Red Hill, Victoria


Red Hill is a small town and rural community, located in the hinterland of the Mornington Peninsula, about an hour's drive south of Melbourne, in Victoria, Australia. Its local government area is the Shire of Mornington Peninsula. At the, Red Hill had a population of 924.

History

Red Hill was so named due to the rich red soil colour which is found in this locality. The area now known as Red Hill contains land in three parishes: Kangerong, Wannaeue and Balnarring. Kangerong is north of Arthurs Seat Road and west of Red Hill Road, Wannaeue is west of Mornington-Flinders Road. The rest of Red Hill and Red hill South are in Balnarring parish.
Many Red Hill roads are named after early pioneering families: Sheehan, McIlroy, Stanley, Bayne, Herriott, Arkwell, Eaton, Nash, Prossor, Perry and Callanan.
Red Hill Post Office opened on 1 August 1871.
A railway also operated here between 1921 and 1959 and was known as the Red Hill railway line.

Today

The town has an Australian Rules football team competing in the Mornington Peninsula Nepean Football League. They won their first Division 2 premiership back in 1990. Their most recent Division 2 premiership was 2019.
A monthly is held from September through May. Patrons can still watch old time games like Pétanque being played and smell the roasting of chestnuts. Other traditional Australian foods such as meat pies and jam donuts are also sold.
Since the 1970s, wineries have been established around Red Hill to take advantage of the microclimates that suits cool climate grapes, and especially pinot noir. Strawberries, cherries and apples are also grown and available seasonally at the farm door.

Notable residents