Hazelwood

The farming district of Hazelwood is located about 8 km south of Morwell in the Latrobe Valley, Gippsland, on the flats of the Morwell River.

Hazelwood pastoral run was taken up in 1844, being named after the squatter’s wife, Lavinia Hasell Bennett. In the 1870s, when the runs were opened for selection, the lessee acquired part of the property, Hazelwood Estate. The settlers grazed sheep and cattle, grew crops and dairied. In 1874 and again in 1888, companies were formed to mine black coal in the area, but the ventures were speculative.