Trentham, Victoria


Trentham is a small town in the Shire of Hepburn and Shire of Moorabool local government area, Victoria, Australia. At the, Trentham had a population of 1,180, with a median age of 55 years.
Located at an altitude of, the town is north-west of Melbourne.

History

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.
A railway line arrived in 1880. At its peak carried up to 21,000 tonnes of freight annually. The station once had a timber tramway which transported timber to the Goods Platform. In the 1950s, however, 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, with the restored station building, the mainly intact yard with some rolling stock, and a platform in good condition.
Potato growing, grazing and tourism later became the mainstays of the town's economy.

Climate

The climate is cool and moist: the mean summer temperature is 17.5 °C, nights fall to around 9.8 °C in December ; whilst winters are distinctly cold with the mean daytime temperature 7.8 °C and mean night temperature 2.5 °C. The coldest temperature recorded was –6.0 °C; snowfall is not uncommon in winter; sleet and snow fall on an average of 13 days per annum.
Trentham has an average annual precipitation of 1110.9 mm; the highest single-day rainfall was 154.9 mm, and the highest monthly rainfall was 317.5 mm. The region has a distinct winter rainfall maximum. Rainfall occurs through the summer but tends to be more erratic and unreliable, often occurring in heavy downpours associated with thunderstorms.

Events and attractions

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.
The annual Great Trentham Spudfest has been running since 2008, celebrating Trentham's potato-growing heritage.
The town has an Australian Rules football team, the Trentham Saints, competing in the Maryborough Castlemaine District Football League.
The Trentham Golf Club is on Falls Road.