BACCHUS MARSH

town in southern Victoria, Australia. It is located 32 miles (51 km) northwest of Melbourne (to which a growing proportion of its residents commute daily) on the east bank of the Werribee River. In 1838, Captain William Henry Bacchus founded the town, and it grew as a stopping place for Cobb and Company coaches traveling from Melbourne to the Ballarat goldfields. Bacchus Marsh is situated in a fruit-growing, grazing, dairying, and mixed farming area and is also a centre of light manufacturing that produces hardboard, plastic goods, clothing, and engineering equipment. Maddingley opencut mine provides much of the state's supply of brown coal. A park, nearby Werribee and Lerderderg gorges, and an elm-tree lined entrance to the town are tourist attractions. The Manor, originally Bacchus' home, is one of the oldest colonial-period buildings in Victoria. Inc. shire, 1856. Pop. (1986) 7,640.