Heyfield, Victoria
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2019}}
{{Use Australian English|date=August 2019}}
{{Infobox Australian place | type = town
| name = Heyfield
| state = vic
| image = Heyfield Temple Street.jpg
| caption = Temple Street
| use_lga_map = yes
| coordinates = {{coord|37|59|S|146|47|E|display=inline,title}}
| pushpin_label_position = right
| lga = Shire of Wellington
| postcode = 3858
| est =
| pop = 2,050
| pop_year = {{CensusAU|2021}}
| pop_footnotes = {{Census 2021 AUS | id = SAL21179 | name = Heyfield (Suburbs and Localities) | access-date = 11 June 2023 | quick = on}}
| elevation=
| maxtemp =
| mintemp =
| rainfall =
| stategov = Gippsland East
| fedgov = Gippsland
| dist1 = 206
| dir1 = E
| location1= Melbourne
| dist2 = 36
| dir2 = NW
| location2= Sale
| dist3 = 21
| dir3 = W
| location3= Maffra
}}
Heyfield is a town in Victoria, Australia, with a population of 1,993. It is {{convert|206|km|mi|0}} 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.
History
In 1841 an early settler, James McFarlane, 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.{{cite web |url=http://www.gippslandinfo.com.au/accom_result1.asp?Code=20270 |title=Archived copy |access-date=2008-02-24 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080723072045/http://www.gippslandinfo.com.au/accom_result1.asp?Code=20270 |archive-date=2008-07-23 }}, [http://www.heyfield.net/], [http://www.otp.com.au/heyfield.htm], {{cite web |url=http://www.visitvictoria.com/displayobject.cfm/objectid.0009B49C-8B79-1DB8-917780C476A90000/ |title=Heyfield - Destinations - Gippsland, Victoria, Australia |access-date=2008-02-24 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080731035955/http://www4.visitvictoria.com/displayobject.cfm/objectid.0009B49C-8B79-1DB8-917780C476A90000/ |archive-date=2008-07-31 }} It may have been renamed to reflect the spelling of the nearby Heyfield Station.{{Cite web |url=http://www.travelmate.com.au/Places/Places.asp?TownName=Heyfield_%5C_VIC |title=Heyfield, Victoria - Travelmate |access-date=24 February 2008 |archive-date=18 October 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071018153225/http://www.travelmate.com.au/Places/Places.asp?TownName=Heyfield_%5C_VIC |url-status=dead }}
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.{{Citation
| last = Premier Postal History | title = Post Office List | url = https://www.premierpostal.com/cgi-bin/wsProd.sh/Viewpocdwrapper.p?SortBy=VIC&country= | access-date = 2008-04-11 }}
The Heyfield Magistrates' Court closed on 1 January 1983, not having been visited by a Magistrate since 1970.{{cite web | url=https://www.audit.vic.gov.au/sites/default/files/19860901-Special-Report-4-Court-Closures-in-Victoria.pdf | title=Special Report No. 4 - Court Closures in Victoria | publisher=Auditor-General of Victoria | date=1986 |pages=78 | access-date=12 April 2020}}
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, Australian Sustainable Hardwoods, 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 impassable.
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.{{Citation | author= Golf Select | title = Heyfield | url = http://www.golfselect.com.au/armchair/courseView.aspx?course_id=988 | access-date = 2009-05-11 }}
Cultural notes
The author Mary Grant Bruce 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.
Notable people
- Wil Anderson - Australian stand-up comedian and TV and radio personality
- David Wojcinski - Geelong FC Player.
- Leigh Brown - Retired Collingwood FC Player. Melbourne FC assistant coach.
- Brent Macaffer - Collingwood FC Player.
Gallery
File:Heyfield police station - April 2021.jpg|Police station
File:Heyfield primary school - April 2021.jpg|Primary school
File:Heyfield Railway Hotel - April 2021.jpg|Railway Hotel
File:Heyfield war memorial - April 2021.jpg|War memorial
File:Saint James Anglican Church in Heyfield - April 2021.jpg|Saint James Anglican Church
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [http://www.heyfield.net/ Heyfield]
- [http://www.smh.com.au/news/Victoria/Heyfield/2005/02/17/1108500206536.html Sydney Morning Herald - Heyfield]
{{Towns in Wellington Shire}}
{{authority control}}