- Inverleigh, Victoria
Infobox Australian Place | type = town
name = Inverleigh
state = vic
caption = Inverleigh Hotel (1939)
lga =Golden Plains Shire
postcode = 3321
est =
pop = 1253 (2006)Census 2006 AUS | id = SSC25801 | name = Inverleigh (State Suburb) | accessdate = 2007-10-01 | quick = on]
elevation=
maxtemp =
mintemp =
rainfall =
stategov = Polwarth
fedgov = Corangamite
dist1 = 104
dir1 = SW
location1=Melbourne
dist2 = 31
dir2 = W
location2= Geelong
near-nw = Rokewood
near-n = Teesdale
near-ne = Lethbridge
near-w = Ombersley
near-e = Stonehaven
near-sw = Irrewarra
near-s = Winchelsea
near-se = GnarwarreInverleigh is a small rural township in Victoria,
Australia located convert|28|km|mi|0|lk=on west from the City of Geelong and convert|104|km|mi|0|lk=on from the state capital,Melbourne . At the 2006 census, Inverleigh had a population of 1253.Since the mid 1970s Inverleigh has become a dormitory suburb of
Geelong with some residents commuting to Melbourne. The impending opening of the Geelong ring road will improve access to Melbourne which should be only a 45 minute drive away. [Clive Dorman, "Geelong's housing to attract huge people influx", Geelong Advertiser 10th May 2008 ]Early history
Very little has been recorded of the original inhabitants of the area. The few records available are reports of conflict. In the summer of 1837/38 a band of aborigines attacked the lower station of the Clyde Company (near Lullote) with two aborigines being killed and another injured and in 1839 George Russell reported natives sheep duffing. [Lonsdale, Joan "Gateway to the West", Inverleigh progress Association, 1978, p5]
It has been speculated that the first European to arrive in Inverleigh was William Buckley, [Lonsdale, Joan, 1978, p5] but the first European known to have visited Inverleigh was the surveyor J.H. Wedge who arrived in 1835, probably naming the Leigh River after his Tasmanian farm 'Leighlands'.
Very soon thereafter the Weatherboard Station land was taken up either by George Russell or by station manager David Fisher on behalf of The Derwent Company. It was claimed that the weatherboard homestead built by the station manager was Victoria's first weatherboard homestead. ["A Step into the Past", Shire of Bannockburn Arts, Crafts and Historical Committee,1985, p 10] The name of the station is now commemorated by Weatherboard Road.
The Post Office opened on 11 October 1856. Citation
last = Premier Postal History | title = Post Office List | url = https://www.premierpostal.com/cgi-bin/wsProd.sh/Viewpocdwrapper.p?SortBy=VIC&country= | accessdate = 2008-04-11 ]The town today
The town has an
Australian Rules football team competing in theGeelong & District Football League .References
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
