Antique Centre of Victoria

Lancefield
Small township in the geographic heart of Victoria.
Lancefield is a small and charming town of about 1000 people which is situated in a rolling agricultural landscape at the geographic centre of Victoria. The High Street boasts a central plantation full of evergreens and there are a number of intact 19th-century buildings which present an attractive streetscape.

Lancefield is located 73 km north of Melbourne on a road that heads north through Bulla, Clarkesfield, Monegeetta and Romsey. It is a growing dormitory area for those who work in Melbourne.

Crucial palaeontological finds have been made at Lancefield Swamp, on the south-western edge of town (adjacent to Lancefield Sports Ground). In an area of 2000 square metres, the skeletons of about 10 000 animals were found in a 20-cm thick bone bed. There is a strong predominance of extinct megafauna including Macropus titan (a kangaroo twice the size of today's largest relative), Diprotodon (a rhinoceros-sized wombat) and Genyornis (a giant flightless bird), the toothmarks of Thylacoleo carnifex (the marsupial 'lion') and 26 000-year-old human artefacts which, together with carbon-dated bones, indicate that people lived with Australia's megafauna for a period of some 7000 years.

The concentration of carcasses could indicate either the congregation of animals around a water source in a drought period (with the consequent death through the consumption of all available food) or the usage of the waterhole as a hunting spot either for the marsupial 'lion' or human beings or both.

Extensive quarry sites have been located just to the north-east of town at Mt William. Specified members of the Wurundjeri people (a sub-group of the Woiwurung) were responsible for quarrying the hard, dense greenstone of the mountain for the manufacture of stone axes. They were then traded for rugs, weapons and ornaments. This practice probably began long before European settlement and may have ceased in 1846. These axes have been found as far afield as South Australia and the Riverina area of NSW.

The area was first settled by squatters c.1837 and developed into a potato farming district. The town entered a boom period in the 1880s when it became a popular summer resort for Melburnians.

The War Memorial and Mechanics Institute

Things to see:  

Tourist Information
There is no official information centre in town but you can ring Centrevic Motor Inn for enquiries, tel: (03) 5429 1777.

Antique Centre of Victoria
The town's architectural highlight is Old Macedonia House which was built in 1889 as a deluxe three-storey, 55-room hotel to cater for Melburnian holiday-makers who were travelling to the town in summer. Thereafter it served as a boarding house, Army offices, a clothing factory and a residence. It is now the Antique Centre of Victoria, tel: (03) 5429 1666. There are three floors of furniture, decorative arts, clocks, books, pianos, tools, paintings, jewellery and other items from the Georgian, Victorian and Edwardian eras. There is a restaurant which extends out onto the second-floor balcony where you can purchase anything from a Devonshire tea to a full meal, tel: (03) 5429 2370. It is located at 72 Main Rd.

Portree Vineyard has a cellar-door outlet in the former public bar which is open from 10.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m. daily, tel: (03) 5429 1422.

The Mechanics Institute (1868)

Historic Buildings
The through-road from Melbourne is known locally as Main Rd. However, the town's true main street is High St which extends westwards from Main Rd. It boasts a central plantation full of evergreens and a number of historic buildings which date back to the town's boom period in the late 19th century, including the mechanics hall (1868), the post office, courthouse, hotel, banks, churches, and single-storey timber shops. The old grain store and railway station have been converted into private homes.

Parkside at Lancefield Country Cottage (c.1880s) is a Victorian home in Parks Rd which offers self-contained accommodation, tel: (03) 5429 1787.

Museum
A local history museum has been operating in the old courthouse in Main Rd. It is generally open on Sundays from 1.30 p.m. to 4.30 p.m.

Monument Creek Herb Farm
Monument Creek Herb Farm is located 5 km west of Lancefield on Monument Rd, tel: (03) 5429 1357.

Mt William Nursery
The Mt William Advanced Tree Nursery is a 30-acre operation in the foothills of Mt William which specialises in advanced ornamental and deciduous trees and a range of conifers, natives and ground covers. It is located in Stafford Rd, off Pyalong Rd, tel: (03) 5429 1517.

Regional Wineries
The Budburst Festival will be held on the weekend of October 31 and November 1, 1998. Some wineries will air their wares at a public tasting in Lancefield Park and shuttle buses will operate to the other wineries.

Portree
Portree, established in 1983, has a cellar-door outlet in the former public bar of the Antique Centre of Victoria at 72 Main Rd. It sells two types of chardonnay, a red and a rose and it is open from 10.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m. daily, tel: (03) 5429 1422.

Cleveland
Cleveland Winery, established in 1984, is situated in an historic 1890s homestead located 2 km east of town on Shannons Rd (off Kilmore Rd). They are open from 9.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m. daily and produce a well-reputed Brut sparkling wine along with chardonnay, pinot noir, cabernet sauvignon and shiraz. The old stables and coach-house have been converted into the Carriagehouse Restaurant (where lunches are served on Sundays) and there are loft-style bed-and-breakfast rooms with fine views, tel: (03) 5429 1449.

Mt William Winery
Mount William Winery, established in 1987, is open on weekends from 11.00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. or on weekdays by arrangement, tel: (03) 5429 1595. To get there head east out of Lancefield on the Kilmore Rd. After 6 km turn left into Mt William Rd (unsealed) and it is about 9 km to the winery. They produce chardonnay, pinot noir, semillon, cabernet franc, a sparkling red and riesling. Barbecue facilities are located amidst fine gardens.

Ashworths Hill
Ashworths Hill, established in 1982, is located 7 km north-west of town on Ashworths Rd which runs west off the Burke and Wills Track. It is a family winery which produces cabernet sauvignon, pinot noir, riesling and chardonnay and it is open from 10.00 a.m. to 6.00 p.m. daily, tel: (03) 5429 1689.

Knight Granite Hills Vineyard
17 km north-west of Lancefield along the Burke and Wills Track (the Lancefield-Miamia Rd) is Knight's Granite Hills Vineyard which is one of the most elevated vineyards in the country. This family winery, which commenced operations in 1970, produces a distinguished riesling, along with chardonnay, pinot noir, cabernet sauvignon and shiraz with sparkling wines a recent addition. It is open every day from 10.00 a.m. to 6.00 p.m. except Sunday when it opens at 1.00 p.m., tel: (03) 5423 7264. There are picnic and barbecue facilities. Follow the signs from Lancefield or the Kyneton bypass.

Pattison/Lancefield Winery
The Pattison Lancefield Winery is located to the north of town in Scrubby Camp Road at Emu Flat. They produce cabernet merlot, shiraz, pinot noir, chardonnay and gewurtztraminer and are open by appointment and on special lunchtime concert days. To get there head north out of Lancefield on the main road and take the signposted turnoff on the left, tel: (03) 5433 5292.

Glen Erin
Glen Erin Winery, established in 1993, is 4 km west of Lancefield on the Woodend Rd. It produces a fine sparkling wine, together with gewurztraminer, chardonnay, riesling, pinot noir and shiraz. There is a fully-licensed a la carte restaurant (open for lunches and dinners on weekends and for dinners on Fridays and public holidays) and three function rooms (accommodating up to 200 people) with recreation facilities. The cellar door is open daily, tel: (03) 5429 1041.

Rochford Winery
Rochford Winery, established in 1983, is signposted off the Woodend Rd, just a little further west. It produces pinot noir, cabernet sauvignon, pinot grigio and chardonnay and is open by appointment, tel: (03) 5429 1428.

Scenic Drive
The road which heads north out of Lancefield passes through picturesque pasturage and boulder-strewn granite hills. After 28 km the road ends at Tooboracon on the Northern Highway, 16 km south of A HREF="VICHeathcote.shtml">Heathcote.

Lancefield Bush Rides
This organisation offers horse-trail rides through the local forests, tel: (03) 5429 1627.

	Motels
	Centrevic Motor Inn 50 Main Rd Lancefield VIC 3435 Telephone: (03) 5429 1777 Facsimile: (03) 5429 1533 Rating: ***
	Hotels
	Lancefield Hotel High St Lancefield VIC 3435 Telephone: (03) 5429 2202
	Bed & Breakfast/Guesthouses
	Fairways Guesthouse 19 Golfhouse Lane Lancefield VIC 3435 Telephone: (03) 5429 1903 Rating: ****
	Caravan Parks
	Lancefield Caravan Park 32 Chauncey St Lancefield VIC 3435 Telephone: (03) 5429 1434 Rating: *
	Restaurants
	The Grange Restaurant Woodend Rd Lancefield VIC 3435 Telephone: (03) 5429 1041