Heyfield, Victoria
Encyclopedia
Heyfield is a town in Victoria
, Australia
, with a population of 2099. It is located 206 kilometres (128 mi) east of Melbourne
, in the Shire of Wellington local government area. Located on the Thomson River
, Heyfield is a gateway to the Victorian High Country.
, described the district as resembling "a field of waving corn", and called it "Hayfield". By 1866, the spelling had changed to "Heyfield", but exactly when and why this happened is unclear. It may have been renamed to reflect the spelling of the nearby Heyfield Station.
In 1866, McFarlane's property was taken over by James Tyson
, a former member of the Queensland Legislative Council
, a pastoralist, and considered Australia's first self-made millionaire.
The town grew up as a stopping point for diggers on their way to the Gippsland
goldfields, and the Post Office opened on 24 September 1870. It is today known for its agriculture
and timber production
. It is the principal source of hardwood in Victoria, and the largest timber mill in the Southern Hemisphere, Gunns Timber Products Heyfield, is located there.
The district's irrigation water comes from Lake Glenmaggie.
During the Gippsland bushfires in December 2006 and January 2007, the town was used as a staging area by the networked fire agencies, being, the Department of Sustainability and Environment (DSE), Country Fire Authority
(CFA), Victoria Police
, and the Victorian State Emergency Service
(SES).
A skatepark was built in Heyfield in December 2005.
Heyfield and its surroundings were also victims of severe flash floods twice during winter and spring in 2007. The Thomson River burst its banks and rendered the road out of Heyfield impassible.
The town has an Australian Rules football team competing in the North Gippsland Football League
.
Golfers play at the course of the Heyfield Golf Club on Golflinks Road.
started writing her Billabong series of books in 1910 while staying at James Tyson's former house.
The poet Shaw Neilson
spent some time in the Heyfield area in the 1920s, where he wrote several poems and helped in the construction of the Lake Glenmaggie weir wall.
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...
, with a population of 2099. It is located 206 kilometres (128 mi) east of Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, in the Shire of Wellington local government area. Located on the Thomson River
Thomson River (Victoria)
The Thomson River is a river in Gippsland, Victoria, Australia. It starts below Newlands at the north western end of the Baw Baw Plateau at an elevation of 972 m, where it shares a watershed with the Yarra River and Tanjil River, and ends at an elevation of 1.55 m merging with the Latrobe River...
, Heyfield is a gateway to the Victorian High Country.
History
In 1841 an early settler, James McFarlaneJames McFarlane
James Walter McFarlane was a scholar of European literature, author of The Oxford Ibsen, and founding Dean of the School of European Studies at University of East Anglia which specialised in Scandinavian studies.- Early years :McFarlane grew up in Sunderland and attended Bede Grammar School, and...
, described the district as resembling "a field of waving corn", and called it "Hayfield". By 1866, the spelling had changed to "Heyfield", but exactly when and why this happened is unclear. It may have been renamed to reflect the spelling of the nearby Heyfield Station.
In 1866, McFarlane's property was taken over by James Tyson
James Tyson
James Tyson was an Australian pastoralist. He is regarded as Australia's first self-made millionaire. His name became a byword for reticence, wealth and astute dealing....
, a former member of the Queensland Legislative Council
Queensland Legislative Council
The Queensland Legislative Council was the upper house of the parliament in the Australian state of Queensland. It was a fully nominated body which first took office on 1 May 1860. It was abolished by the Constitution Amendment Act 1921, which took effect on 23 March 1922.Consequently, the...
, a pastoralist, and considered Australia's first self-made millionaire.
The town grew up as a stopping point for diggers on their way to the Gippsland
Gippsland
Gippsland is a large rural region in Victoria, Australia. It begins immediately east of the suburbs of Melbourne and stretches to the New South Wales border, lying between the Great Dividing Range to the north and Bass Strait to the south...
goldfields, and the Post Office opened on 24 September 1870. It is today known for its agriculture
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
and timber production
Logging
Logging is the cutting, skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or logs onto trucks.In forestry, the term logging is sometimes used in a narrow sense concerning the logistics of moving wood from the stump to somewhere outside the forest, usually a sawmill or a lumber yard...
. It is the principal source of hardwood in Victoria, and the largest timber mill in the Southern Hemisphere, Gunns Timber Products Heyfield, is located there.
The district's irrigation water comes from Lake Glenmaggie.
During the Gippsland bushfires in December 2006 and January 2007, the town was used as a staging area by the networked fire agencies, being, the Department of Sustainability and Environment (DSE), Country Fire Authority
Country Fire Authority
Country Fire Authority, or CFA, is the name of the fire service that provides firefighting and other emergency services to all of the country areas and regional townships within the state of Victoria, Australia, as well as large portions of the outer suburban areas and growth corridors of Melbourne...
(CFA), Victoria Police
Victoria Police
Victoria Police is the primary law enforcement agency of Victoria, Australia. , the Victoria Police has over 12,190 sworn members, along with over 400 recruits, reservists and Protective Service Officers, and over 2,900 civilian staff across 393 police stations.-Early history:The Victoria Police...
, and the Victorian State Emergency Service
State Emergency Service
A State Emergency Service is an Australian volunteer organisation that provides emergency help during and after declared disasters. The SES is also the primary or secondary agency for emergencies, such as storm damage,flood damage, building damage, traffic hazards and road crash rescue...
(SES).
A skatepark was built in Heyfield in December 2005.
Heyfield and its surroundings were also victims of severe flash floods twice during winter and spring in 2007. The Thomson River burst its banks and rendered the road out of Heyfield impassible.
The town has an Australian Rules football team competing in the North Gippsland Football League
North Gippsland Football League
The North Gippsland Football League is an Australian rules football league in the Central Gippsland area of Victoria, Australia, formed in 1955 through the merger of the Cowwarr Football League and the Sale District Football League....
.
Golfers play at the course of the Heyfield Golf Club on Golflinks Road.
Cultural notes
The author Mary Grant BruceMary Grant Bruce
Mary Grant Bruce , also known as Minnie Bruce, was an Australian children's author and journalist. While all her thirty-seven books enjoyed popular success in Australia and overseas, particularly in the United Kingdom, she was most famous for the Billabong series, focussing on the adventures of the...
started writing her Billabong series of books in 1910 while staying at James Tyson's former house.
The poet Shaw Neilson
Shaw Neilson
John Shaw Neilson , was an Australian poet. Slightlybuilt, for most of his life, John Shaw Neilson worked as a labourer, fruit-picking, clearing scrub, navvying and working in quarries, and, after 1928, working as a messenger with the Country Roads Board in Melbourne...
spent some time in the Heyfield area in the 1920s, where he wrote several poems and helped in the construction of the Lake Glenmaggie weir wall.
Notable people from Heyfield
- Wil AndersonWil AndersonWilliam James "Wil" Anderson is an Australian comedian, writer, performing stand-up, and television and radio presenter and personality.- Early life :...
- Australian stand-up comedian and TV and radio personality - David WojcinskiDavid WojcinskiDavid "Wojo" Wojcinski is an Australian rules footballer for the Geelong Football Club in the Australian Football League .-Career:Wojcinski made his debut in 1998. He won the club's Most Improved Player award for 2004....
- Geelong FC Player. - Leigh BrownLeigh BrownLeigh Brown is a former Australian rules football player who played for Fremantle, North Melbourne and finally Collingwood in the Australian Football League. He is a Collingwood premiership player...
- Retired Collingwood FC Player. Melbourne FC assistant coach. - Brent MacafferBrent MacafferBrent Macaffer is a Collingwood footballer in the Australian Football League. He was recruited in the 2006 AFL draft.Macaffer is one of a string of players to have been recruited by Collingwood from Gippsland. Despite his small stature, Macaffer led the TAC Cup U/18 goalkicking in 2006, and was...
- Collingwood FC Player.