Elphinstone Victoria |
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elphinstone Hotel.JPG
Elphinstone Hotel
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Coordinates | 37°06′S 144°20′E / 37.100°S 144.333°ECoordinates: 37°06′S 144°20′E / 37.100°S 144.333°E | ||||||||||||
Population | 670 (2011 census) | ||||||||||||
Postcode(s) | 3448 | ||||||||||||
Elevation | 422 m (1,385 ft) | ||||||||||||
Location |
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LGA(s) | Shire of Mount Alexander | ||||||||||||
State electorate(s) | Macedon | ||||||||||||
Federal Division(s) | Bendigo | ||||||||||||
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Elphinstone is a town in Victoria, Australia. The town sits at the junction of the former Calder Highway and the former Pyrenees Highway between Malmsbury and Castlemaine near Taradale and Chewton. Its local government area is the Shire of Mount Alexander.
The town has a disused railway station on the Bendigo Line.
At the 2011 census, Elphinstone and the surrounding area had a population of 670.
The town was originally called Sawpit Gully, but was renamed Elphinstone after Baron Mountstuart Elphinstone, Lieutenant-Governor of Bombay from 1819 to 1827.
The town's hub is the Elphinstone Hotel in Wright Street. Elphinstone's fair, renowned for its specialty foods and boutique local wines, is usually held in mid-November each year around the time of the fair in nearby Kyneton. It is called the 'Sawpit Gully' fair, in honour of the town's original name.
The countryside around Elphinstone is well known for its diverse flora and fauna which attract local and visiting bush walkers. The local terrain of undulating hills and gently winding roads also brings a number of cyclists and motorcyclists.
Elphinstone Post Office opened on 1 February 1854.
Cable and Wireless Optus built their first solar powered base station at Elphinstone in 2001. By making the mobile phone tower solar powered the company did not have to put expensive electrical power cables through the nearby state forest. The tower would improve reception in the Elphinstone area.