The Series has been brought to you to highlight local country towns in the South of Victoria.

Grovedale

The locality of Grovedale was originally named Germantown because several families of German Lutheran origin had settled there in 1849, with the German community expanding in the following decades. German Cottage, a house from this period located on the Surf Coast Highway (Torquay Road), is listed on the Victorian Heritage Register. Following the outbreak of the First World War, and particularly after the sinking of the RMS Lusitania by a German submarine in May 1915, there was agitation to change the name of the area. Following consideration of multiple name options, Grovedale was agreed upon, which was the name of a property in the district bought by Alexander Pennell in 1847.

A Post Office had originally opened on 21 January 1860. It was renamed Grovedale on 1 March 1916. A Grovedale East Post Office opened in 1996 near the Surf Coast Highway. There were also two hotels, two flour mills, two tanneries and four wool-washing businesses.

The hilly country and volcanic soil were ideal for orchards and vineyards, and the area became Victoria's largest wine-producing region, particularly thanks to the efforts of German migrants. In the early 1870s the region's vines became infested with the phylloxera aphid and were pulled out.

Residential expansion commenced in Grovedale in the late 1960s, the first housing estates branching off the Surfcoast Highway. Later expansion throughout the 1970s to the 1990s moved to the west along Church Street, Pioneer Road, and Heyers Road.

Source: Wikipedia