Serviceton, Victoria


Serviceton is a small town in Victoria, Australia, located near the Victorian–South Australian border, 437 kilometres north-west of Melbourne. The town was named after James Service, Premier of Victoria in 1880 and from 1883–86. At the, Serviceton and the surrounding area recorded a population of 120.

History

The interstate border between South Australia and Victoria was legally delineated to be on the 141st meridian east but, owing to a surveying error, border markers were placed 3.6 km west of the meridian. Victoria finally succeeded in having the erroneously surveyed border declared to be the legal border in 1913, and therefore Serviceton is now fully within Victoria.
Serviceton Post Office opened on 16 September 1886, from 1908 to 1911 it was known as Serviceton Railway Station. A Serviceton North office on the Western Highway operated from 1911 until 1954 and a Serviceton South office was open briefly in 1926 and 1927.
The town is the subject of a Tom Waits song entitled "Town With No Cheer" from his album Swordfishtrombones.
Golfers play at the course of the Serviceton Golf Club on the Adelaide-Melbourne Highway.
At the Census 2011, Serviceton and the surrounding area had a population of 270.
At the 2006 Census in Australia census, Serviceton and the surrounding area had a population of 377.

Railway station

The railway station was begun in 1887 as a junction station between the Serviceton railway line of Victoria and the Adelaide-Wolseley railway line of South Australia. The tender to build the station was accepted in 1887 at 8,449 pounds and 9 shillings. The cost was shared equally between the two states. It was completed in 1889 with Horsham made bricks used in construction. Upstairs and platform level consist of 15 main rooms with the basement level having a similar area for storage. The basement sections were known as Mortuary and Dungeons.
The station is not in current use as a stop, even though The Overland still passes through the town. Nevertheless, the old South Australian Railways, and its successors, the Australian National Railways Commission, the National Rail Corporation and the Australian Rail Track Corporation have continued to own the railway to Serviceton outright. The building was leased by the Shire of West Wimmera from V/Line with a Committee of Management elected from the local community of Serviceton & District who voluntary operate, maintain and preserve it.