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Beaconsfield Upper

Field	Value
type	town
name	Beaconsfield Upper
state	vic
alternative_location_map	Australia Victoria metropolitan Melbourne
coordinates
pushpin_label_position	left
lga	Shire of Cardinia
postcode	3808
pop	2,997
pop_year
pop_footnotes
elevation	157
stategov	Berwick
stategov2	Pakenham
fedgov	La Trobe
dist1	45
location1	Melbourne
dist2	10
location2	Berwick
near-nw	Narre Warren East
near-n	Emerald
near-ne	Dewhurst
near-w	Harkaway
near-e	Pakenham Upper
near-sw	Guys Hill
near-s	Officer
near-se	Pakenham
local_map	yes
zoom	11

Beaconsfield Upper is a town in Victoria, Australia, 45 km south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the Shire of Cardinia local government area. Beaconsfield Upper recorded a population of 2,997 at the 2021 census.

History

Squatters grazed sheep and cattle in Berwick Shire from the 1830s but there was little interest in the difficult terrain and poor soils in the hills. The discovery of gold in 1872 led to the application of Section 49 of the Land Act to the area, which provided attractive terms to small selectors. An early pioneer, William Brisbane, named his guesthouse "Beaconsfield House" after the then British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli (Lord Beaconsfield). When "Beaconsfield" Post Office opened on 7 October 1878, Brisbane was the first postmaster.

The Melbourne to Sale Railway line opened in 1879 and later that year, a platform built at the Cardinia Creek crossing was named Beaconsfield. The Beaconsfield Post office was renamed Beaconsfield Upper in 1891. Early settlers tended to be small mixed farmers or Melbournites with weekenders. By 1912, there was a school, a hall, a general store and post office plus six guesthouses and the Pinegrove Hotel. In February 1983, the Ash Wednesday fires swept through the area destroying many houses and claiming lives.

Today

The town can be referred to colloquially as Upper Beac and Upper Beacy. A community newsletter, the Village Bell, is published quarterly by the Upper Beaconsfield Association. Sport and leisure facilities include a busy community centre, recreation reserve for cricket, football and scouting groups, a pony and riding club, tennis club and a number of parks and reserves. Golfers play at the Beaconhills Country Club on Stoney Creek Road. Community organisations include 3 and 4 year old kindergartens, primary school, St John's Anglican church, hall and meeting room, a nursing home, Country Fire Authority, and a men's shed. The community centre provides crèche, maternal and child health, internet access and a variety of classes and courses. A mobile library visits weekly.

References

{{Census 2021 AUS
In the Wake of the Pack Tracks
Premier Postal History. "Post Office List".
Wilson, Charles. "Upper Beaconsfield History".
Golf Select. "Beaconhills".

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.

towns-in-victoria-(state) shire-of-cardinia

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