The indigenous people of the Konongwootong Gundidj clan and others from the Jardwadjali language group occupied the area in and around Casterton for thousands of years before the arrival of Europeans in Australia. The first Europeans to explore this region were a party led by surveyor Major Thomas Mitchell, which passed through the area in 1836 as part of the Australia Felix (Fortunate Australia) expedition. Mitchell expressed his "positive" perception of the land for future farming in Three Expeditions:
The land is, in short, open and available in its present state, for all the purposes of civilized men. We traversed it in two directions with heavy carts, meeting no other obstruction than the softness of the rich soil; and in returning over flowery plains and green hills, fanned by the breezes of early spring, I named this region Australia Felix, the better to distinguish it from the parched deserts of the interior country, where we had wandered so unprofitably and so long. (1)
The Henty brothers had arrived in Portland Bay in 1834 and after hearing of Mitchell's positive reports of good pasturage, the brothers moved north. They travelled inland from Portland with their flocks and began farming in the Western District eventually acquiring the pastoral runs of "Merino Downs", "Muntham", "Sandford" and "Connells Run". They, in time, were followed by many others.
As was the case elsewhere across Australia, the indigenous people would gradually lose possession of their lands. Disputes about livestock occurred between early settlers and displaced Aborigines, often resulting in acts of retaliation by settlers. An infamous example occurred at The Hummocks in March, 1840, when the Whyte brothers, who had arrived in the western district in 1837, were involved in the massacre of an estimated 30 Aboriginal people
(2). The brothers were also credited with a horrendous execution of Aborigines in the Konongwootong area, a place known in the district as The Fighting Hills
(3). In the late 1830s four Assistant Protectors were appointed to look after the interests of the Aboriginal people in the Port Phillip District under a Chief Protector, George Augustus Robinson. Robinson allocated regions and requested them to send reports every three months. They were to complete a census of the population, boundaries of tribal areas, details of languages and customs(4). Robinson was unsatisfied with information supplied by C.W. Sievwright, the Asst. Protector appointed to the Western District, and decided to undertake his own census of the District’s Aboriginal population in March to May 1841, accompanied by Aboriginal guides. Although much is written about the failure of the Protectorate, in this instance, Robinson was successful in making friendly communication with the Aborigines of the Western District
(5). Unfortunately the promises of these interactions were not followed up. Overall, the Port Phillip Protectorate was largely unsuccessful and was disbanded in 1849.
The site of Casterton township emerged as an early crossing place along the Glenelg River. It is named Casterton after an English village with some believing it is an intentional reference to the way in which the town is 'protectively' surrounded by a series of hills(6). The first pub, the Glenelg Inn, was established in 1846 and a post office was opened the following year. The following decade saw a range of businesses opening and a racing club was formed. A Mr Clarke and Mr Derbyshire were instructed by Head Surveryor, Mr Wade to survey the township of Casterton, most probably sometime in the early 1850s(7). The telegraph arrived in the 1860s together with Jeffreys' Cordial Factory, and the 1870s saw the establishment of a local newspaper The Casterton News. Life in the Western District for Europeans was rapidly developing, both on the farms and in the towns. The railway line to Casterton was opened in September 1884 and construction of the Railway Station started in 1886. With the arrival of the railway, Casterton became the western terminus of the state's rail service and the days of horse and bullock trains were over. In 1892 the premier of Victoria, William Shiels (after whom part of the main street is named), his ministry and about 40 journalists travelled to Casterton by a special train to present his policies in a media event which amounted to the first rural policy launch
(8) .
Floods and fires have also been very much part of the district's history. Although there had been previous floods, it was the devastating flood of 1906, which led to a number of rebuilding changes in Casterton. For example, the Albion Hotel, built in 1865 by the brothers Robert and George Grant, was a simple, single-storey, solid brick building with a wonderful symmetry of design. After the flood the Grant family demolished the original Hotel and replaced it with a far grander building. Erected on the same site, the present Albion Hotel was opened in 1907. With its striking Elizabethan architecture, massive size, and the same beautiful symmetry as the original building, it was regarded as a showpiece in Western Victoria(9). The flood of 1946 is remembered as "The Big Flood" of the Sandford and Casterton areas and it was reported that 628 points of rain fell in four days(10). As with most Victorian regional districts fires have also been a major part of life in the country with the district experiencing its fair share of the state’s major fires: 1901 Black Thursday, 1939 Black Friday, 1951 and 1955.
By the late 1880's some of the large squatting runs were broken up for Closer Settlement by selectors - a farmer who took up land under free selection. Closer Settlement was meant for agricultural use and taken up by lease or licence under various land acts, or after Crown auction, as opposed to land granted by the Crown or taken by squatting. These "closer settlements" were not always successful, and in the Western District the failure rate of settlers on the closer settlement estates was high. In hindsight, it was generally recognised that the allocation of land on most estates had been insufficient
(11). Western District farming has a rich history of farming innovations and achievements, and struggles with harsh climate and environmental conditions. Much has been preserved in the photos, newspaper articles as well as letters and records which provide a glimpse into the day to day life on a station.
During World War 1 many men of the district headed off to join the armed forces with their numbers reflected in the Honor Boards and memorials that adorn each of the schools, townships and regions throughout the district. Soldier settlements after World War 1 saw the introduction of the breaking up of some larger runs. Of the 1,141 original settlers allocated land under the scheme in the early 1920's, 881 had retained their holdings into the 1930's. Improving agricultural prices from the mid 1930's and the concessions given to settlers as a result of the changes to the Act in 1932 allowed these farmers to eventually gain equity in their farms
(12). World War 2 would again take its toll in the countryside and each of the towns would pay tribute to their returned soldiers.
The growth in county towns is inextricably tied to the pattern of land use, and as there are changes in methods and viability of farming there is a corresponding impact on townships.
Casterton and District Historical Society
Sourced from Significance Assessment 2010
By History @ Work
1. Quote from Mitchell's Three Expeditions in M. Kiddle, Men of Yesterday: A social history of the Western District of Victoria, 1834-1890, Melbourne, p. 3.
2. "Fighting Hills Massacre, 1840" from I. D. Clark, Scars in the Landscape: A register of massacre sites in Western Victoria, 1803 - 1859, pp. 145-152 http://museumvictoria.com.au/encounters/journeys/robinson/fighting_hills.htm
3. Jim Kent CDHS member Personal communication, 18 November 2009. Also "to the south of Casterton there is a location known as ‘Murdering Flat’ where allegedly, the Aborigines were poisoned by the addition of a lethal powder mixed with flour that white settlers gave to them".
4. J. Critchett, Meeting the Aborigines, Western District of Victoria 1841, in Australia Felix, Dunkeld 1987, p.64.
5. Ibid, p.72
6. Casterton - Culture and History, The Age, 14 November, 2008.
7. J. Kent, Historical Happenings, Casterton & District Historical Society Inc Newsletter, 2 (5), 2006.
8. "Casterton - Culture and History" and G. Serle, 'Shiels, William (1848 - 1904)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 11, Melbourne University Press, 1988, pp 595-598.
9. D. Grant John Scott Grant & Family, http://www.ballaratgenealogy.org.au/casterton/grants.htm
10. "Floods and Fires", CDHS website http://www.ballaratgenealogy.org.au/casterton/floods_fires.htm (6.28 inches of rain - 100 points to the inch in imperial measurement)
11. M. Keneley, "Closer settlement in the Western District of Victoria: a case study in Australian land use policy, 1898-1914", Journal of Historical Geography, 28, 3 (2002) 363-379.
12. M. Keneley, "Land of Hope: Soldier Settlement in the Western District of Victoria 1918-1930" Electronic Journal of Australian and NZ History, 11-4-2000 http://www.jcu.edu.au/aff/history/articles/keneley2.htm