Gisborne
Gisborne
Historic and attractive town in the Mt Macedon Hills
Gisborne is an attractive settlement with street plantings
consisting of European trees which are at their best in spring and
autumn. Recently bypassed by the Calder Highway, Gisborne is
located 1 km west of the highway, 54 km north-west of Melbourne and
610 m above sea-level. This was originally an agricultural district
but it is now principally a commuter suburb for Melbourne.
Prior to European settlement the area was occupied by the
Woiwurung people. The first European settlers were pastoralists who
took up runs in 1836 or 1837. At the outset of the 1851 goldrushes
at Castlemaine and Bendigo, prospectors
starting out from Melbourne rested overnight at 'Bush Inn' before
traversing the potentially dangerous Black Forest in the daylight. The nascent settlement was surveyed in 1851 and named after H.F.
Gisborne, the Victorian Crown Lands Commissioner. Gisborne was
declared a district in 1860, at which time it had 13 hotels, and a
shire in 1871. There are several historic buildings, such as
'Macedon House'.
