Hogan, Thomas, early selector of land, member of Rodney Shire Council and Rodney Irrigation Trust.|Shire of Rodney|TaturaDocument and photograph

Local government in much of Victoria including the Bacchus Marsh area began with the formation of 'local committees'. These local committees could make representations to a Central Road Board regarding plans for road construction. Road construction and maintenance were seen as the essential tasks of these early local government authorities. By 1856 the local committee in Bacchus Marsh was constituted as the Bacchus Marsh Road District. This entity continued until 1862 when the name changed to the Bacchus Marsh and Maddingley Road District. This new entity lasted until 1871 when the local government authority in accordance with new statewide legislation became known as the Shire of Bacchus Marsh. The title of this plan being a plan of 'a portion of the road district of Bacchus Marsh' suggests that the plan was produced sometime between 1856 and 1862. The main purpose of this map was to shown the irrigable land in the district and the sources from which water for irrigation could be drawn. Bacchus Marsh was an early irrigation district in Victoria. Irrigation trusts were formed in the 1880s and 1890s to manage irrigation districts. But this was the culmination of many years of earlier attempts to construct irrigation systems in the Bacchus Marsh area and create a system to manage irrigation more broadly. This map dating from around 1856-1862 is an important cartographic document which provides evidence of how the early planning for irrigation was developing in the Bacchus Marsh region.A single page paper map showing a plan of part of the road district of Bacchus Marsh. The map is pasted into a bound volume containing 76 maps or plans in total. High resolution digital image stored on BMDHS computer network. bacchus marsh victoria maps, bacchus marsh road district, local government, road districts, irrigation