Stawell, Victoria

Stawell, is an Australian town in the Wimmera region of Victoria 237km west-north-west of the state capital, Melbourne. Located within the Shire of Northern Grampians local government area it is a seat of local government for the shire and its main administrative centre. At the, Stawell had a population of.It was founded in 1853 during the Victorian gold rush and is one of few towns in Victoria retaining an active gold mining industry.Stawell is famed for the Stawell Gift, a professional foot race. It is also known as the gateway to the Grampians National Park.It is named after Sir William Foster Stawell, the Chief Justice of Victoria.HistoryWilliam McLachlan discovered alluvial gold at Pleasant Creek in May 1853, but the yield was not in sufficient volumes to attract much interest, as the Ballarat and Bendigo fields were known to be giving better results, and had already established the infrastructure to support the miners. There was however sufficient numbers for the area to support the beginnings of a settlement. The town site was first settled during 1853 and was named Pleasant Creek. The mining population of the Stawell field remained relatively small (averaging 200 or less) until 1857 when a series of new alluvial gold discoveries were made.