Cottles Bridge, Victoria

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Cottles Bridge Victoria
Cottles Bridge
Coordinates	37°37′19″S 145°13′8″E / 37.62194°S 145.21889°E / -37.62194; 145.21889Coordinates: 37°37′19″S 145°13′8″E / 37.62194°S 145.21889°E / -37.62194; 145.21889
Population	601 (2016)[1]
Established	1870s
Postcode(s)	3099
Elevation	152 m (499 ft)
Location	30 km (19 mi) from Melbourne 4 km (2 mi) from Hurstbridge
LGA(s)	Shire of Nillumbik
State electorate(s)	Eildon Yan Yean
Federal division(s)	McEwen
Localities around Cottles Bridge: Doreen Arthurs Creek St Andrews Doreen Cottles Bridge St Andrews Hurstbridge Panton Hill St Andrews

Cottles Bridge is a town in Victoria, Australia, 30 km north-east of Melbourne's Central Business District. Its local government area is the Shire of Nillumbik. At the 2016 Census, Cottles Bridge had a population of 601.

History[]

The area, previously known as Back Creek, was named after Thomas Cottle, who settled in the area in the 1870s. Cottle's Bridge Post Office opened on 1 January 1910 and closed in 1960.^[2]

The actual Cottles Bridge is located west of St. Andrews in a location that was once full of small farms and orchards^[3]

On 23 April 1942 it was reported that the Cottles Bridge Methodist Church had a fundraiser to erect a vestry for the church. The fundraising concert took place in the church and audience members were treated to a performance by the Diamond Creek Choir and the Cottles Bridge Choir. The church managed to raise four pounds that night, taking the total amount of the fundraising to twenty-one pounds. The church needed forty pounds to erect the vestry.^[4] Fundraising for the vestry took on many guises. For example, house parties were popular forms of fundraising. One such house party took place at Mrs Phipps house in 1941. Fifteen people attended and took part in an evening of games, competitions, and musical items. Mrs Phipps house party raised just under four pounds.^[5]

Did the Methodist church eventually raise their much needed funds for the vestry? Unfortunately there wasn't another newspaper article following this story up.

From the 1950s onwards, various artists settled in the area, most notably Clifton Pugh AO, who established the Dunmoochin Artists Society there in 1953.

Present day[]

Cottles Bridge is home to the Lovegrove Vineyard and Winery, an award-winning Yarra Valley winery which established in 1983 and produces sparkling wines, chardonnay, sauvignon blanc, pinot noir, cabernet and merlot. There is also the Hurstbridge Learning Co-Operative Primary School, a parent-run, alternative school for primary school students established in 1973.

The area is not serviced by Melbourne public transport.

See also[]

• Shire of Eltham - Cottles Bridge was previously within this former local government area.

References[]