Heywood is a town on the Fitzroy River

Fitzroy River (Victoria)

The Fitzroy River is a river in southwestern Victoria, Australia. It begins near the western edge of the Lower Glenelg National Park, flows through Heywood, and enters the Southern Ocean at Tyrendarra....

 in the 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...

n state of 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....

. It is situated at an elevation of 27 metres amidst rolling green hills in an agricultural, pastoral and timbercutting district. Heywood is 357 kilometres (222 mi) west 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...

 at the intersection of the Princes

Princes Highway

The Princes Highway extends from Sydney to Port Augusta via the coast through the states of New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia, a distance of 1941 km or 1898 km via the former alignments of the highway ....

 and Henty

Henty Highway

Henty Highway is a 360 kilometre highway in western Victoria, Australia. It's primarily a north-south route, and consists of a mix of 2 laned country highway standard and 4 lane arterial road within some of the larger towns along the route....

 Highways and 27 kilometres (17 mi) north of Portland

Portland, Victoria

The city of Portland is the oldest European settlement in what is now the state of Victoria, Australia. It is the main urban centre of the Shire of Glenelg. It is located on Portland Bay.-History:...

. It is on the railway line to Portland, at the junction of the presently-unused branch to Mount Gambier, South Australia

Mount Gambier, South Australia

Mount Gambier is the largest regional city in South Australia located approximately 450 kilometres south of the capital Adelaide and just 17 kilometres from the Victorian border....

.

At the 2006 census

Census in Australia

The Australian census is administered once every five years by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The most recent census was conducted on 9 August 2011; the next will be conducted in 2016. Prior to the introduction of regular censuses in 1961, they had also been run in 1901, 1911, 1921, 1933,...

, Heywood had a population of 1,287.

Prior to European settlement the area was occupied by the Gunditjmara

Gunditjmara

Gunditjmara, or Gundidj for short, are an Indigenous Australian group from western Victoria . Their neighbours to the west were the Buandig people, to the north the Jardwadjali and Djab wurrung peoples, and in the east the Girai wurrung people.The name may also be spelt Gournditch-Mara...

 Aborigines

Indigenous Australians

Indigenous Australians are the original inhabitants of the Australian continent and nearby islands. The Aboriginal Indigenous Australians migrated from the Indian continent around 75,000 to 100,000 years ago....

. David Edgar built the Bush Tavern on the townsite in 1842 and a settlement emerged. Formerly known as Fitzroy Crossing it became known as Edgar's. The township was surveyed in 1852 by Lindsay Clarke who named it after Heywood, Wiltshire

Heywood, Wiltshire

Heywood is a civil parish near Westbury in the county of Wiltshire in England, UK. It has 790 inhabitants.-History:In the environs is situated the remaining wing of the manor house of Brooke, known as Brooke Hall, is amongst the Grade I listed buildings in Wiltshire. This manor was held in the 14th...

 in England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. The first town allotments were sold in 1854 and a Post Office opened on 8 August 1857.

Heywood has won many Tidy Town

National Tidy Town Awards

May refer to:*Australian Tidy Town Awards*Tidy Towns *Newfoundland and Labrador Tidy Towns Competition...

 awards.

The town has an Australian rules football

Australian rules football

Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...

 teams competing in the Western Border Football League

Western Border Football League

The Western Border Football League is an Australian rules football competition based in the Lower South East region of South Australia, and south-western border region of Victoria. It is an affiliated member of the South Australian National Football League and the Victorian Football League...

.

Golfers play at the course of the Heywood Golf Club on Golf Club Road.