Fading Victoria


Consumer hunger for residential land and infrastructure is slowly destroying many historical sites located near the steadily expanding fringes of suburbia. Weather also takes its toll on beautiful rural buildings that have been abandoned by their owners. What causes them to just walk away?


Now: a photographer documents a handful of sites located in the state of Victoria, Australia -- before they fade away completely...


This site is still being developed and is subject to change.
In the meantime, please enjoy a small selection of photographs and descriptions available so far.
Click on the thumbnail to view the full sized image, and complete description.


New: local history blog / random history tidbits

Revisit: Rural cottage ruins
Revisit: Rural cottage ruins
Mia Mia, Victoria, Australia

Revisited 3 years later: Unfortunately, this tiny cottage appears to have collapsed. Visible in the debris is a sink and ... (more)
Revisit: Derelict house, and horses
Revisit: Derelict house, and horses
Malmsbury, Victoria, Australia

Revisited 18 months later: The house is still there, as are the two horses. This time only one of them wanted to pose.
Revisit: endangered species, saved from extinction
Revisit: endangered species, saved from extinction
Malmsbury, Victoria, Australia

Revisited 18 months later: The Calder Freeway bypass is complete, and this abandoned house is still standing. It used to ... (more)
Beehive well
Beehive well
Mernda, Victoria, Australia

An old beehive well on an abandoned rural property of roughly 300 acres in size. Being in a prime land development area - ... (more)
Microwaved mail
Microwaved mail
Yandoit, Victoria, Australia

Two mailboxes at the start of a dead end road. Battery ruins visible in the background.
Electric fence
Electric fence
Darraweit Guim, Victoria, Australia

Charming rural sign, complete with pellet shot holes.
Kelly House on a rainy morning
Kelly House on a rainy morning
Beveridge, Victoria, Australia

The former John Kelly House at Beveridge is fenced off from casual observers, but appears to be gradually succumbing to vandals ... (more)
Derelict house at dusk
Derelict house at dusk
Kilmore, Victoria, Australia

A magpie poses momentarily (see area to the right of the door) before wandering around this abandoned property. I could do ... (more)
Not long for this world?
Not long for this world?
Golden Point, Victoria, Australia

A row of abandoned and boarded up shops and houses in Ballarat. There are a total of five shopfronts and two houses which ... (more)
Old General Store
Old General Store
Longwood, Victoria, Australia

It is not known whether the painting on this door is original or a historical reproduction, but it is known that this facade ... (more)
Rest In Peace
Rest In Peace
Bulla, Victoria, Australia

A Virgin Blue aircraft passes over a cemetary moments before touching down. The cemetary has obviously been here longer than ... (more)
Sleeping trucks
Sleeping trucks
Craigieburn, Victoria, Australia

Huge earth moving trucks involved in the construction of the Hume Freeway Craigieburn bypass. This photo was taken at about ... (more)
Stone wall inside former base
Stone wall inside former base
Greenvale, Victoria, Australia

This stone wall probably existed long before the land was ever used for storing explosives for the Australian Navy and Australian ... (more)
The Cosmopolitan Hotel
The Cosmopolitan Hotel
Trentham, Victoria, Australia

Closed abruptly by a fire nearly 2 1/2 years before this photo was taken, an old hotel sits and waits for the day it will ... (more)
Room with a view
Room with a view
Greenvale, Victoria, Australia

If it wasn't for the remnants of window glass in the former Navy armaments depot in Somerton (now Greenvale) you might be ... (more)
Derelict house
Derelict house
Glenlyon, Victoria, Australia

An abandoned house in Glenlyon. Parts of the weatherboard portion have been patched over with corrugated iron, but it's probably ... (more)

*** More photos available: continue to page 2



All images and text on this site, unless otherwise noted, are copyrighted by Rowan Crowe. Contact me.