Woodend () is a town in

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. The town is 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 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 (administrative division), state, province, divi ...

on Dja Dja Wurrung country and is bypassed to the east and north by 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 li ...

(M79), located about halfway between

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 met ...

and

Bendigo Bendigo ( ) is a city in Victoria, Australia, located in the Bendigo Valley near the geographical centre of the state and approximately north-west of Melbourne, the state capital. As of 2019, Bendigo had an urban population of 100,991, makin ...

. At the , Woodend had a population of 5,806.

History

Woodend was first surveyed in 1836 by Major Thomas Mitchell, who opened it up for settlement. When

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...

was discovered in the area (towards Bendigo and

Ballarat Ballarat ( ) is a city in the Central Highlands (Victoria), Central Highlands of Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. At the 2021 Census, Ballarat had a population of 116,201, making it the third largest city in Victoria. Estimated resid ...

), Woodend became the main thoroughfare through the Black Forest, and accommodated many gold-diggers and their families. Woodend Post Office opened on the 20th of July 1854, however it closed shortly after, only to be reopened in one of the citizen's homes. The Woodend Magistrates' Court closed on 1 January 1983.

Tourism and attractions

Woodend is close to such attractions as Mt Macedon and

Hanging Rock Hanging Rock may refer to: Australia * Hanging Rock, New South Wales, a mining village on the Northern Tablelands * Hanging Rock, Victoria, a rock formation **''Picnic at Hanging Rock (novel)'', a 1967 novel by Australian author Joan Lindsay ** ...

located at nearby

Newham The London Borough of Newham is a London borough created in 1965 by the London Government Act 1963. It covers an area previously administered by the Essex county boroughs of West Ham and East Ham, authorities that were both abolished by the s ...

, and numerous waterfalls. The area supports a large horse-racing community. Woodend's location in the foothills of the

Great Dividing Range The Great Dividing Range, also known as the East Australian Cordillera or the Eastern Highlands, is a cordillera system in eastern Australia consisting of an expansive collection of mountain ranges, plateaus and rolling hills, that runs rough ...

means that, unlike most of Australia, snowfalls are not uncommon. The Woodend Winter Arts Festival, held on the Queen's Birthday Weekend in June, is an event where artisans from around Australia gather to perform. The annual Melbourne Autumn Day (MAD) ride is held in Woodend by the Melbourne Bicycle Touring Club. Woodend Children's Park in the centre of the town provides a meeting place for young and old, locals and visitors: A park to explore, to enjoy, to play. Woodend Children's Park opened behind the service station in October 2009. The largest sporting group in the town is the Woodend Junior Football Club which incorporates 190 players, from 130 families, playing in 8 junior teams ranging from Under 9's to Under 16's. There are several

mountain bike A mountain bike (MTB) or mountain bicycle is a bicycle designed for off-road cycling. Mountain bikes share some similarities with other bicycles, but incorporate features designed to enhance durability and performance in rough terrain, which ...

tracks near Woodend, in the

Wombat State Forest The Wombat State Forest (locally: Bullarook) is located west of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, between Woodend and Daylesford, at the Great Dividing Range. The forest is approximately in size and sits upon Ordovician or Cenozoic sediments. ...

and also on

Mount Macedon Mount Macedon ( Aboriginal Woiwurrung language: ''Geboor'' or ''Geburrh'') is a dormant volcano that is part of the Macedon Ranges of the Great Dividing Range, located in the Central Highlands region of Victoria, Australia. The mountain has ...

. The local Wombat MTB Club maintains the tracks in the area and arrange events and bike tours. Golfers play at the course of the Woodend Golf Club on Davy Street. The Woodend tennis club on Earnshaw St has 6 plexipave courts and its vibrant, progressive and rapidly growing membership has become a social hub for the local community. The oldest church in Woodend is the Anglican Church of St Mary's, a

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

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

building constructed in 1864. The church's

stained glass Stained glass is coloured glass as a material or works created from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant religious buildings. Although tradition ...

windows were produced by William Montgomery (1850-1927), former president of the

Victorian Artists Society The Victorian Artists Society, which can trace its establishment to 1856 in Melbourne, promotes artistic education, art classes and gallery hire exhibition in Australia. It was formed in March 1888 when the Victorian Academy of Arts (previously Vi ...

. The events and news of the town are published in the town's community newsletter, ''The New Woodend Star'', which publishes free archival copies of the newsletter online for reference. A local Woodend Information Website is also available called Woodend Village News, this also has a local weather page, showing historical weather information. Including UV intensity, wind speed and direction, amount of rain, the maximum and minimum temperatures, along with wind chill and barometric pressure.

References

External links

Woodend
– Official tourism site
Woodend Business & Tourism Association website
{{authority control Towns in Victoria (Australia) Towns in Loddon Campaspe Shire of Macedon Ranges

History

Tourism and attractions

See also

References

External links