Wallacedale

Wallacedale is a rural district in western Victoria created by the draining of the Condah Swamp. It is 28 km south-west of Hamilton.

The Condah Swamp’s waters came from the Arandoovong Creek, which rises near Branxholme and flows southwards to empty into Lake Condah, some kilometres south-east of Wallacedale. (Lake Condah is discussed in the entry under Condah).

The swamp area was rich in water life and there is extensive evidence of Aboriginal habitation around its margins. The area was settled pastorally as the Lake Condah pastoral run (1850). In 1886 work began on construction of a single drain to expose the rich soil underlay. Several hundred village settlement blocks, most too small for viable production, were taken up in the mid-1890s for the Condah Swamp village settlements. A school was opened in 1894 and a hall was built in 1897. The land was very productive, carrying potato farming and dairying.

The Reverend W. Wallace of the Branxholme Presbyterian church took a personal interest in the settlement, and its named was changed to Wallacedale.

Methodist and Anglican churches were opened in 1902, a Catholic church was opened in 1905 and a Presbyterian church was opened in 1913. The Wallacedale North school was opened in 1900. Wallacedale (Condah Swamp) was described in the 1903 Australian handbook:

After the 1920s the population of a Wallacedale district declined, and a further decline occurred after World War II. The Wallacedale school closed in the early 1970s and the Wallacedale North school closed in 1993. The area has continued to be used for grazing and dairying. Wallacedale has a CFA station, a hall and a church.

The census populations of Wallacedale and Wallacedale North have been: