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Batesford

Field	Value
city	Geelong
name	Batesford
state	vic
image	BatesfordDerwentHotel.JPG
caption	The Dog Rocks Hotel at Batesford
use_lga_map	yes
coordinates
pushpin_label_position	right
lga	City of Greater Geelong
lga2	Golden Plains Shire
postcode	3213
pop
local_map	yes
zoom	12
stategov	Lara
stategov2	Geelong
fedgov	Corio
near-nw	Gheringhap
near-n	Moorabool
near-ne	Bell Post Hill
near-w	Gheringhap
near-e	Bell Post Hill
near-sw	Stonehaven
near-s	Fyansford
near-se	Hamlyn Heights

It is located on the banks of the Moorabool River and on the Midland Highway. The town is divided between the City of Greater Geelong and Golden Plains Shire.

History

Batesford is named after Alfred and John Bates who settled here in 1837 at a place where the river could be forded. The township was surveyed in 1854 and was originally named Hopeton after George Hope whose land it formed a part. A feature of Batesford is the bluestone bridge dating from 1859 which now forms part of the service road past the Batesford Hotel (formerly the Derwent or Dog Rocks Hotel). Both these structures are on the Register of the National Estate.{{Citation

Batesford features a large granite outcrop, the 'Dog Rocks', in a reserve located within the town that obtained its name from local wild dogs that once lived around the rocks. Indigenous Australians believe the 'Dog Rocks' to be haunted. Batesford contains the Dogs Rocks Fauna and Flora Sanctuary, which is home to many endemic species. It was established when the current owner George Belcher’s great grandfather purchased the property in 1856. It is situated adjacent to the Dog Rocks outcrop on the top of a hill in west Batesford. This open eucalyptus woodland nurtures a rich variety of flora and fauna. Rare local native vegetation can be found. The Sanctuary is recognised for its concentration of bird life and provides a protected haven and habitat for them. It also contains a variety of mammals and reptiles which are all part of the complex ecology of the area.

Batesford today

Batesford in 2019 still has a Hotel and the other campus of Rollins Primary School. The Bell Park Soccer Club play their home games at the Bell Park Sport & Recreation Club even though the grounds are actually in Batesford. Batesford also has a roadhouse.

Heritage listed sites

Batesford contains a number of heritage listed sites, including:

56 Buchter Road, Laurence Park Homestead
Midland Highway, Moorabool River Bridge
Geelong-Ballarat railway line, Moorabool River Railway Viaduct
750 Midland Highway, Travellers Rest Inn 1849

Gallery

Image:Batesford_Bridge.jpg|The old Batesford Bridge, built using bluestone in 1859 File:BatesfordMooraboolRiverBridge.JPG|The bridge in 2010

References

Phoenix Auctions History. "Post Office List".
"Laurence Park Homestead (H0887)". [[Heritage Victoria]].
"Bridge (H1115)". [[Heritage Victoria]].
"Railway Viaduct (H1105)". [[Heritage Victoria]].

Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

suburbs-of-geelong towns-in-victoria-(state)

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