About the Community
Naturally beautiful
Sedgwick is an area renowned for its natural landscape and large rural properties. It is a community that is slowly changing over time with many young families moving in as farmland is subdivided and gives way to rural blocks.
The Sedgwick Public Hall, Recreation and Conservation Reserve
The Sedgwick Public Hall, Recreation and Conservation Reserve aims to reflect an ideal rural life style for the local community and visitors. It is important for providing a diversity of recreational experiences and opportunity for the Sedgwick Community.
The reserve is adjacent to the local CFA, which is located to the south of the public hall. The reserve is made up of two pieces of land, separated by Boyd Lane. One parcel of land (Council owned) provides the public hall, playground and tennis courts. The other much larger parcel of land (Crown land) includes the creek line, bush land and open fields, providing an excellent waterway environment.
The key components of the reserve are
- Sedgwick public hall
- Electric BBQ for public use
- Children’s playground
- Tennis courts
- Car park/RV stop
- Open space – creek line, bushland and open fields
History and demographic profile
Historically, the land is part of the area used by the Dja Dja Wurrung Tribe, however since European settlement in the 1830’s, the land has been used for agricultural purposes, particularly hobby farming, sheep and cattle grazing, timber and vineyards.
When the first freehold land was granted in 1854, the area that is now Sedgwick was known as Upper Emu Creek. The Emu Creek rises in hills south of the district and runs into Axe Creek that in turn runs into the Campaspe River.
The earliest settlers known to hold leases in the area were named Howard, Simpson, Williams, Sallows, Carter, Osborne, Brennan, and Broadbent.
The population has increased substantially since the early 1990s, as a result of subdivision and new development in the area. Generally the Sedgwick area is zoned for Rural Living, allowing minimum 20 acre lots.
The 2006 Census data indicates that 858 people reside in the Sedgwick area with an even split between males and females. The area is home to a significant number of couple families with children (52 %) and couples without children (41%). The Census data indicates that 24.6% of the population usually resident in Sedgwick were children aged between 0-14 years compared to 19.8% across Australia, and 24.1% were persons aged 55 years and over.
Popular cyclist route
Sedgwick is a popular training route for competitive or road riding cyclists and is well used as part of a circuitous route that goes out to Sutton Grange and back through Strathfieldsaye. Also important is the proximity of the crown land to the east of the recreation reserve, accessed along Boyd Lane. This area is accessible for mountain bike riding and has good tracks (such as Myer Road and Barty Road) that connect through to Emu Creek. The Sedgwick Recreation Reserve provides an excellent start/finish point or rest point in the network of crown land and bushland trails in this area.