Pyrenees Highway Victoria |
|
---|---|
Pyrenees Highway at Elmhurst | |
Type | Highway |
Length | 206 km (128 mi) |
Route number(s) | B180 |
Former route number |
State Route 122 |
East end | Calder Freeway, Elphinstone, Victoria |
West end | Glenelg Highway, Glenthompson, Victoria |
Major settlements | Chewton, Castlemaine, Newstead, Moolort, Maryborough, Bung Bong, Avoca, Amphitheatre, Ararat |
Pyrenees Highway in western Victoria, Australia is a 206 kilometre highway serving to link the Calder Highway in Elphinstone with the Glenelg Highway in Glenthompson. It intersects with the region's major freight route - the Western Highway in Ararat, in addition to the Midland Highway in Castlemaine and Sunraysia Highway in Avoca. The highway was formerly named the Elizabeth Highway prior to 1911.
In 1855, Victoria enacted the Chinese Immigration Act 1855, severely limiting the number of Chinese passengers permitted on an arriving vessel. To evade the new law, many Chinese were landed in the south-east of South Australia and travelled more than 400 km across country to the Victorian goldfields, along tracks, including what is now the Pyrenees Highway.