About Lethbridge
Lethbridge is a rural township on the Midland Highway and railway line between Geelong and Ballarat, and is 75 km south-west of Melbourne.
It was originally named Muddy Water Holes, probably in connection with a chain of ponds along Bruces Creek. In 1854 a township was proclaimed and named Lethbridge. The supposition that it was named after a surveyor, Lethbridge, who was involved with the railway construction is unlikely, because the line was built eight years after the town's proclamation.
The Free Presbyterian church opened a school in 1856, and Catholic and Presbyterian schools followed in a few years. All were superseded by a government school in 1874. Local bluestone was quarried from 1860, and became a major industry for the supply of ballast for the railway line in 1862. The quarry also supplied building stone, which has been used for public buildings and memorials. Large blocks were quarried, free of faults. Examples of Lethbridge bluestone are found in the Lethbridge school, Bannockburn shire hall, Victorian Parliament House steps and the Inverleigh war memorial.
From a population of over 1200 persons in 1861 when the railway was being built, Lethbridge fell to about 150-250 for the next 50 years. Farming communities ran herds, including a few dairy cattle, and grew vegetables. In 1903 the Australian handbook described Lethbridge
Find out more here Victorian Places - Lethbridge