Mansfield is a small town in the foothills of the Victorian Alps in the

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

n state of Victoria. It is approximately north-east of

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a metro ...

by road. The population around Mansfield was as at the 2016 census. The town itself has 3410 persons. Mansfield is the seat of the

Mansfield Mansfield is a market town and the administrative centre of Mansfield District in Nottinghamshire, England. It is the largest town in the wider Mansfield Urban Area (followed by Sutton-in-Ashfield). It gained the Royal Charter of a market to ...

local government area A local government area (LGA) is an administrative division of a country that a local government is responsible for. The size of an LGA varies by country but it is generally a subdivision of a State (administrative division), state, province, divi ...

. Mansfield was formerly heavily dependent on farming and logging but is now a tourist centre. It is the support town for the large Australia ski resort

Mount Buller Mount Buller is primarily a resort town on the slopes of Mount Buller in the Shire of Mansfield of the Australian state of Victoria. It is located approximately northeast of Melbourne. It is popular with snowsports enthusiasts in winter du ...

. It is associated with the high-country tradition of alpine grazing, celebrated in the film made around Mansfield, near the now famous Craigs Hut, called '' The Man from Snowy River'' (based on a

poem Poetry (derived from the Greek '' poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meaning ...

by Banjo Paterson).

History

The traditional owners of the Mansfield region are the Yowengillum clan of the Taungurung people. They also inhabited Alexandra and the Upper Goulburn River. British colonisers began to enter the region in 1839 when Andrew Ewing (sometimes referred to as Andrew Ewan), a stockman representing the Scottish livestock company Watson & Hunter, scouted the area for a new sheep station. Ewing encountered Yowengillum people along a waterway he named Devils River, as he considered these people to be "black devils". The best land was to be found east of this river, adjacent to Mount Battery (known as Bayerlite to the Yowengillum), and Ewing established the Mount Battery sheep station there in 1840. The overseer's hut was built near where the town of Mansfield now stands. Aboriginal encampments were also located near Mount Battery and were noted for their large stone ovens. Bitteruc, a Yowengillum elder at this time, stated that the land around Bayerlite was "good country, my country." Mansfield, originally known as Mount Battery, became a township that was surveyed in 1851 and named after

Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated Notts.) is a landlocked county in the East Midlands region of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. The trad ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

. Settlement came after the discovery of gold nearby and the Post Office opened on 1 January 1858. On the 11 November 1863, a triple hanging occurred in Melbourne Gaol; Elizabeth Scott, along with Julian Cross and David Gedge, were executed for the murder of Elizabeth's husband in the Wappan district (near Mansfield). Mansfield is famous as part of the Ned Kelly Trail. Significant memorials include the Memorial to Police erected in the centre of the town's roundabout. Mansfield Cemetery is the burial ground for police officers slain by Ned Kelly and his gang at Stringybark Creek. Dr. John Pearson Rowe (1810–1878) was a physician and squatter who owned the 'Loyola Run' (also known as Mount Battery) near Mansfield. Reputed as the first

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

resident of the district, it is recorded that nearby Rochester was named after J. P. Rowe, as he owned land on the Campaspe River. Rowe was a principal founder of the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb ...

. He fired a shot at a 14-year-old Ned Kelly accompanied by bushranger Harry Power in 1869. Rowe stood for the Upper House seat of the Murray District in 1859 and was defeated. In October 1878 Rowe supplied information to police Sergeant Kennedy on the whereabouts of Ned Kelly. Acting on Rowe's verified advice, Kennedy and his police party rode into the Wombat Ranges, where three of them were killed; and the Kelly Gang legend was born. By 1878, the town had half a dozen general stores, several butchers, and blacksmiths. Public buildings included the shire hall and library, a hospital, three churches, and Victoria Hall (where concerts were held). The railway to Mansfield arrived in the town from Tallarook in 1891, being closed on 18 November 1978. The last passenger service was on 28 May 1977. Around 9:15am on 22 September 2021, Geoscience Australia detected a magnitude-5.9 earthquake centred at Licola, around 130km from Mansfield at a depth of 10km.

Literature

The area round Mansfield named as ''Banbury'' was also the location of the novel '' The Far Country'' by Nevil Shute which featured logging on

and previous forest fires, which having swept through

Howqua Wu Bingjian (; 17694 September 1843), trading as "Houqua" and better known in the West as "Howqua", was a hong merchant in the Thirteen Factories, head of the '' E-wo hong'' and leader of the Canton Cohong. He was once the richest man in the wor ...

obliterated almost all traces of a former settlement.

Climate

Recreation

Mansfield is very close to two large lakes,

Lake Eildon The Eildon Dam or Eildon Weir, a rock and earth-fill embankment dam with a controlled spillway across the Goulburn River, is located between the regional towns of and within Lake Eildon National Park, in the Alpine region of Victoria, Aust ...

and

Lake Nillahcootie The Nillahcootie Dam, a rock and earth-fill embankment dam with a unique Gothic arch-shaped crest spillway across the Broken River that is located near , in the Alpine region of Victoria, Australia. The dam's purpose is for the supply of pot ...

. During the summer these sites are popular waterskiing destinations. The nearby

and Mount Stirling offer attractions all year round. During winter they are visited for skiing, lifted and back country respectively. In the summer

hiking Hiking is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century.AMATO, JOSEPH A. "Mind over Foot: Romantic Walking and Rambling." In ''On Foot: A Histor ...

and

mountain biking Mountain biking is a sport of riding bicycles off-road, often over rough terrain, usually using specially designed mountain bikes. Mountain bikes share similarities with other bikes but incorporate features designed to enhance durability and pe ...

are popular. Ski lifts operate year-round at Mount Buller allowing bikers to easily get to the top of downhill mountain biking runs. The bushland around Mansfield is used for horse riding, trail biking and four wheel driving on extensive tracks throughout the region. In past years, the "Mansfield Balloon Festival" celebrated hot air balloons, and drew crowds and enthusiasts from across the state. The balloon Festival hasn't been to Mansfield for several years. Mansfield is also the home to the Mansfield Eagles football club, an

Australian Rules Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...

team competing in the Goulburn Valley Football League. Mansfield has a horse racing club, the Mansfield District Racing Club, which schedules two race meetings a year, including the Mansfield Cup meeting on 27 December). Golfers play at the Mansfield golf course on Kidston Parade. Mansfield is at one end of the

Great Victorian Rail Trail The Great Victorian Rail Trail (formerly Goulburn River High Country Rail Trail) is the second longest rail trail in Australia (after the 161km Brisbane Valley Rail Trail in Queensland), following the route of the former railway line from Tallaroo ...

, which officially opened in 2012. The rail trail is the second longest in Australia, and is used by push bike riders, horse riders, and walkers.

Notable residents

Josh Fraser Josh is a masculine given name, frequently a diminutive (hypocorism) of the given names Joshua or Joseph, though since the 1970s, it has increasingly become a full name on its own. It may refer to: People A–J * "Josh", an early pseudonym of S ...

– ex- Collingwood and

Gold Coast Suns The Gold Coast Suns is a professional Australian rules football club that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL). The club is based on Queensland's Gold Coast in the suburb of Carrara. The club has been playing in the AFL since th ...

football player in the

AFL AFL may refer to: Sports * American Football League (AFL), a name shared by several separate and unrelated professional American football leagues: ** American Football League (1926) (a.k.a. "AFL I"), first rival of the National Football Leagu ...

Max Fricke Max Fricke (born 29 March 1996) is an Australian speedway rider. He is a World team champion, twice Australian champion and four times Australian Under-21 Champion. Career Juniors Fricke competed in junior levels of motocross and speedway i ...

–

Motorcycle speedway Motorcycle speedway, usually referred to simply as speedway, is a motorcycle sport involving four and sometimes up to six riders competing over four anti-clockwise laps of an oval circuit. The motorcycles are specialist machines that use only ...

rider. 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2017 Australian Under-21 Champion and 2016 World Under-21 Champion * Simon Gerrans – professional

road bicycle racer Road bicycle racing is the cycle sport discipline of road cycling, held primarily on paved roads. Road racing is the most popular professional form of bicycle racing, in terms of numbers of competitors, events and spectators. The two most commo ...

*Michelle Beecha

- ex-Australian World Cup team trap shooter * Jack Hutchins (footballer), Jack Hutchins- ex-

football player in the

Australian Football League The Australian Football League (AFL) is the only fully professional sports, professional competition of Australian rules football. Through the AFL Commission, the AFL also serves as the sport's governing body and is responsible for controlling ...

* James Cousins - current football player in the

David Mensch David Mensch (born 14 August 1972) is a former Australian rules footballer who played with Geelong Football Club, Geelong in the Australian Football League. Mensch was a half forward and played in two losing grand final teams. He was the joint ...

– former professional Football player at the

Geelong Football Club The Geelong Football Club, nicknamed the Cats, is a professional Australian rules football club based in Geelong, Victoria, Australia. The club competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's premier competition, and are the 20 ...

Victoria Mitchell Victoria Mitchell (born 25 April 1982) is an Australian long-distance runner who specializes in the 3000 metres steeplechase. Victoria took part in the World Student Cross Country Championships in 2002 and finished in eleventh place. Victor ...

– long-distance runner *

Catherine Skinner Catherine Ann Skinner (born 11 February 1990) is an Australian sport shooter. In 2016, she became an Olympic gold medalist. Early life Skinner was born to Ken and Anne Skinner. She has two brothers, Andrew and Craig. Career Skinner won ...

– current professional shooter ( women's trap) * Cyril Henry Thomas Towers – rugby union player * Alex "Chumpy" Pullin – 2011 and 2013 border cross (snowboard) world champion *Thomas Top - Victorian State

Orienteering Orienteering is a group of sports that require navigational skills using a map and compass to navigate from point to point in diverse and usually unfamiliar terrain whilst moving at speed. Participants are given a topographical map, usually a ...

Medallist - 2005 Bronze Medallist in the Victorian Orienteering Championships *

Elizabeth Vivienne Conabere Elizabeth Vivienne Conabere (3 June 1929 – 29 October 2009) was an Australian botanical artist, writer and conservationist. Conabere provided paintings and illustrations of plants for publications and series of stamps, and exhibited her works i ...

- botanical artist, writer and conservationist * Lex Lasry - lawyer and a retired judge of the Supreme Court of Victoria *

Hayley Wilson Hayley Wilson (born 29 October 2001) is a goofy-footed Australian skateboarder from Mansfield, Victoria, Australia. Skateboarding career Wilson is currently the Australian Skateboarding League's national champion, holding the title for four co ...

- skateboarding contestant at the 2020 Summer Olympics

References

External links

Goulburn River High Country Rail Trail
{{authority control Towns in Victoria (Australia) Towns in Central Hume Shire of Mansfield Mining towns in Victoria (Australia)