| Trentham Victoria |
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Falls Rd, Trentham |
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Trentham
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| Population: | 629(2006)[1] | ||||||||||||
| Postcode: | 3458 | ||||||||||||
| Elevation: | 700 m (2,297 ft) | ||||||||||||
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| State District: | Ballarat East | ||||||||||||
| Federal Division: | Ballarat | ||||||||||||
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Trentham is a small town in the Shire of Hepburn and Shire of Moorabool Local government area, Victoria, Australia. At the 2006 census, Trentham had a population of 629.[1] Located at an altitude of 700 metres (2,297 ft), the town is 97 kilometres (60 mi) north-west of Melbourne.
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Although pastoral runs were taken up in the area as early as 1838, Trentham was first settled by gold prospectors in the 1850s, and later developed for its timber resources from the surrounding Wombat State Forest. The Post Office opened on 16 July 1862.[2]
A railway line arrived in 1880.[3] At its peak carried up to 21,000 tonnes of freight (mostly timber) annually. The station once had a timber tramway which transported timber to the Goods Platform. However, in the 1950s the railway declined as better roads were built to connect the town with the major settlements of Victoria, and it was closed during the 1970s. The station is now the Trentham Agricultural and Railway Museum which is the restored station building, which has the mainly intact yard with some rollingstock, and the platform in good condition.
Potato growing (due to a fertile strip of red volcanic soil), grazing and tourism later became the mainstays of the town's economy.
The climate is cool and moist: the mean summer temperature is 21.9 °C, nights fall to around 9.8 °C in February (summer); whilst winters are distinctly cold with the mean daytime temperature 7.6°C (July) and mean night temperature 2.1 °C. The coldest temperature recorded was minus 8 °C with many nights in winter reaching minus 5 °C. Snow falls are not uncommon in winter with an average of 13.2 snow days per year. Trentham has an average annual precipitation of 1,102.3 mm (43.4 in), the highest one day rainfall was 154.9 mm and the highest monthly rainfall been 317.5 mm.
Near Trentham is Trentham Falls on the Coliban River - the highest single-drop waterfall in Victoria. There are also several mineral springs near the town.
In recent times, Trentham has become an alternative lifestyle centre, and Earth Garden publishing is now one of major employers in town. Because many of the first settlers were Irish, St. Patrick's day is a major community event here.
The town has an Australian Rules football team competing in the Maryborough Castlemaine District Football League.
Golfers play at the course of the Trentham Golf Club on Falls Road.[4]
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