Stratford, Victoria
Encyclopedia
Stratford is a town on the Avon River in Victoria
, Australia
, 232 kilometres (144.2 mi) east of Melbourne
on the Princes Highway
in Shire of Wellington. At the 2006 census
, Stratford had a population of 1950. The town services the local regional community and travellers on the Princes Highway. Stratford's principal industries are dairying, sheep, cattle and horse breeding and vegetable crops. The town has numerous coffee shops and cafes, a cellar door for a local winery, Design Gallery, model railway shop, a pub, parks and playgrounds for car travellers to break their journey.
The origin of the town's name is unclear. Many believe it derives from Stratford-upon-Avon
in England
, William Shakespeare
's birth place, a view which is lent credence by the fact that it is located by the river Avon. Locals have embraced the connection with Shakespeare and a Shakespeare on the River Festival has been a successful annual event since 1989, incorporating works of Shakespeare and modern Australian plays. In 1998 the town formally became a member of the Stratford Sister Cities program to promote friendship and cultural exchange between participating countries. Participation is restricted to towns called "Stratford" that have a Shakespeare Theatre or Festival.
The River Avon has a local reputation as a source for river polished gemstones, particularly agate
, and for rapidly rising during increased rainfall upstream.
Three kilometres south-east of Stratford is a 56 hectares (138.4 acre) park called Knob Reserve (formerly known as the "Forest of Arden"), part of the Gunai/Kurnai Bataluk Cultural Trail, which winds its way through East Gippsland, highlighting the places of cultural significance to the first inhabitants. There are picnic facilities and an annual country music festival is held at Knob Reserve.
Stratford has a railway station
on the Bairnsdale railway line, which was reopened for passenger use in 2004. The Howitt Bicycle Trail passes through Stratford.
The town has an Australian rules football
team competing in the North Gippsland Football League
.
The town has a cricket team competing in the Sale/Maffra Cricket Association. They have won 4 A Grade premierships since reforming in 1978
/Kurnai indigenous nation for thousands of years prior to European settlement.
Angus McMillan
named the Avon River after the river of the same name in his native Scotland. In 1840 he established a pastoral run at Bushy Park, north-west of the township. William Odell Raymond established a run in the area in 1842, and built his house, Strathfieldsaye, during 1848–54. European settlement did not take place without resistance, and in return, massacres were inflicted by Angus McMillan and others on Gunai people, especially between the years of 1840 and 1850.
The township was established in the late 1850s and the Post Office opened on 1 May 1858.
With the 1860s gold rush to the Omeo
and Dargo
goldfields, the town of Stratford prospered. Historic buildings include the RSL Hall (1866), the Church of Holy Trinity (1868), the Methodist Church (1873), and the Post Office (1884).
In 1863 Reverend Friedrich Hagenauer
established Ramahyuck Mission on the banks of the Avon River near Lake Wellington to house the Ganai survivors from west and central Gippsland. The name combines "Ramah
", the home of Samuel in the First Book of Kings, with "yuck", an Aboriginal term reputedly meaning "our place". The mission sought to discourage all tribal ritual and culture, and replace it with Christian values and European customs. The Mission closed in 1908 and the few remaining residents were moved to Lake Tyers.
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...
, 232 kilometres (144.2 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...
on the Princes Highway
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 ....
in Shire of Wellington. 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,...
, Stratford had a population of 1950. The town services the local regional community and travellers on the Princes Highway. Stratford's principal industries are dairying, sheep, cattle and horse breeding and vegetable crops. The town has numerous coffee shops and cafes, a cellar door for a local winery, Design Gallery, model railway shop, a pub, parks and playgrounds for car travellers to break their journey.
The origin of the town's name is unclear. Many believe it derives from Stratford-upon-Avon
Stratford-upon-Avon
Stratford-upon-Avon is a market town and civil parish in south Warwickshire, England. It lies on the River Avon, south east of Birmingham and south west of Warwick. It is the largest and most populous town of the District of Stratford-on-Avon, which uses the term "on" to indicate that it covers...
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...
, William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
's birth place, a view which is lent credence by the fact that it is located by the river Avon. Locals have embraced the connection with Shakespeare and a Shakespeare on the River Festival has been a successful annual event since 1989, incorporating works of Shakespeare and modern Australian plays. In 1998 the town formally became a member of the Stratford Sister Cities program to promote friendship and cultural exchange between participating countries. Participation is restricted to towns called "Stratford" that have a Shakespeare Theatre or Festival.
The River Avon has a local reputation as a source for river polished gemstones, particularly agate
Agate
Agate is a microcrystalline variety of silica, chiefly chalcedony, characterised by its fineness of grain and brightness of color. Although agates may be found in various kinds of rock, they are classically associated with volcanic rocks and can be common in certain metamorphic rocks.-Etymology...
, and for rapidly rising during increased rainfall upstream.
Three kilometres south-east of Stratford is a 56 hectares (138.4 acre) park called Knob Reserve (formerly known as the "Forest of Arden"), part of the Gunai/Kurnai Bataluk Cultural Trail, which winds its way through East Gippsland, highlighting the places of cultural significance to the first inhabitants. There are picnic facilities and an annual country music festival is held at Knob Reserve.
Stratford has a railway station
Stratford railway station, Victoria
Stratford is a railway station on the Bairnsdale railway line in Stratford, Victoria, Australia. It is 222km from Southern Cross station. Stratford is the only station between Sale and Bairnsdale which has an intermediate stop...
on the Bairnsdale railway line, which was reopened for passenger use in 2004. The Howitt Bicycle Trail passes through Stratford.
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...
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....
.
The town has a cricket team competing in the Sale/Maffra Cricket Association. They have won 4 A Grade premierships since reforming in 1978
History
The land around the Avon River was occupied by the Brayakuloong people of the GunaiGunai
The Gunai or Kurnai is an Indigenous Australian nation of south-east Australia whose territory occupied most of present-day Gippsland and much of the southern slopes of the Victorian Alps. The nation was not on friendly terms with the neighbouring Wurundjeri and Bunurong nations...
/Kurnai indigenous nation for thousands of years prior to European settlement.
Angus McMillan
Angus McMillan
Angus McMillan , was an explorer and pioneer pastoralist in Gippsland, Victoria, Australia. He is also known for being an instigator of many of the massacres against the Aboriginal peoples in the Gippsland region.-Early life:...
named the Avon River after the river of the same name in his native Scotland. In 1840 he established a pastoral run at Bushy Park, north-west of the township. William Odell Raymond established a run in the area in 1842, and built his house, Strathfieldsaye, during 1848–54. European settlement did not take place without resistance, and in return, massacres were inflicted by Angus McMillan and others on Gunai people, especially between the years of 1840 and 1850.
The township was established in the late 1850s and the Post Office opened on 1 May 1858.
With the 1860s gold rush to the Omeo
Omeo, Victoria
Omeo is a town in Victoria, Australia, located on the Great Alpine Road, east of Mount Hotham, in the Shire of East Gippsland. At the 2006 census, Omeo had a population of 452. The name is derived from the Aboriginal word for 'mountains' or 'hills'...
and Dargo
Dargo, Victoria
Dargo is a town in Victoria, Australia, located east of Melbourne, in the Shire of Wellington. At the 2006 census, Dargo and the surrounding area had a population of 144....
goldfields, the town of Stratford prospered. Historic buildings include the RSL Hall (1866), the Church of Holy Trinity (1868), the Methodist Church (1873), and the Post Office (1884).
In 1863 Reverend Friedrich Hagenauer
Friedrich Hagenauer
Friedrich Hagenauer was a Presbyterian minister and missionary in Australia who established Ebenezer Mission and Ramahyuck mission.Reverend Friedrich Hagenauer and Reverend F.W...
established Ramahyuck Mission on the banks of the Avon River near Lake Wellington to house the Ganai survivors from west and central Gippsland. The name combines "Ramah
Ramah
Ramah may refer to:In ancient Israel* Ramathaim-Zophim, the birth-place of Samuel* Ramoth-Gilead, a Levite city of refuge* Ramah in Benjamin* Baalath-Beer, also known as Ramoth of the South, in the tribe of Simeon...
", the home of Samuel in the First Book of Kings, with "yuck", an Aboriginal term reputedly meaning "our place". The mission sought to discourage all tribal ritual and culture, and replace it with Christian values and European customs. The Mission closed in 1908 and the few remaining residents were moved to Lake Tyers.