The Calder Highway is a prominent road in Victoria; linking the Sunraysia, Mallee, and Central Goldfields with Melbourne. It comprises 120km of the dual–carriageway M79 Calder Freeway between Keilor in Melbourne, and Bendigo. Further afield, The A79 stretches another 440km from Bendigo to Mildura and the New South Wales border.
The road was originally part of The Mount Alexander Road, which was mostly a bullock–sodden track from the City to the Goldfields in Central Victoria. William Calder was an engineer that emigrated to Victoria from New Zealand in 1860. Following a successful career, Calder was intrigued by the poor quality of road infrastructure in Victoria. In 1912, he formed the Country Roads Board and formulated a radial system of highways in Victoria that remain in use today. Although construction was halted due to the First and Second World Wars; during the Post–War reconstruction Calder‘s vision began to be realised. Thus, Victoria‘s formulative success in the Gold Rush and the modern success of the Country Roads Board scheme are married under the auspices of the Calder Highway.
M T Walker 