Serpentine, Victoria

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


caption = Serpentine Hotel
lga = Shire of Loddon
postcode = 3517
est = 1863
pop = 380 (2006)Census 2006 AUS | id = SSC26595 | name = Serpentine (State Suburb) | accessdate = 2007-10-01 | quick = on]
elevation=
maxtemp =
mintemp =
rainfall =
stategov = Swan Hill
fedgov = Murray
dist1 = 200
dir1 = NW
location1= Melbourne
dist2 = 50
dir2 = NW
location2= Bendigo
dist3 = 138
dir3 = SE
location3= Swan Hill

Serpentine is a town in north west Victoria, Australia. Located on the Loddon Valley Highway, the town is 201 kilometres north west of the state capital, Melbourne and 51 kilometres north west of the regional centre, Bendigo. Serpentine is in the Shire of Loddon Local government area and had a population of 380 at the 2006 census.

The town is named for Serpentine Creek, a tributary of the Loddon River. The creek in turn was named for explorer Thomas Mitchell's description of the River Red Gum trees lining the rivers and creeks of the area.

Selectors began to take up allotments in 1862 and the townsite was established as Serpentine Creek in 1863. A Post Office under that name had been open since 1848, the name being changed to Serpentine in 1917.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 ]

It eventually became the seat of the then Shire of East Loddon. Today, Serpentine is a producer of grain and cattle and a popular place for anglers.

The Burke and Wills expedition is alleged to passed the townsite in 1860 while attempting to reach the Gulf of Carpentaria.

The town has an Australian Rules football team (Bears Lagoon-Serpentine) competing in the Loddon Valley Football League.

References

External links

* [http://www.theage.com.au/news/Victoria/Serpentine/2005/02/17/1108500207292.html SMH Travel site]
* [http://www.loddon.vic.gov.au/ Loddon Shire Council] - Official Site