Macedon, Victoria

Macedon's name derives from the Ancient Kingdom of Macedon. The toponym Macedon is derived itself from the ancient Greek adjective μακεδνός (makednós), meaning "tall", possibly descriptive of the inhabitants of Macedon.Liddell and Scott 1940. It has the same root as the adjective μακρός (makros), meaning "long" or "tall" in Ancient Greek. The name is originally believed to have meant either "highlanders", "the tall ones", or "high grown men".{{cite book|last=Engels|first=Johannes|chapter=Macedonians and Greeks|title=A Companion to Ancient Macedonia|location=Oxford|publisher=Wiley-Blackwell|year=2010|isbn=978-1-4051-7936-2|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lkYFVJ3U-BIC| editor-given1 = Joseph | editor-surname1 = Roisman| editor-given2 = Ian | editor-surname2 = Worthington|page=89}}; {{cite book|last=Borza|first=Eugene N.|author-link=Eugene N. Borza|title=Makedonika|publisher=Regina Books|year=1995|isbn=0-941690-65-2|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PGNoAAAAMAAJ|page=114}}; Eugene N. Borza writes that the "highlanders" or "Makedones" of the mountainous regions of western Macedonia are derived from northwest Greek stock; they were akin both to those who at an earlier time may have migrated south to become the historical "Dorians".

The original inhabitants of Macedon are the Kulin nation - specifically, the Wurundjeri, Dja Dja Wurrrung and Taungurung people, who have lived there continually for at least 26,000 years.{{Cite news|url=http://www.mrsc.vic.gov.au/See-Do/Arts-Culture/Culture-Heritage/Aboriginal-Cultural-Heritage|title=Aboriginal cultural heritage|access-date=2018-05-22|language=en-AU}} Their communities are still active today.

Europeans arrived in 1837, and early interactions between Kulin Aboriginal people and European settlers{{Cite news|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article8747805|title=PORT PHILLIP.|date=1840-02-07|work=Hobart Town Courier and Van Diemen's Land Gazette (Tas. : 1839 - 1840)|access-date=2019-09-27|pages=4}} were strained, with reports of thefts of stock;{{Cite web|url=http://www.gisbornemountmacedon.org.au/history.htm|title=History - Gisborne & Mount Macedon Districts Historical Society Inc|last=Gerasimon|first=Peter|website=www.gisbornemountmacedon.org.au|access-date=2018-05-24}} however there were no massacres of Aboriginal people reported in the district in the authoritative study.{{Cite book|title=Scars in the Landscape|publisher=AUSTRALIAN INSTITUTE OF ABORIGINAL AND TORRES STRAIT ISLANDER STUDIES|pages=http://nationalunitygovernment.org/pdf/2014/IanDClark-Scars_in_the_landscape.pdf.pdf}}

In the 1850s, gold was discovered in the Victorian Goldfields. Middle Gully, as Macedon was called back then, became a hub of activity and provided inns, beer houses, coffee tents, blacksmiths’ forges and stores for the crowds of gold miners.{{Cite web|url=http://www.gisbornemountmacedon.org.au/history.htm|title=History - Gisborne & Mount Macedon Districts Historical Society Inc|last=Gerasimon|first=Peter|website=www.gisbornemountmacedon.org.au|access-date=2018-05-22}}

The gold rush of the 1850s-1870s ensured that the area continued to flourish, and the construction of the railway between Melbourne and Bendigo from 1858 to 1862 brought many new residents to the region.

The town was affected by the land boom of the late 1880s, with investors being brought up by specially arranged trains.{{Cite news|url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/240860020?searchTerm=macedon%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20&searchLimits=l-format=Article|title=Macedon|date=1887-12-08|work=The Kyneton Observer|access-date=2019-02-09}} At the peak, property prices increased by up to 3 or 4 times in a short time.{{Cite news|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article240861959|title=MACEDON|date=1888-05-24|work=Kyneton Observer (Vic. : 1856 - 1900)|access-date=2019-02-09|pages=2}}{{Cite news|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article240862164|title=MACEDON|date=1888-06-12|work=Kyneton Observer (Vic. : 1856 - 1900)|access-date=2019-02-09|pages=2}}

By 1893, the settlement had taken on the name Macedon and was growing through a co-operative association model with shared labour clearing land and building dwellings and fencing. Local industry sprung up, including a butter factory, said by a Melbourne newspaper at the time as "situated about one mile from the station, on the road to the mount. The building is in brick, 25 x 46ft. The separator is 100gal. capacity, and can revolve 7,000 times per minute. It contains all the latest improvements in butter-making machinery. The whole plant is worked by a six-horse water-wheel, supplied by pipes from a private reservoir."{{Cite news|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article240877534|title=WOODEND.|date=1893-11-14|work=Kyneton Observer (Vic. : 1856 - 1900)|access-date=2019-02-11|pages=2}}{{Cite news|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article221155333|title=NOTES AND COMMENTS.|date=1893-10-14|work=Weekly Times (Melbourne, Vic. : 1869 - 1954)|access-date=2019-02-11|pages=26}}

Throughout the late 19th and early 20th century, Melbourne's wealthy social elite began to settle the area in earnest due to large blocks of land on the south side of Mount Macedon being released to them by the government.

In 1903 the Australian handbook described Macedon as "a post, money-order, savings bank and telegraph town. It is situated on the Melbourne and Echuca railway, 43¼ rail miles NNW of the former. There are three hotels, Moody's Family, Victorian Alps and State Nursery Hotel, two general stores, a State school (No. 1,660), Anglican, Wesleyan and Roman Catholic churches, Jubilee hall, library and a State nursery in the neighbourhood, also several eucalyptus oil works."{{Cite web|url=https://www.victorianplaces.com.au/macedon|title=Macedon {{!}} Victorian Places|website=www.victorianplaces.com.au|access-date=2019-01-22}}

The former State Nursery Hotel was built in 1859 by James Nicholls and Eliza Weedon.{{Cite web |title=Nikkei Property Listings - 75 Smith Street, Macedon |url=https://propertylistings.nikkei.jp/en/homes/5154133/victoria-property-for-sale/75-smith-street-macedon |website=propertylistings.nikkei.jp }}{{Cite web |title=Victorian Heritage Database |url=https://vhd.heritagecouncil.vic.gov.au/places/68915#statement-significance |access-date=2025-03-22 |website=vhd.heritagecouncil.vic.gov.au}} It was originally called the Bricklayers Arms as it had been constructed of bricks from the publican's nearby Nicholls Brickworks. It was given the name State Nursery Hotel in 1881. The hotel became a private dwelling in 1926 and has survived to the present.{{Cite web |date=2024-11-30 |title=Gisborne Gazette December 2024 by Gisborne Gazette Community Newspaper - Issuu |url=https://issuu.com/oakhill3599/docs/2024-12 |access-date=2025-03-22 |website=issuu.com |language=en}}

The Victorian Alps Hotel was built in 1874 for William Salter Cook. It was located on the corner of Victoria Street and Margaret Street. In 1915 the hotel licence was cancelled and it became a private home until it was destroyed in the 1983 Ash Wednesday fires. A write-up in the Gisbourne Gazette of a game played by the Macedon Cats against the nearby Gisborne team in 1892 mentions a visit by both teams to the Victorian Alps Hotel after the game.

The Macedon Railway Hotel was built in 1870. In 1885 the hotel was renamed the Macedon Family Hotel. During the Ash Wednesday bushfires in 1983, a large number of locals & pets{{Cite journal |last=Valent |first=Paul |date=1 September 1984 |title=The Ash Wednesday bushfires in Victoria |url=https://www.paulvalent.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/disasters_consequences_02.pdf |journal=The Medical Journal of Australia |volume=141 |pages=291-300}} successfully sheltered in the hotel throughout the firestorm, with a report from 1984 describing "some men bravely hosed the outside of the hotel, while others, even previous fighters, refused to take their turns because of fear".{{Cite web |title=Artist Portal |url=https://artists.australianculturalfund.org.au/s/project/a2EMn0000057yr8/the-ash-wednesday-play-creative-development-fundraiser |access-date=2025-03-22 |website=artists.australianculturalfund.org.au}}

The village of Macedon is home to a State significant heritage listed war memorial Avenue of Honour,{{Cite web|url=http://monumentaustralia.org.au/themes/conflict/display/32047-honour-avenue|title=Avenue of Honour|website=Monument Australia|access-date=2019-01-21}}{{Cite web |title=AVENUE OF HONOUR Macedon, Statement of Significance - Victorian Heritage Database |url=https://vhd.heritagecouncil.vic.gov.au/places/197303 |access-date=2025-03-22 |website=vhd.heritagecouncil.vic.gov.au}} an extensive planting of 154 oak trees on both sides of the avenue for approximately one kilometre in length between the cemetery at Bent Street and Mt Macedon Road. The trees, comprising Pin Oaks, English oaks, Algerian oaks and oak hybrids were planted by members of the local community working each Saturday for three months in 1918, with each tree planted representing the life of an enlisted soldier from the local area.{{Cite news|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article154397532|title=Macedon Avenue of Honour.|date=1918-06-22|work=Woodend Star (Vic. : 1915 - 1918)|access-date=2019-10-02|pages=2}}

The opening ceremony for the Avenue was held on 10 August 1918 with "the State Premier (Mr. Lawson) and the Federal and State members for the district are expected to be present, and a strong band is to be in attendance".{{Cite web|url=https://vhd.heritagecouncil.vic.gov.au/places/126901|title=Macedon Avenue of Honour|website=Victorian Heritage Database}}{{Cite news|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article154397640|title=MACEDON AVENUE OF HONOR.|date=1918-08-17|work=Woodend Star (Vic. : 1915 - 1918)|access-date=2019-10-02|pages=2}}{{Cite news|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article154398517|title=Macedon Honour Avenue|date=1918-08-10|work=Woodend Star (Vic. : 1915 - 1918)|access-date=2019-10-02|pages=2}} The Premier said that this Avenue "would serve to remind the future generations of their obligations to the men, and women too, who were now doing so much for mankind, and, furthermore, would stand as an example of great public service" and that the community "will regard it as a sacred duty to look after this avenue, care for the trees, and remember the grand purpose underlying the whole movement".

The autumn colours of the Avenue of Honour attract a large influx of visitors annually, prompting the local council to introduce temporary traffic and parking restrictions in recent years.{{Cite web|url=http://www.mrsc.vic.gov.au/See-Do/Our-Townships/Macedon-Township/Visitors-during-autumn|title=Autumn visitors|website=www.mrsc.vic.gov.au|language=en-AU|access-date=2019-01-21}}

Macedon was one of the towns extensively damaged by the Ash Wednesday bushfires on 16 February 1983, with 2 deaths in the town and 64 houses destroyed.

Most of the shops, the Catholic Church (circa 1891) and Anglican church (circa 1931) were burnt, along with the Jubilee hall, the fire station, the school and the Water Board's office. At least 160 residents survived by sheltering overnight in the Macedon Family Club Hotel, which had been saved by Macedon brigade.{{Cite news|last=Kennedy|first=Barry|date=2013-02-18|title=Remember 30 years ago|work=Herald Sun|url=https://www.heraldsun.com.au/leader/north/as-it-happened-30-years-on-after-ash-wednesday-bushfires-in-macedon-and-mt-macedon/news-story/126d0b63601b0d72bbfaf1e780e1926f|access-date=2021-11-25}} Witnesses reported that during the ordeal the hotel's windows were "red-hot" and "sparks continuously sprayed the room each time the door was opened".{{Cite news|date=1983-02-18|title=THE SOUTH-EAST BUSHFIRES Houses and hopes reduced to ash|work=Canberra Times|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article116450877|access-date=2021-11-25}}

The Victorian newspaper The Age reported the next day that "A fire officer came out of Macedon at 3am and said: 'I saw one house and one pub standing.'"

Australian Defence Force members were deployed to assist the town in the aftermath, such as disposing of dead livestock, after the Victorian Minister for Police and Emergency Services requested help from the Federal Government.{{Cite news|url=https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/35-years-on-from-ash-wednesday-20180215-h0w5i2.html|title=35 years on from Ash Wednesday|first1=Andrews|last1=Rule|first2=Roy|last2=Eccleston|first3=Tony|last3=Harrington|first4=Peter|last4=Weiniger|date=17 February 1983|work=The Age|access-date=15 August 2019}}

A public park near the centre of Macedon, located across the road from Macedon's railway station, now serves as a memorial to the losses of Ash Wednesday.{{Cite web|url=http://www.mrsc.vic.gov.au/See-Do/Parks-Gardens-Reserves/Find-a-park/Ash-Wednesday-Park|title=Ash Wednesday Park|website=www.mrsc.vic.gov.au|language=en-AU|access-date=2019-01-21}}

In recent years, Macedon's popularity has increased:{{Cite web|url=https://www.realestate.com.au/news/median-house-prices-in-the-macedon-ranges-soar-to-greater-heights/|title=Median house prices in the Macedon Ranges soar to greater heights - realestate.com.au|website=www.realestate.com.au|language=en-US|access-date=2018-12-19}} proximity to Melbourne, boutique bed and breakfast accommodation,{{Citation|last=RegionalLivingVic|title=Kevin & Bruce from Mirkwood Forest - Ready When You Are|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_vIV0RSWzY |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211213/q_vIV0RSWzY |archive-date=2021-12-13 |url-status=live|access-date=2018-12-20}}{{cbignore}} food and wine industries and arts scene have made the region highly sought after, drawing tourists and new residents, making the local population growth rate among the fastest in regional Victoria.{{Cite news|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-02-15/macedon-planning/9445616|title=Election battle looms over Macedon Ranges growth|date=2018-02-15|work=ABC News|access-date=2018-05-22|language=en-AU}}

Locals, worried about the environmental and cultural impacts of this growing popularity, successfully campaigned for new planning controls to protect the character of the region.{{Cite web|url=https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/we-dont-want-it-to-become-like-melbourne-new-rules-to-protect-macedon-ranges-20171212-h03awv.html|title='We don't want it to become like Melbourne': New rules to protect Macedon Ranges|last=Cowie|first=Tom|date=2017-12-13|website=The Age|language=en|access-date=2018-05-22}}

A number of media reports have made reference to the influx of young professionals, artists and 'hipsters' to the region,{{Cite news|url=https://www.domain.com.au/news/the-design-files-elizabeth-barnett-creates-a-farmhouse-retreat-in-the-macedon-ranges-20170818-gxmrsk/|title=The Design Files: Artist Elizabeth Barnett creates a farmhouse retreat in the Macedon Ranges|date=2017-08-18|work=Domain|access-date=2018-05-22|language=en-US}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.bendigoadvertiser.com.au/story/4404326/hipster-haven-why-crowds-flock-to-kyneton-photos/|title=Hipster haven: Why crowds flock to Kyneton {{!}} Photos|last=Zhou|first=Christina|date=2017-01-15|work=Bendigo Advertiser|access-date=2018-05-22|language=en}}{{Cite news|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-02-04/lee-lee-chin-scolds-hipsters-old-kyneton-hospital/7139410|title=Lee Lin Chin scolds hipsters to save old hospital|date=2016-02-04|work=ABC News|access-date=2018-05-22|language=en-AU}} drawn by the region's natural environment, proximity to the city and access to city-style cafes and restaurants.{{Cite web|url=https://www.realestate.com.au/advice/hippy-towns-get-hip/|title=When Hippy Towns Get Hip|website=www.realestate.com.au|language=en-US|access-date=2018-05-22}}

There are several commercial vineyards open to the public in the area immediately surrounding Macedon, including North Wine{{Cite web|url=https://www.northwine.com.au/the-vineyard/|title=The Vineyard|website=North Wine|language=en-US|access-date=2019-02-01}} and Mount Macedon Winery, which at one time was owned by entertainer Olivia Newton-John.{{Cite web|url=https://mountmacedonwinery.com.au/history/|title=History|website=MMW|language=en-US|access-date=2019-02-01}}

Wild Action Zoo, a licensed private zoological facility on 11 acres of land is located in Macedon and provides education about animals via prearranged visits or via a mobile zoo around the State of Victoria.{{Cite web|url=http://www.wildaction.com.au/zoo-pages/about_us/wild_action/about_wild_action.html|title=WILD ACTION - About Wild Action|website=www.wildaction.com.au|access-date=2019-10-11}} The zoo's owner, Chris Humfrey starred in a TV series "Chris Humfrey's Animal Instinct" which ran on the Australian version of Animal Planet, a Pay-TV channel.{{Cite web|title=Animal crusader's new TV show|url=https://thewest.com.au/entertainment/tv/zoo-mans-animal-crackers-ng-b88399937z|date=2017-03-02|website=The West Australian|language=en|access-date=2020-05-19}}

The initial economy of the town was based on timber and servicing the gold rush further inland from Melbourne.

Later a number of eucalyptus distilleries opened up in the town due to a considerable demand for eucalyptus for medicinal purposes.{{Cite news|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article221807056|title=A EUCALYPTUS DISTILLERY.|date=1910-10-29|work=Weekly Times (Melbourne, Vic. : 1869 - 1954)|access-date=2019-10-02|pages=39}}{{Cite news|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article198157477|title=MONEY VALUE IN TREES.|date=1911-05-27|work=The Leader (Melbourne, Vic. : 1862 - 1918, 1935)|access-date=2019-10-02|pages=12}} The first was opened in 1894 which was "a eucalyptus oil distillery, which is to be erected in Mrs Pinchoffs paddock by Mr Moody, of the Macedon Hotel".{{Cite news|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article240880893|title=MACEDON.|date=1894-06-14|work=Kyneton Observer (Vic. : 1856 - 1900)|access-date=2019-10-02|pages=3}} The "Wombat Brand" eucalyptus oil was manufactured at the Macedon Eucalyptus Oil Distillery in the late 1800s.{{Cite news|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article58573610|title=Eucalyptus Oil advertisement|date=1899-05-12|work=The Mercury and Weekly Courier (Vic. : 1878 - 1903)|access-date=2019-10-02|pages=4}}

File:Wombat_Brand_Eucalyptus_Oil_Macedon_Victoria.png

As of the 2016 census, the main industries employing people in the Macedon area is Education & Training (13.1%), Healthcare and Social Assistance (10.5%), Construction (10%), Professional, Scientific and Technical Services (9.4%), Public Administration and Safety (7.3%), Retail (6.4%) and Manufacturing (6%).{{Cite web|url=https://profile.id.com.au/macedon-ranges/industries?WebId=130|title=Industry sector of employment {{!}} Macedon Ranges Shire {{!}} Community profile|website=profile.id.com.au|access-date=2019-10-02}}

The railway line from Melbourne was constructed in 1861, one year after the township was surveyed, near a once-permanent creek. The township was first named Middle Gully, however within a few years of the opening of the railway, Middle Gully's name was changed to Macedon. The railway line's route includes heritage listed Middle Gully rail bridge, completed in 1862 just to the west of Macedon which is an example of one of the earliest metal plate girder road bridges in Victoria.{{Cite web|url=https://vhd.heritagecouncil.vic.gov.au/places/71648|title=Middle Gully Bridge over Melbourne-Bendigo Railway|website=Heritage Council Victoria - Victorian Heritage Database|access-date=2019-02-01}}

The railway at Macedon later transported horticultural produce & timber to Melbourne and was the stopping-off point for visitors to resort facilities on Mount Macedon.

Macedon railway station is located on the V/Line Bendigo line.

In 1970 the Tullamarine Freeway was opened, putting Macedon within easier commuting distance of outer metropolitan Melbourne.

Macedon Primary School is a State public school that was established in 1869. The school maintains a current enrolment of 242 students as at 2019.{{Cite web|url=http://www.macedonps.vic.edu.au/web/entries.php?cat=107438&sid=104676452&catname=About&schoolid=16226|title=Macedon Primary School - About|website=www.macedonps.vic.edu.au|access-date=2019-01-22}}

Macedon Grammar was a secondary school that operated from 1979 to 2014. In November 2014, Macedon Grammar school went into administration and the Victorian government announced in December 2014 that the school would close.{{Cite web|url=http://www.abc.net.au/local/photos/2015/01/30/4171117.htm|title=Author John Marsden buys Macedon Grammar School|last=romensky|first=larissa|date=2015-01-30|website=ABC Central Victoria|accessdate=2019-01-31}}

After Macedon Grammar school was closed in 2014{{Cite web|url=https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/macedon-grammar-school-shut-down-by-government-20141225-12dopj.html|title=Macedon Grammar School shut down by government|last=Dow|first=Chris Vedelago, Aisha|date=2014-12-25|website=The Age|language=en|access-date=2019-01-31}} the site was purchased the following year by children's author John Mardsen who opened the Alice Miller School, a secondary school for 200 pupils focused on the arts. It is based on the same principles as his Candlebark School (opened 2006) in the Macedon Ranges. The school campus occupies a site of 80 acres of primarily bushland. Facilities include 15 classrooms, science laboratories, gymnasium, 10 metre indoor heated pool, tennis and basketball courts and a five-hole golf course.{{Cite web|url=http://www.alicemillerschool.com/aboutus/|title=About Us|website=Alice Miller School|language=en-US|access-date=2020-01-30}}

Macedon is home to the Macedon Football & Netball Club, known as the Macedon Cats. The club was founded in 1887.{{Cite web |title=About us {{!}} Club History {{!}} Cats Football & Netball Club |url=https://macedoncats.com.au/club-history/ |access-date=2025-03-22 |website=Macedon Cats |language=en-US}}

The local bushland surrounding was Macedon was harvested extensively for timber since 1850s.

However the timber industry had so denuded the entire surrounding mountain range, that in 1872, the State Government established the 100 acre Macedon State Nursery,{{Cite news|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article138099930|title=THE MACEDON STATE NURSERY.|date=1885-07-04|work=Australasian (Melbourne, Vic. : 1864 - 1946)|access-date=2019-01-21|pages=10}} to encourage the replanting of the mountain and to supply seedlings to all parts of Victoria, which it did at no cost to public institutions such as schools, benevolent institutions, hospitals and reserves. By 1888, annual production was around 200,000 seedlings with a projected annual output by 1890 of 700,000-1 million plants.{{Cite news|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article9203621|title=[From Melbourne papers.] VICTORIA.|date=1888-12-25|work=Mercury (Hobart, Tas. : 1860 - 1954)|access-date=2019-02-08|pages=3}}

Newspaper articles from the late 19th and early 20th century describe the wide variety of plants that flourished at the State Nursery in spite of its poor topsoil and craggy terrain.{{Cite news|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article139721185|title=THE MACEDON STATE NURSERY.|date=1896-02-01|work=Australasian (Melbourne, Vic. : 1864 - 1946)|access-date=2019-09-26|pages=11}} One description of a visit to the nursery by the Minister of Mines and Forests in 1909 was of "many fine specimens of Oregon, American spruce, Californian redwood, yellow pine, and Himalayan cedar".{{Cite web |title=STATE FORESTS. - PLANTATIONS AT CRESWICK AND MACEDON. AN OFFICIAL VISIT. - The Ballarat Star (Vic. : 1865 - 1924) - 14 May 1909 |url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/217288228 |access-date=2025-01-31 |website=Trove |language=en}} Cool-climate trees like cypress, larch, cedar and pine thrived at the high altitude; deciduous species of oak, ash and birch grew well, as did native eucalypts and casuarinas.{{Cite web|url=https://www.slv.vic.gov.au/contribute-create/vicfix/state-nursery|title=State Nursery|website=State Library Victoria|language=en|access-date=2019-01-21}}

The majority of the trees that were propagated at the nursery were of European and English varieties with which the landowners were familiar, hence the unique character of many of the early avenues in nearby towns such as Gisborne and in the grand gardens of Mount Macedon.{{Cite web|url=http://www.gisbornemountmacedon.org.au/history.htm|title=History of the District|website=Gisborne and Mount Macedon Districts Historical Society Inc.|access-date=2019-01-21}} Trials of the cultivation of other crops such as tea and tobacco were undertaken, with little success.{{Cite news|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article196963196|title=FORESTRY IN VICTORIA.|date=1890-05-02|work=Age (Melbourne, Vic. : 1854 - 1954)|access-date=2019-02-08|pages=5}}

This nursery also provided training & employment for many of the former timber industry workers and to boys and young men through the Boy's Farm School that operated at the government nursery from around 1882 to 1885.{{Cite web |title=Boys' Farm School, Macedon State Nursery |url=https://www.findandconnect.gov.au/entity/boys-farm-school-macedon-state-nursery/ |access-date=2025-03-22 |website=Find and Connect |language=en-AU}}

Perhaps as a consequence of its success, Macedon Nursery periodically received complaints of unfair competition from the nursery industry until it was closed by the Government in 1995.

There are a number of established commercial timber plantations around Macedon in the Black Forest. The plantations were established by the State Government in 1880{{Cite book|url=https://openresearch-repository.anu.edu.au/bitstream/1885/114759/2/b16120644.pdf|title=A History of Forestry in Australia|last=Carron|first=Leslie Thornley|publisher=Australian National University Press|year=1985|isbn=0-08-029874-5|location=Australia|pages=198|lccn=84-71363}} and were privatised through the sale of the Victorian Plantations Corporation in 1998 to Hancock Timber Resource Group for $550 million to form Hancock Victorian Plantations (HVP).

The Macedon Black Forest plantations are now owned and operated by a private company HVP Plantations.{{Cite web|url=https://www.hvp.com.au/about-hvp/hvp-landholdings/|title=HVP Plantations {{!}} More than just a source of timber|website=HVP|language=en|access-date=2019-01-21}}

{{Weather box

|location = Macedon Forestry

|metric first = yes

|single line = yes

|precipitation colour = green

|Jan record high C = 39.4

|Feb record high C = 38.2

|Mar record high C = 36.1

|Apr record high C = 29.1

|May record high C = 23.9

|Jun record high C = 16.9

|Jul record high C = 18.3

|Aug record high C = 22.5

|Sep record high C = 25.0

|Oct record high C = 30.6

|Nov record high C = 37.0

|Dec record high C = 37.2

|year record high C = 39.4

|Jan high C = 23.0

|Feb high C = 23.2

|Mar high C = 20.0

|Apr high C = 15.4

|May high C = 11.4

|Jun high C = 8.6

|Jul high C = 7.8

|Aug high C = 9.4

|Sep high C = 12.1

|Oct high C = 15.8

|Nov high C = 18.9

|Dec high C = 21.7

|year high C = 15.6

|Jan mean C = 17.1

|Feb mean C = 17.5

|Mar mean C = 15.0

|Apr mean C = 11.4

|May mean C = 8.4

|Jun mean C = 6.0

|Jul mean C = 5.1

|Aug mean C = 6.2

|Sep mean C = 8.2

|Oct mean C = 11.1

|Nov mean C = 13.5

|Dec mean C = 15.7

|Jan low C = 11.2

|Feb low C = 11.8

|Mar low C = 10.0

|Apr low C = 7.5

|May low C = 5.5

|Jun low C = 3.5

|Jul low C = 2.5

|Aug low C = 3.1

|Sep low C = 4.4

|Oct low C = 6.4

|Nov low C = 8.1

|Dec low C = 9.8

|year low C = 7.0

|Jan record low C = 0.0

|Feb record low C = 2.2

|Mar record low C = 0.5

|Apr record low C = -2.0

|May record low C = -2.8

|Jun record low C = -6.0

|Jul record low C = -6.0

|Aug record low C = -4.2

|Sep record low C = -5.9

|Oct record low C = -2.5

|Nov record low C = -3.0

|Dec record low C = -1.0

|year record low C = -6.0

|Jan precipitation mm = 47.8

|Feb precipitation mm = 50.9

|Mar precipitation mm = 53.1

|Apr precipitation mm = 63.1

|May precipitation mm = 74.7

|Jun precipitation mm = 84.2

|Jul precipitation mm = 83.8

|Aug precipitation mm = 86.8

|Sep precipitation mm = 86.5

|Oct precipitation mm = 81.3

|Nov precipitation mm = 67.6

|Dec precipitation mm = 57.5

|year precipitation mm = 854.2

|Jan rain days = 7.4

|Feb rain days = 7.0

|Mar rain days = 8.8

|Apr rain days = 10.3

|May rain days = 13.7

|Jun rain days = 15.1

|Jul rain days = 16.4

|Aug rain days = 16.1

|Sep rain days = 14.4

|Oct rain days = 13.3

|Nov rain days = 10.4

|Dec rain days = 9.2

|year rain days = 142.1

|humidity colour=green

|Jan afthumidity = 51

|Feb afthumidity = 49

|Mar afthumidity = 51

|Apr afthumidity = 60

|May afthumidity = 73

|Jun afthumidity = 80

|Jul afthumidity = 76

|Aug afthumidity = 72

|Sep afthumidity = 70

|Oct afthumidity = 62

|Nov afthumidity = 57

|Dec afthumidity = 55

|year humidity = 63

|source 1 ={{Cite web |date=2022-11-03 |title=Climate statistics for Australian locations |url=http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/averages/tables/cw_087036_All.shtml |access-date=2022-11-05}}

|date=November 2019

}}

Macedon is often known as the town from "Picnic at Hanging Rock", the 1975 mystery movie based on the novel of the same name.

Parts of the 2009 Nicolas Cage film "Knowing" was shot around Macedon, most notably the local petrol station which was renovated to appear more like an American gas station. Most of the film was also shot nearby in Mount Macedon.

The television series 'Chris Humfrey's Wild Life' was filmed in Macedon. The series aired in March 2011 on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

The 2018 remake of Picnic at Hanging Rock was filmed in the region, and the award-winning score was composed in the region by local producer Jan Skubiszewski.

The Macedon Reservoir was used as the location for the trailer park in the opening sequences of the Liam Neeson film Blacklight in 2020. Filming was undertaken with access to the area controlled as part of local COVID-19 restrictions.{{Cite web |last=Hume |first=Amy |date=2020-11-10 |title=Hollywood comes to the Ranges |url=https://midlandexpress.com.au/entertainment/2020/11/10/hollywood-comes-to-the-ranges/ |access-date=2025-03-22 |website=Midland Express |language=en-US}}

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• [https://map.chronicle.rip/macedon-cemetery Macedon Cemetery deceased records and online map] at Chronicle Cemetery Map

{{Towns in Macedon Ranges Shire}}

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Category:Shire of Macedon Ranges