Shelford, Victoria

Shelford is a rural locality in Victoria, Australia. The locality is in the Golden Plains Shire near the regional city of Geelong and 106 km west of the state capital, Melbourne.

Shelford is nestled in a valley divided by the Leigh River, Golf Hill Station was established in 1836 on the river banks. Most of the local squatters came from Scotland so the town had a strong Presbyterian feel and had two churches. The Post Office opened on 1 July 1847 with the town names The Leigh which was renamed Shelford in 1854. By 1865 the town had a court house, post office, a mechanics institute and two hotels. In 1874 the Shelford Bridge was constructed using iron imported from Liverpool.

The town was never large; in the 1930s the town had a population of 130 persons. After the Second World War the larger land holding were carved up for a soldier settlement scheme. Sixty-nine farms covering 45,000 acres were sold off to returning servicemen and their families.

In 1994 the Post Office became a Licensed Post Office, and has since closed; the date of closure is unknown.

Heritage listed sites
Shelford contains a number of heritage listed sites, including:


 * 1372 Rokewood-Shelford Road, Leigh Shire Hall and Toll House
 * Shelford-Bannockburn Road, Leigh River Iron Bridge

Shelford Today
Shelford today still has a Recreation Reserve where the Shelford Cricket Club play their home games and the Recreation Reserve has tennis courts and a basketball court as well. Shelford also has a Primary School and a Town Hall.