Rochford

Rochford is a farming locality 7 km south-west of Lancefield, south of the foothills of the Cobaw Ranges. The Rochford village was at the five-ways intersection of the Woodend and Monegeeta Roads. The origin of the name is uncertain.

An Anglican church (1860) was probably the genesis of the village, which acquired a blacksmith, two stores, a creamery and two hotels. A school was opened in 1858 and a public hall in the 1870s. Notable pupils were Sir Henry Gullett, Member of Parliament, and Edith Onions, founder of the Melbourne Newsboys Club.