Apsley. Side view of two English oak trees which were planted in 1902 to commemorate the relief of Mafeking by Colonel Robert Baden-Powell and his British troops during the Boer War in May 1900.
Apsley.
The major pastoral estate near Apsley village was Elderslie comprising 64,000 acres and first taken up in 1843. The Robertson family of Struan House near Naracoorte eventually purchased this run in 1883. Elderslie estate of 37,000 acres was purchased by the Victorian government in May 1920 for over £108,000. The property was then subdivided into soldier settlement blocks of around 1,000 acres each and 35 soldier settlement farms were thus created. At that time 12,256 acres was also purchased for soldier settlement blocks from Benayeo estate (1845) of 35,000 acres. More was subdivided from Benayeo after World War Two. Benayeo provided 11 soldier settler farms in 1920. This would have boosted the village of Apsley which was surveyed and created in 1851 and named after Apsley House in London. Apsley had a Post Office in 1854 as it was the major town of the district before the emergence of Edenhope. Around 1854 the Border Inn opened to provide a service to walkers and horsemen on their way to the Victorian goldfields. A few years later in 1857 thousands of Chinese who had landed at Robe walked through Apsley on their way to the Ararat and Stawell goldfields. One Chinese descendant who stayed in Apsley was Willie Lowe of Stawell who worked for most of his life as the gardener at Newlands homestead where he died in 1951 as the result of a car accident in Naracoorte. But not much happened in Apsley in the 1860s and 1870s. The Methodist Church at the end of Johnston Street opened in 1864 but is now closed. The cemetery was established in 1868. The first school opened in 1870. A Mechanics Institute was built in the 1880s and by then the Anglicans and Presbyterians were sharing one church building. This weatherboard church still exists in the main street as a residence. In the 20th century a Catholic church was built in the town along with a soldier memorial hall, general store, bank etc. The town was further boosted after World War Two when the Newlands property was purchased for soldier settlement blocks. Newlands homestead was built in 1865 and is on the left heading towards Naracoorte just near Newlands Lake. Today Apsley is struggling to survive. A group of community members purchased the hotel a few years ago to keep it trading and the school only has 13 pupils. The town has a nature wetlands walk and the two giant English oak trees in the town were planted in 1902 to commemorate the relief of Mafeking by Colonel Robert Baden-Powell and his British troops during the Boer War in May 1900. They are in the park by the telephone box west of the general store.
Apsley. Side view of two English oak trees which were planted in 1902 to commemorate the relief of Mafeking by Colonel Robert Baden-Powell and his British troops during the Boer War in May 1900.
Apsley.
The major pastoral estate near Apsley village was Elderslie comprising 64,000 acres and first taken up in 1843. The Robertson family of Struan House near Naracoorte eventually purchased this run in 1883. Elderslie estate of 37,000 acres was purchased by the Victorian government in May 1920 for over £108,000. The property was then subdivided into soldier settlement blocks of around 1,000 acres each and 35 soldier settlement farms were thus created. At that time 12,256 acres was also purchased for soldier settlement blocks from Benayeo estate (1845) of 35,000 acres. More was subdivided from Benayeo after World War Two. Benayeo provided 11 soldier settler farms in 1920. This would have boosted the village of Apsley which was surveyed and created in 1851 and named after Apsley House in London. Apsley had a Post Office in 1854 as it was the major town of the district before the emergence of Edenhope. Around 1854 the Border Inn opened to provide a service to walkers and horsemen on their way to the Victorian goldfields. A few years later in 1857 thousands of Chinese who had landed at Robe walked through Apsley on their way to the Ararat and Stawell goldfields. One Chinese descendant who stayed in Apsley was Willie Lowe of Stawell who worked for most of his life as the gardener at Newlands homestead where he died in 1951 as the result of a car accident in Naracoorte. But not much happened in Apsley in the 1860s and 1870s. The Methodist Church at the end of Johnston Street opened in 1864 but is now closed. The cemetery was established in 1868. The first school opened in 1870. A Mechanics Institute was built in the 1880s and by then the Anglicans and Presbyterians were sharing one church building. This weatherboard church still exists in the main street as a residence. In the 20th century a Catholic church was built in the town along with a soldier memorial hall, general store, bank etc. The town was further boosted after World War Two when the Newlands property was purchased for soldier settlement blocks. Newlands homestead was built in 1865 and is on the left heading towards Naracoorte just near Newlands Lake. Today Apsley is struggling to survive. A group of community members purchased the hotel a few years ago to keep it trading and the school only has 13 pupils. The town has a nature wetlands walk and the two giant English oak trees in the town were planted in 1902 to commemorate the relief of Mafeking by Colonel Robert Baden-Powell and his British troops during the Boer War in May 1900. They are in the park by the telephone box west of the general store.