. History The Lake Ty ...
. Reverend Hagenauer's son Dr
Henry Hagenauer Dr Henry Alexander Hagenauer (7 November 1878 – 29 July 1949) was an Australian rules footballer who played with Melbourne Football Club, Melbourne in the Australian Football League, Victorian Football League (VFL). The son of Louisa (ne ...
was a top local
Australian rules football 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 ...
er who played one match for
Victorian Football League The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules football competition in Australia operated by the Australian Football League (AFL) as a second-tier, regional, semi-professional competition. It includes teams from clubs based in east ...
(VFL) club
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 ...
in
1898 Events January * January 1 – New York City annexes land from surrounding counties, creating the City of Greater New York as the world's second largest. The city is geographically divided into five boroughs: Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queen ...
.Hay, p. 107.


Gallery

File:Stratford CWA rooms.JPG, CWA rooms File:Stratford Library.JPG, Council library File:Knob Reserve trees 24 January 2021.jpg, Knob Reserve File:Mary Treasure Reserve, Stratford, Victoria - June 2021.jpg, Mary Treasure Reserve File:Stratford Mechanics Institute.JPG, Mechanics Institute File:Stratford Memorial Park - April 2021.jpg, Memorial Park File:Stratford Methodist Church.JPG, Methodist Church File:Stratford Post Office & Court House.JPG, Post office File:Stratford Post Office in 1917.jpg, Post office in 1917 File:St. Patrick's Catholic Church, Stratford, Victoria - June 2021.jpg, St. Patrick's Catholic Church File:St. Patrick's Primary School, Stratford, Victoria - June 2021.jpg, St. Patrick's Primary School File:Stratford Museum - June 2021.jpg, Stratford Museum File:Swan Park, Stratford, Victoria - June 2021.jpg, Swan Park File:Stratford War Memorial.JPG, War memorial


References


Sources

* Hay, R. (2020) ''Aboriginal People and Australian Football in the Nineteenth Century'', SESA Publications: Melbourne. .


External links

* * {{authority control Towns in Victoria (state) Shire of Wellington