Heyfield is a town in Victoria, Australia, with a population of 2099. It is east of Melbourne, in the Shire of Wellington local government area. Located on the Thomson River, Heyfield is a gateway to the Victorian High Country.
History
In 1841 an early settler, James McFarlane, described the district as resembling "a field of waving corn", and called it "Hayfield". By 1866, the spelling had changed to "Heyfield", but exactly when and why this happened is unclear. It may have been renamed to reflect the spelling of the nearby Heyfield Station.
In 1866, McFarlane's property was taken over by James Tyson, a former member of the Queensland Legislative Council, a pastoralist, and considered Australia's first self-made millionaire.
The town grew up as a stopping point for diggers on their way to the Gippsland goldfields, and the Post Office opened on 24 September 1870. It is today known for its agriculture and timber production. It is the principal source of hardwood in Victoria, and the largest timber mill in the Southern Hemisphere, Gunns Timber Products Heyfield, is located there.
The district's irrigation water comes from Lake Glenmaggie.
During the Gippsland bushfires in December 2006 and January 2007, the town was used as a staging area by the networked fire agencies, being, the Department of Sustainability and Environment (DSE), Country Fire Authority (CFA), Victoria Police, and the Victorian State Emergency Service (SES).
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