Stonehaven is a small settlement about 10 km west of Geelong, Victoria, on the Hamilton Highway. It consists of a number of scattered farmhouses, the former primary school building (now a private residence), a community hall (now derelict) and a Country Fire Authority (CFA) fire station. The fire station is sometimes used as a polling booth for state and federal elections.[2] The Ceres Bridge Estate winery has its vineyard in Stonehaven, producing chardonnay and pinot noir.[3]
| Stonehaven Geelong, Victoria | |||||||||||||||
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 Former school at Stonehaven | |||||||||||||||
  Stonehaven | |||||||||||||||
| Coordinates | 38°07′21″S 144°13′31″E / 38.12250°S 144.22528°E | ||||||||||||||
| Population | 81 (2016 census)[1] | ||||||||||||||
| Postcode(s) | 3221 | ||||||||||||||
| LGA(s) | Golden Plains Shire | ||||||||||||||
| State electorate(s) | Polwarth | ||||||||||||||
| Federal division(s) | Corangamite | ||||||||||||||
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The community started agitating for a post office as early as 1883, when over 30 people signed a petition to the government.[4] The Stonehaven Post Office opened in 1927 and was closed in 1958.[5]
The school was No. 2199. A contract for £320 15s 6d to build a wooden school building was given to H. Moran in April 1879.[6] From 1879 to 1926 the school was known as the Lower Leigh State School.[7] In 1880 the teacher, J. McCann, wrote to the Geelong Advertiser about the difficulty students from Barrabool had reaching the school after a flood had damaged the bridge.[8] In 1935 the Public Works Department approved additions to the teacher's residence at the school to a value of £309.[9]
In 1953, farmers discovered rabbits at Stonehaven which had become immune to myxomatosis.[10] These so-called "super rabbits" had appeared only three years after the virus had been released to control rabbit numbers.
In 2012 a CFA fire truck became bogged in a paddock at Stonehaven while fighting a grass fire. The crew had to abandon the $500,000 tanker which was extensively damaged by the fire.[11]