Former railway station
Is a rural township near Geelong, Victoria, Australia, 93 km southwest of Melbourne. It is located in Golden Plains Shire. At the 2006 census, Bannockburn had a population of 2486.
The township, originally named Leigh Road, founded in the early 1850s, is assumed to be named after the 14th century battle site in Scotland. It grew as a coaching stop during the 1850s and ’60s when gold was shipped from the Ballarat goldfields to the port of Geelong. The railway came to the town with the opening of the Geelong-Ballarat line in 1862, but today only grain and freight trains use the line. The township grew around the railway station and a Post Office (Leigh Road Railway Station) opened on May 18, 1863 (and renamed Leigh Road (1873), Wabdallah (1875) and finally Bannockburn (1892)).
The township contains notable examples of Victorian colonial architecture, such as the former Somerset Hotel (1854), now a private home, and the Bannockburn railway station (1863).
The nearby Bannockburn Vineyards is a 25-hectare vineyard on the Midland Highway, established in 1974 by Stuart Hooper. Grapes grown include cabernet sauvignon, chardonnay, malbec, merlot, pinot noir, riesling, sauvignon blanc and shiraz.
The town has an Australian Rules football team competing in the Geelong & District Football League and a cricket club the Bannockburn Bulls.
Golfers play at the Bannockburn Golf Club on Teesdale Road.
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