๐ฆ๐บ Stratford is a town on the Avon River in Victoria, Australia, 232 km (144ย mi) east of Melbourne on the Princes Highway in Shire of Wellington. The town services the local regional community and travellers on the Princes Highway. Stratford's principal industries are dairying, sheep, cattle and horse breeding and vegetable crops. The town has numerous coffee shops and cafes, a cellar door for a local winery, Design Gallery, model railway shop, a pub, parks and playgrounds for car travelers to break their journey.
Geography The River Avon has a local reputation as a source for river polished gemstones, particularly agate, and for rapidly rising during increased rainfall upstream.
Three km south-east of Stratford is a 56-hectare (140-acre) park called Knob Reserve (formerly known as the "Forest of Arden"), part of the Gunai/Kurnai Bataluk Cultural Trail, which winds its way through East Gippsland, highlighting the places of cultural significance to the first inhabitants. There are picnic facilities and an annual country music festival is held at Knob Reserve.
Stratford has a railway station on the Bairnsdale railway line, which was reopened for passenger use in 2004. The Howitt Bicycle Trail passes through Stratford.
Sport The town has an Australian rules football team, nicknamed the Swans; who have been competing in the East Gippsland Football League since 2012. They had previously competed in the North Gippsland Football League from 2004 to 2011. The town has a cricket team competing in the Sale-Maffra Cricket Association. They have won 4 A-Grade premierships since reforming in 1978.
History The land around the Avon River was occupied by the Brayakuloong people of the Gunai/Kurnai indigenous nation for thousands of years prior to European settlement.
Angus McMillan named the Avon River after the river of the same name in his native Scotland. In 1840 he established a pastoral run at Bushy Park, north-west of the township. William Odell Raymond established a run in the area in 1842, and built his house, Strathfieldsaye, during 1848โ54. European settlement did not take place without resistance, and in return, massacres were inflicted by Angus McMillan and others on Gunai people, especially between the years of 1840 and 1850.
The township was established in the late 1850s and the Post Office opened on 1 May 1858.
With the 1860s gold rush to the Omeo and Dargo goldfields, the town of Stratford prospered. Historic buildings include the RSL Hall (1866), the Church of Holy Trinity (1868), the Methodist Church (1873), and the Post Office (1884).
In 1863 Reverend Friedrich Hagenauer established Ramahyuck Mission on the banks of the Avon River near Lake Wellington to house the Ganai survivors from west and central Gippsland. The name combines "Ramah", the home of Samuel in the First Book of Kings, with "yuck", an Aboriginal term reputedly meaning "our place". The mission sought to discourage all tribal ritual and culture, and replace it with Christian values and European customs. The Mission closed in 1908 and the few remaining residents were moved to Lake Tyers Mission.
Stratford has a population of over 2,617 people. Stratford also forms part of the wider Shire of Wellington District which has a population of over 44,019 people. It is also a part of the larger Gippsland Region.
Twin Towns - Sister Cities Stratford has links with:
๐จ๐ฆ Stratford, Canada ๐ด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ฅ๓ ฎ๓ ง๓ ฟ Stratford-upon-Avon, England๐ฆ๐บ Sandringham -37.953
๐ฆ๐บ Point Cook -37.909
๐ฆ๐บ Wantirna South -37.881
๐ฆ๐บ Port Phillip -37.85
๐ฆ๐บ Hobsons Bay -37.85
๐ฆ๐บ Greater Dandenong -38.006
๐ฆ๐บ Greater Geelong -38.15
๐ฆ๐บ Launceston 147.133
๐ต๐ฌ Port Moresby 147.193
๐ฆ๐บ Wagga Wagga 147.357
๐ฆ๐บ Rosny Park 147.367
Locations Near: Stratford 147.083,-37.9667
๐ฆ๐บ Latrobe 146.438,-38.275 d: 66
๐ฆ๐บ Morwell 146.4,-38.233 d: 66.7
๐ฆ๐บ Maroondah 145.263,-37.807 d: 160.7
๐ฆ๐บ Ringwood 145.231,-37.811 d: 163.4
๐ฆ๐บ Wantirna South 145.224,-37.881 d: 163.3
๐ฆ๐บ Knox 145.217,-37.883 d: 163.9
๐ฆ๐บ Albury-Wodonga 146.91,-36.084 d: 209.9
๐ฆ๐บ Albury 146.919,-36.081 d: 210.2
๐ฆ๐บ Greater Dandenong 145.19,-38.006 d: 166
๐ฆ๐บ Nunawading 145.177,-37.817 d: 168.1
Antipodal to: Stratford -32.917,37.967
๐ต๐น Angra do Heroรญsmo -27.217,38.65 d: 19512
๐ต๐น Ponta Delgada -25.673,37.736 d: 19378.7
๐ต๐น Madeira -17,32.75 d: 18462.1
๐ต๐น Funchal -16.905,32.648 d: 18449
๐ง๐ท Florianรณpolis -48.552,27.592 d: 18157.6
๐ฎ๐จ Arona -16.667,28.1 d: 18149.3
๐ฎ๐จ San Cristรณbal de La Laguna -16.314,28.478 d: 18149.3
๐ง๐ท Greater Vitรณria -40.308,20.289 d: 17924.3
๐ฎ๐จ Santa Cruz de Tenerife -16.25,28.467 d: 18143.7