| Batesford Victoria |
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The Dog Rocks Hotel at Batesford |
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Batesford
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| Population: | 879 (2006)[1] | ||||||||||||
| Postcode: | 3221 | ||||||||||||
| LGA: | City of Greater Geelong | ||||||||||||
| State District: | Lara | ||||||||||||
| Federal Division: | Corangamite | ||||||||||||
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Batesford, Victoria is a small township located approximately 10 kilometres west of Geelong and 167 kilometres south-west of the state capital, Melbourne.
It is located on the banks of the Moorabool River and on the Midland Highway.
Batesford is named after Alfred and John Bates who settled here in 1837 at a place where the river could be forded. The township was surveyed in 1854 and was originally named Hopeton after George Hope whose land it formed a part. A feature of Batesford is the bluestone bridge dating from 1859 which now forms part of the service road past the Dog Rocks Hotel (formerly the Derwent or Batesford Hotel). Both these structures are on the Register of the National Estate.[2]
The Post Office opened on 18 August 1856 and closed in 1949. [3]