A brief history of Mount Prospect    current weather

Mount Prospect is close to the estimated border between the Tureet Balug and the Gunangara Guddidj clans. Mount Prospect is home to various sacred burial sites of the Tureet Balug clan.

In April 1838 Captain John Hepburn, squatter and gentleman, and his business partner and best friend, William Coghill moved to Mount Kooroocheang (Smeaton Hill) and established the 23,000 acre Smeaton Hill Run.

Hepburn completed Smeaton Hill house in 1850.

By 1851 Hepburn owned Glendonald, and in 1853 Langdon's Mount Prospect Run

In the early 1850s the Victorian Colonial Government declared that squatters had been leaseholders rather than owners and that the Crown land that they occupied was to be sold by public auction.

For John Hepburn and his fellow squatters of the Upper Loddon, the primary concern was land tenure. The days were over for the great runs stretching over range and plain, with only a ploughed line or line of marked trees to define them.

Government surveyors had now parcelled out Smeaton Hill and Mount Prospect, Seven Hills and Bullarook, Glendaruel and Glendonald into hundreds of neat little quadrilaterals. To the Hepburns, Birches and Coghills it was incomprehensible.

When the Parish of Smeaton came up for Auction on 14th July 1856, most of it (including Mount Prospect) did fall to John Hepburn, the prices ranging from one pound per acre to six pounds seventeen shillings.

After the land sales came the era of post and rail fences, cut from the solid box and red gum trees to outline the small farms on Smeaton, Bullarook and Mount Prospect.

The Victorian Municipal Directory of 1921 lists Mount Prospect as a farming district with post office, state school, hotel, church, ANA hall and cemetary. Rail to Newlyn, coach at 9:50am (fare 9d)

Today, Mount Prospect faces the most serious challanege to its farming and agricultural hertiage from AusNet Services who are attempting to permanently decimate the land with towers and a terminal station making farming impractical and restricting Victorias food bowl production. Whilst opposed by all three levels of government (local, state and federal) and the broader community the fight continues against this ill planned project.