Beaconsfield Upper is a town in Victoria

Victoria (Australia)

Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....

, Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

, 45 km south-east from Melbourne's central business district

Melbourne city centre

Melbourne City Centre is an area of Melbourne in Victoria, Australia. It is not to be confused with the larger local government area of the City of Melbourne...

. Its Local Government Area is the Shire of Cardinia

Shire of Cardinia

Cardinia Shire is a Local Government Area in Victoria, Australia, located south-east of Melbourne between the Western Port bay and the Yarra Ranges on the outskirts of Melbourne...

. At the 2006 Census, Beaconsfield Upper had a population of 3114.

History

Squatters grazed sheep and cattle in Berwick Shire from the 1830s but there was little interest in the difficult terrain and poor soils in the hills. The discovery of gold in 1872 led to the application of Section 49 of the Land Act to the area, which provided attractive terms to small selectors. An early pioneer, William Brisbane, named his guesthouse "Beaconsfield House" after the then British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli (Lord Beaconsfield). When "Beaconsfield" Post Office opened on 7 October 1878, Brisbane was the first postmaster.

The Melbourne to Sale Railway line opened in 1879 and later that year, a platform built at the Cardinia Creek crossing was named Beaconsfield. The Beaconsfield Post office was renamed Beaconsfield Upper in 1891. Early settlers tended to be small mixed farmers or Melbournites with weekenders. By 1912, there was a school, a hall, a General store and Post Office plus 6 guesthouses and the Pinegrove hotel.
In February 1983, the Ash Wednesday fires

Ash Wednesday fires

The Ash Wednesday bushfires, known in South Australia as Ash Wednesday II, were a series of bushfires that occurred in south-eastern Australia on 16 February 1983. Within twelve hours, more than 180 fires fanned by winds of up to 110 km per hour caused widespread destruction across the states...

swept through the area destroying many houses and claiming lives.

Today

Known locally as Upper Beac, the community supports a number of businesses and services. A shopping area contains a supermarket, general store, pharmacy, milk bar, post office and hairdresser as well as several restaurants. A community newsletter, the Village Bell, is published quarterly by the Upper Beaconsfield Association. Sport and leisure facilities include a busy community centre, recreation reserve for cricket, football and scouting groups, a pony and riding club, tennis club and a number of parks and reserves. Golfers play at the Beaconhills Country Club on Stoney Creek Road. Community organisations include 3 and 4 year old kindergartens, primary school, St John's Anglican church, hall and meeting room, a nursing home, CFA and RSL. The community centre provides creche, maternal and child health, internet access and a variety of classes and courses. A mobile library visits weekly.