Kingston, Victoria

Infobox Australian Place | type = town
name = Kingston
state = vic


caption = Commercial Hotel in Kingston
lga = Shire of Hepburn
postcode =
est = 3364
pop =
elevation=
maxtemp =
mintemp =
rainfall =
stategov = Ripon
fedgov = Ballarat
dist1 = 130
dir1 = WNW
location1= Melbourne
dist2 = 27
dir2 = NE
location2= Ballarat
dist3 = 23
dir3 = W
location3= Daylesford
dist4 = 9
dir4 = NE
location4=Creswick

Kingston is a small town in rural Shire of Hepburn in Victoria, Australia. Kingston is located about 15 km from Creswick, just off the Midland Highway and is about 20 km from Daylesford. Kingston's post code is 3364.

Kingston was once a thriving gold mining town during the Victorian Gold Rush and became the administrative centre of the Creswick Shire. Kingston once had a large coach and vehicle building manufacturer, Barker Brothers, up to five hotels, a flour mill and numurous chaff mills. After the miners left so did the industry and in 1976 the railway station and the Creswick-Daylesford train line closed.

Now, Kingston supports numerous bed and breakfasts, a small country pub and rural cropping. The areas rich red volcanic soil and good rainfall support agricultural industries including potatoes (typically grown for food processor McCains), sheep and wheat. Kingston still retains some of its old buildings (now all in private ownership) such as the old Shire Office building, the former Church of England and Uniting Church, the Commercial Hotel and a magnificent Avenue of Honour of elm trees dedicated to those who served in World War I.

In December 2004, Kingston Primary School closed its doors due to declining enrollments after 142 years.

External links

* [http://www.ballarat.com/smeaton/history.htm A Brief History of the Region]
* [http://www.slv.vic.gov.au/jcollins/0/1/0/doc/jc010509.shtml Former Creswick Shire Hall-Photo]
* [http://www.theage.com.au/news/National/School-closes-after-142-years/2004/12/14/1102787077811.html "The Age"-School closes after 142 years]