Swan Marsh is a town in the Western District of

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

, Australia. The town is located in the

Colac Otway Shire The Shire of Colac Otway is a local government area in the Barwon South West region of Victoria, Australia, located in the south-western part of the state. It covers an area of and in June 2018 had a population of 21,503. It includes the towns ...

local government area, south west of the state capital,

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

. The area around Swan Marsh was first settled by Europeans in the mid 19th century. The area was described as ""wet, marshy land, forest and some beautiful cleared rich gently sloping high land." The swamps were drained using

bullock Bullock may refer to: Animals * Bullock (in British English), a castrated male cattle, bovine animal of any age * Bullock (in American English), a young bull (an uncastrated male bovine animal) * Bullock (in Australia, India and New Zealand), an o ...

teams and hand labour to install large drains—the beginnings of the Tirrengower Drainage Scheme. The name "Swan Marsh" was derived from the swans prevalent in the local area. In 1907, the area saw closer settlement with blocks created and allocated mainly to young families. The Swan Marsh dairy, operated by the Colac and District Company, was built in 1901. From the 1930s to its closure in 1956, the dairy produced

casein Casein ( , from Latin ''caseus'' "cheese") is a family of related phosphoproteins (CSN1S1, αS1, aS2, CSN2, β, K-casein, κ) that are commonly found in mammalian milk, comprising about 80% of the proteins in cow's milk and between 20% and 60% of ...

. Swan Marsh today has four businesses: the post office, the general store/take away food outlet, a

peat Peat is an accumulation of partially Decomposition, decayed vegetation or organic matter. It is unique to natural areas called peatlands, bogs, mires, Moorland, moors, or muskegs. ''Sphagnum'' moss, also called peat moss, is one of the most ...

mine and a water carter. Community facilities include the football ground/recreation reserve, public hall, tennis courts and a

speedway Speedway may refer to: Racing Race tracks *Daytona International Speedway, a race track in Daytona Beach, Florida. *Edmonton International Speedway, also known as Speedway Park, a former motor raceway in Edmonton, Alberta. *Indianapolis Motor Spe ...

circuit. The town hosts a

Country Fire Authority The Country Fire Authority (CFA) is a Volunteer fire department, volunteer fire service responsible for fire suppression, rescues, and response to other accidents and hazards across most of the state of Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia ...

volunteer brigade. Swan Marsh Primary School services the town.

References

External links

Towns in Victoria (state) {{VictoriaAU-geo-stub