Bacchus Marsh | |||||||||||||
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 Main St, Bacchus Marsh | |||||||||||||
  Bacchus Marsh | |||||||||||||
| Coordinates:37°40′30″S144°26′20″E / 37.67500°S 144.43889°E /-37.67500; 144.43889 | |||||||||||||
| Country | Australia | ||||||||||||
| State | Victoria | ||||||||||||
| LGA | |||||||||||||
| Location | |||||||||||||
| Government | |||||||||||||
| • State electorate | |||||||||||||
| • Federal division | |||||||||||||
| Area | |||||||||||||
• Total | 196.3 km2 (75.8 sq mi) | ||||||||||||
| Elevation | 118 m (387 ft) | ||||||||||||
| Population | |||||||||||||
| • Totals | 24,717 (2021 (statistical urban area))[2] 7,808 (2021 (town proper))[3] | ||||||||||||
| • Density | 125.91/km2 (326.12/sq mi) | ||||||||||||
| Postcode | 3340 | ||||||||||||
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Bacchus Marsh (Wathawurrung:Pullerbopulloke)[4] is a town inVictoria,Australia, located approximately 50 kilometres (30 mi) north-west of the state capitalMelbourne, at a nearequidistance to the major cities of Melbourne,Ballarat andGeelong.
As of the2021 census, Bacchus Marsh has a population of 7,808,[5] while its statistical urban area (including the suburbsDarley,Maddingley, andHopetoun Park, among others) has a population of 24,717.[2] Bacchus Marsh is the largest urban area in theShire of Mooraboollocal government area.
Traditionally amarket garden area producing a large amount of the region'sfruits andvegetables, in recent decades it has transformed into the maincommuter town on the Melbourne–Ballarat corridor.[6][7]
It was named after the colonial settler Captain William Henry Bacchus, who saw the great value of this locality as it was situated on two rivers – theLerderderg andWerribee.
Bacchus Marsh is on the border between theWoiwurrung andWathaurong territories of theKulin Nation. The local clans were the Marpeang balug of the Wathaurong,[8] and the Gunung-willam-bulluk (Wurundjeri) of the Woiwurrung.[9] Bacchus Marsh was a meeting ground for anywhere between 150 and 400Aboriginals even after white settlement, andcorroborees were held quite regularly. While there do not appear to be any records of open hostilities between whites and indigenous people, by 1863 there were a total of only 33 Aboriginal people left in the Bacchus Marsh district, and apart from a handful of recollections of the original inhabitants preserved by pioneer settlers, little remains apart from present-day locality names, mainly of watercourses: Coimadai, Djerriwarrh, Korkuperrimul, Lerderderg, Merrimu, Myrniong, Werribee.[10][11] The Wathawurrung name for the area isPullerbopulloke with 'buluk' meaning lake.
One of the first white men to reach the Bacchus Marsh valley was pastoralist Kenneth Scobie Clarke (c. 1806–79), a native ofSutherland inScotland. Clarke was a manager for the Great Lake Company ofVan Diemen’s Land and arrived in thePort Phillip District fromGeorge Town on 25 March 1836. Captain Bacchus credited Clarke as being the first man to shear sheep in Victoria, although the Hentys had arrived inPortland with their sheep some two years earlier.
On 29 November 1836, Clarke headed west from Port Phillip with a large flock of sheep, arriving in the Bacchus Marsh district a few days later. He built a hut on the west bank of theLerderderg River near Darley, and lived there until early 1838. According to pastoralist George Russell, Clarke had acted on information obtained from Mr Aitken, anEdinburgh man, who was most put out when he discovered that Clarke had beaten him to the Pentland Hills run.[12]
In 1838, Englishman Captain William Henry Bacchus (1782–1849, originally of the2nd Royal Surrey Militia) and his son William Henry Bacchus junior (1820–87) also brought sheep fromTasmania and came to the district which now bears their name. On their arrival, Clarke made an arrangement with them and ceded his run, moving to the nearby hills known as the Pentlands. The then very swampy valley was not really suitable for sheep, as they were prone tofootrot. Clarke stayed in the district until 1840 or 1841, and later went toNew Zealand, where he died in 1879.
As all land within 3 miles (5 km) of asquatter’s hut was considered to belong to him, Bacchus and his son immediately set about consolidating their land holdings. By 1839–40, they had a homestead and four outstations on the Lardedark run, which in 1845 covered about 22 square miles (57 km2) and carried nearly 3,000 sheep. Between 1845–47 Captain Bacchus built the Manor House, a two-storeyGeorgian brick building that still stands in the township today. Captain Bacchus died in 1849 and was buried in what later became the grounds ofHoly Trinity Anglican Church, Gisborne Road. By 1851, Henry Bacchus junior had sold his holdings in Bacchus Marsh and moved toPeerewur (orPerewerrh) run nearBallarat.[11][13][14]
Situated roughly halfway between Melbourne and Ballarat, Bacchus Marsh was a popular stopover for travellers during theVictorian Gold Rush. Diarist Charles Evans described the location in 1853:
We passed through a delightful valley called Bachus's Marsh [sic], the first cultivated land we have seen since we left Melbourne – barley and oats were flourishing in the richest luxuriance. There was a steam flour mill, three good looking inns, and a number of houses and stores.[15]
The township was originally known as Ballan, a Post Office opening under that name around July 1844 (Bacchus Marsh from 1 July 1850).[16]The Bacchus Marsh Road District Board was proclaimed on 30 September 1856, with one of its first tasks being to construct a gravel road through the town, as at that time the road was barely passable in winter. Bacchus Marsh was created a district on 14 October 1862, and the Road Board was the governing body until the Shire of Bacchus Marsh was proclaimed on 23 January 1871.[17] The railway came to Bacchus Marsh on 15 February 1887, and the through line to Ballarat was built in 1890.[13][17][18]'
During the 1970s and 1980s it was home to the Bacchus Marsh Lion and Tiger Safari.[19]
In 1994 the Shire of Bacchus Marsh was amalgamated with the Shire of Ballan, and parts of the Shire of Bungaree and the Shire of Werribee, to form the Shire of Moorabool.[20]
Bacchus Marsh and its suburbs form the largest settlement in Moorabool Shire.
Bacchus Marsh grew rapidly from the 1990s.[citation needed]
Bacchus Marsh contains a number of heritage listed sites, including:
In addition, aPioneer Women's Memorial Avenue commemorates the lives of the women of the Bacchus Marsh area.[31]
At the2021 census, Bacchus Marsh had a population of 24,717.[2]
According to the2021 census:
It covers a large area in the Werribee Valley with its Central Business District centred along Main Street between Bennett Street to the north, Grant Street/Gisborne Road to the west, Young/Lord Streets to the east and Waddell/Simpson Streets to the south. Bacchus Marsh Village shopping centre is its main indoorshopping mall. The state suburb by the same name is home to 7,808[3] people and contains the central business district.
Beyond central Bacchus Marsh, suburban areas such as the former towns ofDarley (1861) to the north andMaddingley to the south continue to grow rapidly. Housing development has also occurred in the natural extension of Bacchus Marsh like Underbank, and its surrounding areas includingParwan,Hopetoun Park andMerrimu.
Automobiles are the main form of transport. TheWestern Freeway which is the main route to both Melbourne (approximately 48 minutes) in the east and Ballarat (46 minutes) to the west. The freeway divides Bacchus Marsh and its northern suburb Darley. Three interchanges serve the urban area – the Gisborne Road (full- diamond) along with Hallets Way and Bacchus Marsh Road (both with a half-diamond). With the exception of the central business district and neighbouring areas, the majority of the urban area is laid out in a street hierarchy pattern with collector roads leading to the two major cross roads – Bacchus Marsh Road (C802) and Bacchus Marsh-Gisborne Road/Bacchus Marsh-Geelong Road (C704) which bear the majority of vehicular traffic.
Until 2012, the entrance to the town from Melbourne was via Anthonys Cutting, a relatively steep downhill run, which is speed limited to 80 km/h. The freeway was realigned under theVictorian Transport Plan bypassing Anthony's cutting, resulting in decreased travel time to Melbourne.[32]
TheBacchus Marsh station is on theBallarat line.V/Line providesVLocity services toMelbourne (from 38 minutes) andBallarat (from 34 minutes).
Abus service connects the station with the town centre and other residential areas.
Bacchus Marsh Airfield (located in Parwan to the south) provides forgeneral aviation and the area is home to a flying school and threegliding clubs.
One of Bacchus Marsh’s principal recreation areas isMaddingley Park, which is a favourite picnic destination for both locals and visitors. Near the south gates of the park, opposite theBacchus Marsh railway station, is theNieuwesteeg Heritage Rose Garden of mainly twentieth century hybrid teas.
Walks along the Lerderderg River provide access to the steep, rugged and overgrownLerderderg Gorge and the extensive Wombat State Park that surrounds it, criss-crossed by four-wheel drive tracks, extensive bushwalking amongst historic mining relics and natural bush.
Bacchus Marsh Airfield is home to the largest site in Australia for recreational gliding.
The township of Bacchus Marsh is serviced by Western Health (formerly under Djerriwarrh Health Services) at the Bacchus Marsh Hospital formerly, Bacchus Marsh War Memorial Hospital, and several general practice medical centres, including Bacchus Marsh Medical Centre located opposite the hospital in Turner Street and The Elms Family Medical Centre located at the Bacchus Marsh Village Shopping Centre on Main Street near the Avenue of Honour.The Elms Family Medical Centre was established in 1994 and is actively involved in the teaching and mentoring of future general practitioners. Doctors from both practices provide comprehensive medical care to patients at the Bacchus Marsh Hospital, as well as at the local Providence Aged Care Hostel and Grant Lodge Nursing Home. Both clinics have affiliations with the Deakin University School of Medicine through the hosting of third year medical students as part of the Integrated Model of Medical Education in Rural Settings (IMMERSE) program, with The Elms first having a medical student in 2011 and the Bacchus Marsh Medical Centre in 2014.
Schools in Bacchus Marsh include:
Adult & Vocational Education
Community Learning
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Media related toBacchus Marsh at Wikimedia Commons
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