Mortlake, Victoria.html



Mortlake is a town in the Western District of Victoria, Australia on the Hamilton Highway, 50 kilometres (31 mi) north-east of Warrnambool. It is in the Shire of Moyne local government area and the federal Division of Wannon. At the 2001 census, Mortlake had a population of 941.¹ Self-proclaimed as the Olivine capital of Australia, It is also known for its bluestone buildings, with several fine examples dating back to the 1850s visible from the Hamilton Highway.

History

The word Mortlake means 'dead water'. The Mortlake area was probably first surveyed by Major Thomas Livingston Mitchell when he passed through the area in 1836-37. The town is based at the foot of a mount, as are many towns across the volcanic plains. The mount, Mt Shadwell, was named after his friend Major Thomas Henry Shadwell Clerke, and the nearby Hopkins River was named after Major John Paul Hopkins.

The first white settlers to arrive in Mortlake were probably David Fisher and his party in 1839, who set up a station which was left under the charge of Thomas Anderson. Establishment of Mortlake as a settlement occurred in the 1850s and 1860s.The Post Office opened February 2, 1859.²

Many of the original bluestone buildings include those in the Shaw St. Bluestone Precinct, such as The Mill, The Old Mortlake Courthouse, and The Old Shire Offices.

In the late 1870s, an area of swamp was drained and established as the Mortlake Botanical Gardens, which at its height covered nearly 50 acres. As a present to the township in 1988 (Australia's Bicentennial) a new lake was constructed by the State Government. This lake is now known as Tea Tree Lake.

A branch railway line connected Mortlake with Terang from 1890 until 1977.³

Education and Industry

There are two schools in Mortlake, both co-educational. The largest school is the government school Mortlake P-12 College, with approximately 300 students ranging from Prep to Year 12. There is also a Catholic primary school, St. Colmans, with around 30 students.

Mortlake is located between two major agricultural districts: Hamilton to the north-west for the wool industry, and to the south-east, the dairy industry. Farms in the area exploit the rich volcanic soil for both farming practices.

One of the town's most famous industries, Clarke's Pies, which made pies for distribution all over Victoria, announced in January 2007 that the company had been sold to Patties Foods and that production would cease in early March 2007, leaving around 50 people out of work. Clarke's regularly featured in the top 10% of pie-makers in Australia. As of April 2007, Clarke's have begun producing the original square pie, on a smaller scale, and delivering within the local area.

2008 may be seen as a watershed year for Mortlake firstly with the announcement that an export boning room is to commence production mid year in the premises of the old Clark's pies factory employing up to 100 employees with specialized skills,and as at early July 2008 recruitment had begun.

On 4 July 2008, the Origin Energy Board announced its commitment to proceed with the construction of a $640 million 550 megaWatt (MW) gas fired power station located 12km west of Mortlake. The power station will be constructed on approximately 20 hectares of land with an extensive buffer zone around it. Although approvals have been gained for approximately 1,000 MW, the Mortlake Power Station will be built in two stages adjacent to the existing Moorabool to Heywood 500 kV high voltage transmission line. The plant will be supplied with natural gas via a 83 km dedicated underground natural gas transmission pipeline from the new gas processing plant being built near Port Campbell, as part of the offshore Otway Gas Project. During construction up to 400 jobs will be created and when finished it is anticipated that about 30 employees will run and maintain the station. The power station is expected to come on line during 2011.

Events and Culture

Mortlake plays host to the annual Australian Busking Championships. Normally held on the first Saturday of February, until 2006 when it was held in April, the festival attracts people in their thousands to displays of street-performers, professional buskers, stalls and kids' rides. The 2008 Mortlake Buskers Festival will be held on Saturday, 23rd February.

Mortlake also fields three Australian rules football teams - the Terang-Mortlake Football Club in the Hampden Football Netball League, the Woorndoo-Mortlake Football Club in the Mininera & District Football League and Netball Association and the Deakin Uni Football club, which in 2008 fielded junior football and netball teams in the Warnambool and District League.

Mortlake originally fielded the Mortlake Football Club, who went into recess and merged with Derrinallum for the 1999 season to become the Western Lions in the Hampden league. The Western Lions went into recess in 2000. The original Mortlake Football Club then amalgamated with the Terang Football Club in the Hampden Football Netball League and the Woorndoo Football Club in the Mininera & District Football League in 2001, to field two separate teams.⁴

Mortlake has both football and cricket facilities at the D.C. Farren Oval, which also contains 10 courts for netball and tennis.

References

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External links

• Visit Mortlake & Region - Official Visitor's Guide
• Mortlake
• Mortlake Busker's Festival
• Mortlake & District Historical Society Inc
• Shire of Moyne Council
• Mortlake P-12 College

Coordinates: 38°04′S 142°48′E / -38.067, 142.8