Gordon, Victoria

Gordon is a small town in Victoria, Australia, named after settler George Gordon. The town is located on the Old Melbourne Road in the Shire of Moorabool local government area, 95 kilometres (59 mi) west of the state capital, Melbourne. At the 2011 census, Gordon had a population of 1,219.

History

George Gordon settled the area in 1838 with a 30,000 acre stock farming run which was known to outsiders as "Gordons".

During the Victorian gold rush it prospered due to being at the main road junction to the nearby goldfields of All Nation's Gully and Mount Egerton. Gold was discovered in the district in 1853 including around the town itself and several gold mining operations continued extracting in the subsequent decades. The fledgling town had many Irish Australian settlers and those not involved in mining or commerce took up agriculture, notably potato farming.

The local Post Office opened on 1 July 1858 and was known as Gordon's until 1887.

At the peak of its boom, the town had as many as eight hotels, with banks and several stores.