Hurstbridge, Victoria

Hurstbridge is a township located in the Diamond Valley, in the Shire of Nillumbik, on the north eastern fringe of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The area includes a diverse mix of farmers, artists, commuters and tourists. Around Hurstbridge can be found a number of attractions, including wineries, walking tracks, nature reserves, and markets.

In 1841 Cornelius and Jane Haley took up the 160 acre “Allwood” run at what was then called Upper Diamond Creek. Haley erected a slab house near the Junction of the Arthurs and Diamond Creeks and ran cattle and horses. Henry Hurst, a surveyor, arrived in Melbourne, from England in 1852. In 1859 he moved to Allwood to manage Haley’s original 160 acres. In 1865 Henry’s parents and some of his seven siblings joined him at Allwood. It was at about this time that Henry built a log bridge across the Diamond Creek, which was quickly known locally as Hurst’s Bridge. In 1854 gold was discovered in the districit, probably at Wattle Glen, a rush broke out and the population increased dramatically. Miners flocked into Diamond Creek, St Andrews, Panton Hill areas and mining was carried out along the creeks. On the 4th October 1866, Henry Hurst, after heated argument, was shot and fatally wounded by self-proclaimed bushranger, McClushy (alias Robert Bourke). Bourke was captured and tied to the wheel of a wagon under a tree until Sergeant Fawcett and Trooper Hall from Queenstown (St Andrews) arrived. Bourke was tried in Melbourne, found guilty of the murder of Henry Hurst and, despite a plea for leniency from the Hurst family and others, was hung. The extension of the railway line to Hurstbridge in 1912 was primarily to service the local fruit growing industry, but it was also responsible for the further growth of the Hurstbridge Township. Most of the early township growth was centered along the Main Road where a mixture, typical of rural towns, of housing and commerical buildings occured between 1912 and the mid 1920’s. The majority of these remain and are what gives Hurstbridge it’s present important rural streetscape. In 1916 Hurstbridge State School, which first operated in the local hall, was established in Anzac Avenue. A primary school was opened in 1916.

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