Lancefield, Victoria

Infobox Australian Place | type = town
name = Lancefield
state = vic


caption = Main street, Lancefield
lga = Shire of Macedon Ranges
postcode = 3435
est =
pop = 1,184
pop_footnotes =
elevation = 495
maxtemp =
mintemp =
rainfall =
stategov = Macedon
fedgov = McEwen
dist1 = 70
location1 = Melbourne
dist2 = 21
location2 = Kilmore
dist3 = 83
location3 = Bendigo
dist4 = 8
location4 = Romsey
near-nw = Benloch
near-n = Pyalong
near-ne = Pyalong
near-w = Newham
near-e = Willowmavin
near-sw = Newham
near-s = Romsey
near-se = Wallan

Lancefield is a town in the Shire of Macedon Ranges Local government area in Victoria, Australia. The town is located 92 kilometers north of the state capital, Melbourne and had a population of 1,184 at the 2006 census.Census 2006 AUS
id=UCL226600
name=Lancefield (Urban Centre/Locality)
accessdate=2007-10-25
quick=on]

History

The area was used by the Wurundjeri Aboriginal people as a quarry site for the manufacture of stone axes and was first settled by European squatters in 1837.

A Lancefield Post Office opened on 16 January 1858 in the area. In 1860 this was renamed Five Mile Creek when Lancefield Post Office opened in the new township.Citation
last = Premier Postal History | title = Post Office List | url = https://www.premierpostal.com/cgi-bin/wsProd.sh/Viewpocdwrapper.p?SortBy=VIC&country= | accessdate = 2008-04-11 ]

Lancefield's elevation and climate made it a popular summer resort in the 1880s. In recent years, many local wineries have been established in the area.

The town has a connection to the Kelly Gang; for it was here that Constable Fitzpatrick, the instigator of the Kelly Outbreak in 1878 was finally found by the Victorian police to be no good and for his actions was finally discharged from the force. ["Victorian Parliamentary Papers, 1881 & 1883", 'Royal Commission on the Police Force of Victoria'] [ Cf. J.J. Kenneally, "Inner History of the Kelly Gang", 1929 plus all subsequent editions, Ch II [2] ]

Lancefield district had a reputation for some of the best fertile soils in Victoria. Prior to being cut up into small blocks during the early 1970s the region produced high yields per acre of potatoes, fat lambs, fat cattle, wheat and other cereal crops.

A large fossil deposit from the Pleistocene epoch was discovered at Lancefield swamp, containing the remains of many species of extinct megafauna, including ; "Macropus titan", a giant kangaroo; "Diprotodon", a rhinoceros-sized wombat; and "Genyornis", a giant flightless bird.

The local Australian rules football team, Lancefield Football Club competes in the Riddell District Football League.

Burke and Wills

The Burke and Wills expedition camped at Lancefield on their journey to cross Australia from Melbourne to the Gulf of Carpentaria. They arrived here on 23 August 1860 and made their fourth camp out of Melbourne. A marker at the site of the original town at Mustey's Bridge on Deep Creek commemorates the site of their camp.

Railway

A railway branch line off the Melbourne-Bendigo line originated at Clarkefield (known then as Lancefield Junction) and ran to Bolinda, Monegeeta, Romsey and Lancefield arriving in 1881. Later, on 6 April, 1892, an eastern loop was built out of Lancefield across to Kilmore ["The Heathcote Junction to Bendigo and Associated Railways" Turton, Keith Australian Railway Historical Society Bulletin, April, 1970 pp69-88 ] . This was one of the most infamous white elephant late-nineteen century rail projects of the then Victorian government, the other being the Melbourne Outer Circle.

The Lancefield-Kilmore line was not only an expensive project for it had to climb the Lancefield Gap, but due to the steep nature of the topography, it meandered to Kilmore, across almost uninhabited land with no passenger customers, or producers. The line was so unsuccessful that the line was closed on 1 June, 1897 ["Some Notes on the Lancefield-Kilmore Section" Poole, L.G. Australian Railway Historical Society Bulletin, February, 1953 pp22-23] , however the tracks were not torn up until 1917. Some of the old right of way is visible around the Lancefield Gap and on the approach into Kilmore.

The Lancefield-Clarkefield line was closed in 1956 when the wooden trestle bridge at Clarkefield required extensive maintenance repairs. Though the railway right of way no longer exists, the massive earth works onto the decaying trestle bridge is visible from the road-side at the Bolinda bridge. The old Lancefield railway station almost disintegrated after its closure and has a new lease of life now as a refurbished Bed and Breakfast cum garden nursery.

Notable people

John Allan, the 29th Premier of Victoria, was born near Lancefield in 1866.

Breaker Morant and Bushveldt Carbineers connection

On his release from prison in England in 1904, George Witton came to Lancefield and lived in the town for several years. Witton of the Bushveldt Carbineers was charged along with Breaker Morant and Peter Handcock of murdering captured Boers during the Anglo-Boer War. Witton was found gulity of murder and sentenced to be shot, but this was commuted to life of penal servitude. Morant and Handcock both found guilty and sentenced to be shot were executed in Pretoria on 27 February 1902. Witton (who had never been to England) was sent to England and held in prison until released due to public pressure from Australia. It was to Lancefield that he came in broken health on his return to Australia and wrote his angry book, "Scapegoats of the Empire" (1907). In the introduction to his book that he stated he was living in Lancefield. When due for publication a fire destroyed all but several copies of the book. In 1982, Angus and Robertson re-published the book following the success of the movie "Breaker Morant".

References

*Reid, John (Ed.). "When Memory Turns The Key: The History of the Shire of Romsey", Jovial, Bacchus Marsh, 1992, ISBN 0-9588112-5-3

External links

* [http://www.lancefield.org.au/ Lancefield community webite]
* [http://www.atdesign.com.au/lancefield/ Lancefield megafauna excavation website]
* [http://www2.visitvictoria.com/displayObject.cfm/ObjectID.000972EA-0FDD-1A65-88CD80C476A90318/vvt.vhtml Lancefield tourist website]
* [http://www.smh.com.au/news/Victoria/Lancefield/2005/02/17/1108500206658.html SMH Travel webpage]
* [http://www.burkeandwills.net.au/ Burke & Wills Web] A comprehensive website containing many of the historical documents relating to the Burke & Wills Expedition.
* [http://www.burkeandwills.org/ The Burke & Wills Historical Society] The Burke & Wills Historical Society.