Heyfield

{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2019}} {{Use Australian English|date=August 2019}} {{distinguish|Hayfield (disambiguation)}} {{Infobox Australian place | type = town | name = Heyfield | state = vic | image = Heyfield Temple Street.jpg | caption = Temple Street | use_lga_map = yes | coordinates = {{coord|37|59|S|146|47|E|display=inline,title}} | pushpin_label_position = right | lga = Shire of Wellington | postcode = 3858 | est = | pop = 2,050 | pop_year = {{CensusAU|2021}} | pop_footnotes = <ref name="abs">{{Census 2021 AUS | id = SAL21179 | name = Heyfield (Suburbs and Localities) | access-date = 11 June 2023 | quick = on}}</ref> | elevation= | maxtemp = | mintemp = | rainfall = | stategov = Gippsland East | fedgov = Gippsland | dist1 = 206 | dir1 = E | location1= Melbourne | dist2 = 36 | dir2 = NW | location2= Sale | dist3 = 21 | dir3 = W | location3= Maffra }} '''Heyfield''' is a town in Victoria, Australia, with a population of 2050.<ref name="abs"/> It is {{convert|206|km|mi|0}} east of Melbourne, in the Shire of Wellington local government area. Located on the Thomson River, Heyfield is a gateway to the Victorian High Country.

==History== In 1841 an early settler, James McFarlane, described the district as resembling "a field of waving corn", and called it "Hayfield".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.gippslandinfo.com.au/accom_result1.asp?Code=20270 |title=Heyfield, Victoria, Australia | website = www.gippslandinfo.com.au |access-date=2008-02-24 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080723072045/http://www.gippslandinfo.com.au/accom_result1.asp?Code=20270 |archive-date=2008-07-23}}</ref> By 1866, the spelling had changed to "Heyfield", but exactly when and why this happened is unclear.<ref name = hfnet>{{Cite web|url=http://www.heyfield.net|title=Visit Heyfield and District|website=www.heyfield.net|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080102045242/http://www.heyfield.net/|archive-date=2 January 2008|access-date=13 January 2026}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.otp.com.au/heyfield.htm|title=Heyfield|website=www.otp.com.au|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080705112444/http://www.otp.com.au/Heyfield.htm|archive-date=5 July 2008|access-date=13 January 2026}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.visitvictoria.com/displayobject.cfm/objectid.0009B49C-8B79-1DB8-917780C476A90000/ |title=Heyfield|website=www.visitvictoria.com|access-date=2008-02-24 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080731035955/http://www4.visitvictoria.com/displayobject.cfm/objectid.0009B49C-8B79-1DB8-917780C476A90000/ |archive-date=2008-07-31 }}</ref> It may have been renamed to reflect the spelling of the nearby Heyfield Station.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.travelmate.com.au/Places/Places.asp?TownName=Heyfield_%5C_VIC |title=Heyfield, Victoria|website=Travelmate|access-date=13 January 2026|archive-date=18 October 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071018153225/http://www.travelmate.com.au/Places/Places.asp?TownName=Heyfield_%5C_VIC |url-status=dead }}</ref>

In 1866, McFarlane's property was taken over by James Tyson, a former member of the Queensland Legislative Council, a pastoralist, and considered Australia's first self-made millionaire.

The town was a stopping point for diggers on their way to the Gippsland goldfields.<ref name = hfnet/>

The Post Office opened on 24 September 1870.<ref name = "a">{{Cite web | website = Phoenix Auctions | title = Post Office List | url = https://www.phoenixauctions.com.au/cgi-bin/wsPhoenix.sh/Viewpocd.w? | access-date = 13 January 2026}}</ref>

The author Mary Grant Bruce started writing her ''Billabong'' series of books in 1910 while staying at James Tyson's former house.{{Citation needed|date=January 2026}}

The poet Shaw Neilson spent some time in the Heyfield area in the 1920s, where he wrote several poems and helped in the construction of the Lake Glenmaggie weir wall.{{Citation needed|date=January 2026}}

The Heyfield Magistrates' Court closed on 1 January 1983, not having been visited by a Magistrate since 1970.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.audit.vic.gov.au/sites/default/files/19860901-Special-Report-4-Court-Closures-in-Victoria.pdf | title=Special Report No. 4 - Court Closures in Victoria | publisher=Auditor-General of Victoria | date=1986 |pages=78 | access-date=12 April 2020}}</ref>

It is today known for its agriculture and timber production. It is the principal source of hardwood in Victoria, and the largest timber mill in the Southern Hemisphere, Australian Sustainable Hardwoods, is located there. The district's irrigation water comes from Lake Glenmaggie.{{Citation needed|date=January 2026}}

During the Gippsland bushfires in December 2006 and January 2007, the town was used as a staging area by the networked fire agencies, being, the Department of Sustainability and Environment (DSE), Country Fire Authority (CFA), Victoria Police, and the Victorian State Emergency Service (SES).{{Citation needed|date=January 2026}}

A skatepark was built in Heyfield in December 2005.{{Citation needed|date=January 2026}}

Heyfield and surrounding areas were impacted by severe flash floods twice during winter and spring in 2007. The Thomson River burst its banks and rendered the road out of Heyfield impassable.{{Citation needed|date=January 2026}}

==Sport== The town has an Australian Rules football team competing in the North Gippsland Football League.

Heyfield Soccer Club was one of the founding members of the Latrobe Valley Soccer League in 1951. They finished runner-up in the competition's first ever season but in an unusual quirk of history then withdrew from the competition.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-11-14 |title=LVSL League Results 1951-1970 |url=https://drive.google.com/file/d/1GRXWXDWIRlBfdMmciN7zAxcZqjDEBymP/view |access-date=2024-09-12 |website=Latrobe Valley Soccer League |language=en-US}}</ref>

Golfers play at the course of the Heyfield Golf Club on Golflinks Road.<ref name = "golf">{{Citation | author= Golf Select | title = Heyfield | url = http://www.golfselect.com.au/armchair/courseView.aspx?course_id=988 | access-date = 2009-05-11 }}</ref>

==Notable people== * Wil Anderson - Australian stand-up comedian and TV and radio personality * David Wojcinski - Geelong FC Player. * Leigh Brown - Retired Collingwood FC Player. Melbourne FC assistant coach. * Brent Macaffer - Collingwood FC Player.

==Gallery== <gallery> File:Heyfield police station - April 2021.jpg|Police station File:Heyfield primary school - April 2021.jpg|Primary school File:Heyfield Railway Hotel - April 2021.jpg|Railway Hotel File:Heyfield war memorial - April 2021.jpg|War memorial File:Saint James Anglican Church in Heyfield - April 2021.jpg|Saint James Anglican Church </gallery>

==References== {{reflist}}

==External links== *[http://www.heyfield.net/ Heyfield] *[http://www.smh.com.au/news/Victoria/Heyfield/2005/02/17/1108500206536.html Sydney Morning Herald - Heyfield]

Category:Towns in Victoria (state) Category:Shire of Wellington