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Hurstbridge

(3099, 30 km NE, Nillumbik Shire)

Hurstbridge is a partly suburbanised township at the terminus of the railway beyond Eltham, near the junction of Arthurs and Diamond creeks. Named after early settler Henry Hurst (shot dead by a bushranger in 1866), and the timber bridge he built over the creek, Hurstbridge became the centre of a prosperous fruit-growing area, particularly after the railway opened (1912). Although a new concrete bridge was built in 1918, Hurstbridge remained countrified until residential growth began in the 1950s. A high school opened in 1967. Latterly, under the pressure of new housing, residents have been active in efforts to retain the scale and trappings of a small town.

Andrew Lemon