Our History

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Natural environment

The greater Shelford district enjoys a temperate climate and a rainfall of 500-700mm per year. Landscapes are characterised by undulating hills and broad valleys formed on folded sedimentary rocks and granite plutons formed around 450-350 million years ago. The southern area of the Leigh River catchment, including Shelford, was inundated by the sea during the Tertiary, and younger lava flows (basalt) were deposited on marine sedimentary rocks.

The Leigh River contains riparian roodland with its river red-gums the most prominent feature. Shrubs include blackwoods, black and silver wattles and the ground layer, where intact, is characterised by common tussock-grass. This woodland is generally confined to the bed and banks, although a few river red-gums are present on billabongs and old anabranches.

The volcanic plain extends to the edge of the escarpment on the western side of the town. Only very small patches of the original, endangered, plains grassland remain, although the Mt Mercer-Shelford Road just out of town, is one of the most significant remnants in the entire Victorian volcanic plain bioregion, which extends from north of Melbourne to beyond Hamilton.

Marking the edge of the basalt flow in places are large column-shaped boulders. In between the rocks grow Tree Violets, a spiny shrub with a wonderful fragrance when flowering and an important habitat plant for nesting of small birds. Below this narrow band of stony knoll shrubland, the escarpment once contained grassy woodland, a mix of drooping sheoaks, sweet bursaria and wattles.

To the east of the river, there is a large tract of damp sands herb-rich woodland with smaller patches of grassy woodland interspersed, as the depth of sand varies. The former, contains large old rough-bark manna gums and the latter, swamp gums and drooping sheoaks. Remnants can readily be seen along the Meredith-Shelford Road (from the Shelford-Bannockburn Road corner), on the roadside, within farmland and in the Shelford-Teesdale Timber Reserve (just off the Meredith-Shelford Road). Silver banksia was once more common on these sandy soils.

The Shelford landscape is now made up mostly of plains country used for cropping and grazing, split by the Leigh River valley up to 2km wide.

Wadawurrung language groups tribal territory extend from the head waters of the Wirribi-yaluk (Werribee River) to the Port Phillip Bay, down to the Balla-wein (Bellarine Peninsula), along the Surfcoast to the Otway forests, north west to Walart (Winchelsea), north to Larngipigan (Shelford) then west to Derrinalum (Mount Elephant), north along Barringa-yaluk (Fiery Creek) to the Great Diving range, encompassing both Ballaarat (Ballarat) and Djilang (Geelong).

Larngi = 'the nest of' or 'the home of'

Indigenous history

The indigenous people of the Shelford area are the Wadawurrung, one of the five peoples of the Kulin Nation.

You may also see the words

Wathawurrung, Wathaurong, Wathaurung, Wada wurrung.

There is no 'correct' spelling of aboriginal words, as they are spoken languages.

The Wadawurrung people have lived within these regions for tens of thousands of years. Aboriginal people all over Australia have moved through Wadawurrung country. At the time of settlement the Wadawurrung were a powerful and populous tribe that included at least twenty-five clans occupying and caring for a territory of 120 by 150 kilometres. Due to the speed at which Victoria was colonised, traditional Wadawurrung language, culture and land management systems were gravely disrupted. Wadawurrung sovereignty of the land was never ceded.

A belief of the Kulin is that Bunjil the eagle is the creator of the land, rivers, lakes, animals, plants, laws and lore, and Waa the crow is the protector of the People.

Pastoralists

Four large land leases surrounded the town of Shelford in the early 1800s.

Golf Hill

Golf Hill was one of the earliest pastoral settlements in Victoria. George Russell (1796-1844) came to the Port Phillip district from Van Dieman’s Land with his half-brother Phillip (1796-1844) in 1836. They settled on the Leigh River in 1842 at what is now Golf Hill, and on behalf of The Clyde Company set up a vast empire of runs and out stations which stretched from the outskirts of Geelong to The Great Dividing Range in the northeast to the Hopkins River in the west. George was at first the manager of the joint stock, then became a partner of Clyde Company by 1844.

George Russell was born in Scotland. He was particularly influential in the development of the Presbyterian denomination around Victoria and The Western District and also patronised Geelong College. His family network of brothers, half-brothers and nephews extended throughout Western Victoria.

George married Euphemia Carstairs, his first cousin, in Scotland in 1852. She died at Golf Hill in 1867, leaving seven daughters and a son. This bachelor son left the estate to his youngest sister, who became Janet Biddlecombe. She retained Golf Hill until it was subdivided for Solider Settlement after World War Two. After her death the contents of Golf Hill homestead complex were sold.

Woolbrook (Native Creek No.2 Run)

The pastoral lease of Woolbrook was held in 1837 by The Learmonth Brothers but changed hands multiple times during the 1840s the depression years, and the 1850s the gold rush years. In 1856 the lessee was ‘Big John’ Bell of Warrambine (Warrambeen). John Bell was a Leigh Shire Councillor. He died in 1877. His widow Mary lived until 1923 and was an active local philanthropist.

Fredrick William Fairbairn was the next owner of Woolbrook. Not only was he a pastoralist but a Red Cross Director and sportsman. In 1901 he built a huge two-story addition to the original homestead. This extension burnt down in 1906 leaving only the original wing.

Christina Gordon Morrison bought Woolbrook in partnership with her sister Annie Robertson in 1909

Woolbrook stayed in the Morrison family until 2018.

Warrambeen

Warrambeen was one of the early land leases in the Portland Bay District.

Early owners include John Bell and Alex Armstrong. John Bell was Alex Armstrong’s uncle. Armstrong and his family lived at Warrambeen in the mid-1800s, and Alex managed the property. Alex Armstrong was born in Kildonan, Scotland around 1824. He married Barbara Thompson in 1851. Soon after their marriage they set sail for Australia arriving in 1852. The following year Barbara died. He married widow Betsy Thomson (née Sutherland) in 1959 and they went on to have a large family.

Alex managed Warrambeen until John Bell’s death in 1876. He was left £2000 from Bell’s estate. He took up the lease and continued to live at Warrambeen with his family. They established a primary school for the local children after the village school burned down, and it was recorded that on Boxing Day each year they would distribute gifts amongst the residents of Shelford and Teesdale.

Alex went on to purchase other properties in the district and further afield. Records show that by 1887 Alexander Armstrong’s properties were shearing 80,000 sheep. At the time of his death around 1890 Alex was the oldest councillor of The Leigh Shire Council, and his estate was worth more than £200,000. After his death Betsy his wife stayed on at Warrambeen until the lease expired in 1892. She then went to live in Melbourne.

In 1902 the current owner Trish Taylor’s (née Bingley) grandfather and great uncle bought the home block of the big estate.

Barunah Plains (Long Water Hole)

The land now known as Barunah Plains was originally a pastoral run with the lease taken up by James Austin in the 1840s.

In 1851 it was acquired by Thomas and Phillip Russell together with their cousin John Simpson. Phillip and John soon withdrew, but three British-based Russell brothers became constituents of Thomas Russell & Co. Early in 1857 Thomas acquired the adjoining Ponds or Wurrook station, which became his headquarters. The Russell family became extensive landowners throughout the western district during the nineteenth century. Barunah Plains developed into a leading merino sheep establishment.

The 20,000 hectare property was reduced to about half after soldier settlement subdivision in 1949, however successive generations of the Russell family continued to live at Barunah until 1978.

Over time, these pastoral properties helped shape the local community, drawing settlers from across Australia and Europe. The area's sheep stations were vital not only for wool production but also for the development of Australia's identity as a land of agriculture.

Today, while agriculture remains an important part of the local economy, Shelford and its surrounding areas are a reminder of the deep pastoral roots that helped shape Victoria's Western District. As you explore the town, you can still feel the legacy of its pastoral past in the names of streets, properties, and landmarks that have withstood the test of time.

Francis Ormond (1829-1889)

This gentleman certainly deserves his own section, as probably the most influential person Shelford has ever seen.

Although born in Scotland, he was a teenager when in 1843 his family built and began operating the Settlers Arms (also known as the Shelford Temperance Inn, or The Coffee Palace, or just Ormonds).

After a range of jobs in and around Shelford he owned and managed pastoral land in the western districts. The great success he experienced allowed him and his wife to move to Melbourne and expand his interests.

He was an educator, a magistrate, a parliamentarian, and a philanthropist.

Some of the notable things that still carry his name are:

- Ormond Street, Shelford

- Ormond Road, Geelong
- The Melbourne suburb of Ormond

- Ormond College, University of Melbourne.

Check out his Wikipedia page, or this biography article.

Leigh Shire

The 982 square kilometer municipality was created on 27 August 1861 as the Shelford District Road Board and proclaimed Leigh Shire on 22 March 1864, named after the Leigh River.

On 6 May 1994 Leigh Shire was amalgamated with several others to form the Golden Plains Shire.

The Leigh Shire hall and toll house were built midway between Shelford and Rokewood, at Warrambine Creek around 1871.

Bridges

Leigh River crossings at Shelford have quite a history. Certainly aboriginals would have used various means to cross waterways over the millenia.

In Australia, European towns with ‘ford’ in their name is an indication of their importance as a suitable crossing point in the development of settlement and maintenance of communication where a transport corridor meets a waterway. Travellers from Geelong to the Western District had the choice of several routes. The northern route through Shelford was known as the Upper Western Main Road.

The first constructed crossing of the Leigh River at Shelford may lay claim to being the first bridge built in Victoria, when a timber structure was erected in 1840. (Surprisingly, the first bridge spanning the Yarra River in Melbourne wasn’t built until 1845). This initial crossing was replaced in 1851 with a more substantial wooden bridge on bluestone abutments and piers.

The Iron Bridge over the Leigh River at Shelford was erected in 1873-74 by the Shire of Leigh, replacing the earlier timber construction. The structure, which consists of two continuous hollow wrought iron girders over three spans and supported on iron rollers attached to bluestone piers and abutments, was designed by Shire Engineer CAC Wilson, and fabricated in situ from components cast by Ballarat founder, John Price. The Iron Bridge at Shelford is one of a small number of wrought iron box girder bridges which survive in Victoria. The structure is notable for inherent constructional and technical features in the design and as an example of the work of CAC Wilson, an important figure in the history of bridge building in Victoria.

Today, the Iron Bridge has been partially restored and is used to carry pedestrian traffic.

The Iron Bridge was superseded in 1983-84 with the construction of the current concrete bridge adjacent to the original structure and providing better road alignment. This work resulted in the demolition of the Settlers’ Arms.

The Soldier Settlement Scheme was a program that helped returned soldiers settle on land after World War II. The scheme was intended to provide a livelihood for soldiers and reward their service as well as aiming to support regional development and create prosperous farms. The schemes helped transform the landscape of regional Victoria.

The scheme offered interest-bearing loans to help soldiers improve their existing holdings or buy blocks where large pastoral estates were divided into smaller farms.

The scheme was not entirely successful, as some farms were too small to be viable and some soldiers were not skilled in agriculture. However, many soldier settlers who remained prospered and became important members of their communities.

In Shelford, the scheme included two separate schemes:

18 farms covering 13,450 acres in the Golf Hill Estate - 1953-56.
51 farms covering 32,500 acres within the Shelford Estate - 1955.

In the 1950s and 1960s an influx of new young families provided a substantial boost to the social aspects of the town’s development.

Many of the original names from the 1950s are still seen around Shelford now.

Soldier Settlers

A memorial sits at the Western entrance to the township, honouring the settlers and displaying a map of the farm blocks and list of family names.

Location

Shelford today

Productive farms still provide the backbone to the area, but there are now also many residents who are self employed or commuting to work in nearby cities including Geelong, Ballarat and Melbourne.

The latest Census data shows Shelford is home to 77 families with a total population of 263.

See the 2021 Census for more details.

The Shelford Structure Plan describes the Golden Plains Shire Council's vision for future development in the area, covering the period 2013-2028.

Following the recent Manse Estate subdivision, future growth might be restricted by planning, geography, and demand, seeing Shelford remain a small and great rural community.

However, residents do have good services available to them.

Pie chart of the relative ages of Shelford residents

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