Trafalgar is a town in the West Gippsland region of Victoria, Australia. The town lies on the Princes Highway and main Gippsland railway line about 10 kilometres (6 miles) west of Moe. The town backs onto the foothills of the Strzelecki Ranges to the south. At the 2006 census, Trafalgar had a population of 2685.
Trafalgar Post Office opened on 2 June 1879.
Trafalgar was noted for having a cheese factory producing award-winning cheeses. The factory was owned by Petersville from 1960 until its closure in 1990.
The town has its own railway station on the Bairnsdale railway line. It also has a swimming pool, tennis courts, Scouts hall, Uniting church and town hall.
Education
Trafalgar is serviced by a number of schools:
- Trafalgar Primary School
- St Josephs School (Primary)
- Trafalgar High School
Sport
The town has an Australian Rules football team, the Trafalgar Bloods, competing in the Mid Gippsland Football League.Winning the premiership in 2009 by defeating Morwell East by 57 points.
Golfers play at the course of the Trafalgar Golf Club on Gibsons Road.
Trafalgar has two Lawn Bowling clubs. The Trafalgar Bowls Club with two grass greens, situated in Seven Mile Road and the Trafalgar Park Bowling Club with one grass green, on Ashby Street.
Trafalgar Street Scape
Media
In 1902 ‘The Trafalgar & Yarragon Times’ opened its doors, providing news and sporting results for Trafalgar and district. The founding owner/editor was Christopher McCallum Johnstone who presided over the newspaper until its final edition on October 25, 1957. Christopher Johnstone was a remarkable character, devoting much time and energy to business and community interests and promoting the town. As well as the newspaper, he was founding chairman of the group that began radio station 3TR (the ‘TR’ component being short for Trafalgar) and the family also ran the Ideal Picture Theatre, so it could be said that he was one of the original multi-media magnates. Over the years, he was on the committee of groups as varied as the Trafalgar Football Club, the Turf Club, the Rifle Club, the Central Gippsland Football Association and the Gippsland Anglers’ Association. He was a Justice of the Peace, the local Deputy Coroner, first chairman of the town’s water trust, and kept a daily record of Trafalgar’s rainfall for the Weather Bureau. He and a local MP successfully lobbied SEC chief Sir John Monash for the rural areas to have access to the new electricity grid from the Yallourn power stations, rather than it being purely for the city. Out of that, Trafalgar became the first provincial town outside Yallourn to be connected. His wife, Ethel, had the proud honor of switching the power on at a Public Hall ceremony on October 23, 1923. Ethel (nee Gilbee, a member of a family from Chicago, USA) was known for her gentle nature, intellect and gardening skills, including an appealing maze-like garden she grew around the family home facing the Princes Highway. Three of Christopher and Ethel’s four sons – Aubrey, Mervyn and Maurice – worked on the Times, while Vernon went into banking. Christopher McCallum Johnstone, born in the Ballarat district and one of 12 children, died on August 21, 1962, aged 88, leaving a great legacy to Trafalgar.
The Hub of Grippsland
The West Gippsland township of Trafalgar (Victoria, Australia) sits astride the Princes Highway and the main Gippsland railway line approximately 125 kilometres to the east of the capital city, Melbourne.
Conveniently located within an hours drive of many popular tourist destinations, National Parks and Three Victorian Snowfields (some known, some best kept secrets), Trafalgar is an ideal launching off point for destinations such as Walhalla, Old Gippstown, Mt Baw Baw, Mt St Gwineer, Mt Erica, Blue Rock Lake, Hazelwood Pondage and many other interesting places.
Various accommodation is available, including cabins and lodges at Delhuntie Park, the local Hotel, Yarragon Tourist Village four minutes drive up the road, and several Bed and Breakfast style retreats on the mountain side that make ideal honeymoon locations.
Various other destinations located more than an hours drive also make Trafalgar an ideal stopping off point, with Canberra under five hours drive away, Lakes Entrance (Considered unofficially as the Gold Coast of Victoria) only 2-3 hours away, Phillip Island just under two hours and the historical Port Albert just over an hour and a half down the road.
Recent limited housing developments have also made Trafalgar a popular place with young couples, retirees, and holiday home buyers alike with many opportunities for comfortable sized housing in all price ranges.
Various events keep things vibrant, with the Local football club holding regular minor league matches, various events at Delhuntie Park, assorted festivals in the area including The Battle of Trafalgar, Equestrian Events, and the Trafalgar Rodeo keep things interesting through the year.
With a population of 2,200+, it serves a rich agricultural district built largely on dairy, beef cattle, potato growing and a range of other primary industries, including berry and venison farms and a small winery.
A significant proportion of the working population is employed in the nearby Latrobe Valley industrial area and the Warragul district to the east.
A regular train service and a divided highway to Melbourne makes daily commuting possible for a number of workers and students who live in the town.
Formerly the headquarters for the Shire of Narracan, Trafalgar now forms part of the Baw Baw Shire, and is the largest town in the Thomson Ward.
Trafalgar boasts a range of first class sporting facilities including an 18-hole golf course (rated as one of the best 20 in country Victoria), floodlit Australian football and cricket oval, netball, bowls, basketball, tennis, basketball and many other facilities.
Education facilities in the town are highly regarded, with a state secondary school a state primary school and a Catholic primary school.
The site of the town was determined by the position of the railway station. There is an inference that the railways department at the time may have named the town.
The town is named after Britain’s Lord Nelson’s final, fatal and most victorious, naval battle, when he led allied fleet which defeated French Navy off Cape Trafalgar on 21 October 1805.
A neighboring town, Yarragon, was once called Waterloo.
It is recorded that:
“In May 1878 Robert Watson, Engineer in charge of the middle section
of the railway works, was investigating Lochs Creek, east of
Trafalgar, as a site for a station… but he did not care for it
because of the poor gradient… He wrote a memo to the Engineer in
Chief, “There is a more suitable site,
near Sunny Creek… 5 miles from Waterloo.” In this way the site of
what was to become Trafalgar was chosen. The name taken from the great
sea battle of 1805 complemented Waterloo.”
So Tall the Trees, a centenary history of the Southern Districts of the
Shire of Narracan by John Adams (p 72)
Trafalgar is believed to be the only town named after the famous battle, although there appear to be districts so named.
The TCDA would welcome hearing from anyone who knows of other towns, districts or schools named after the naval battle.
Things to see:
Thorpdale
Thorpdale, 13 km south of Trafalgar, is a former railway terminus, with a name meaning “village in a valley”. It was once a business centre for the timber mills and the fruit and dairy farms of the undulating countryside. The town was largely destroyed by the great bushfire of 1898. Today it is surrounded by potato and dairy farming.
Scenic Highlights
There are a number of scenic attractions in the area. The most interesting are the Narracan Falls, the Trafalgar South Lookout and Henderson’s Gully.
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