Pyrenees Highway, Victoria
Pyrenees Highway is a rural highway in western Victoria, Australia, linking Glenelg Highway in Glenthompson to Calder Highway in Elphinstone. It intersects with the region's major road freight route, Western Highway in Ararat, in addition to Midland Highway in Castlemaine and Sunraysia Highway in Avoca. It was named after the Pyrenees ranges the highway runs through. This name covers many consecutive roads which are not widely known to most drivers except for the easternmost section, as the entire allocation is best known by the name of its last constituent part: Maroona–Glenthompson Road, Mortlake–Ararat Road and Pyrenees Highway proper. This article will deal with the entire length of the corridor for sake of completion, as well to avoid confusion between declarations.
Pyrenees Highway Maroona–Glenthompson Road, Mortlake–Ararat Road | |
|---|---|
| Pyrenees Highway at Elmhurst | |
West end East end | |
| Coordinates |
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| General information | |
| Type | Highway |
| Length | 205 km (127 mi) |
| Opened | 1938 |
| Route number(s) | B180 (1998–present) |
| Former route number | State Route 122 (1986–1998) (Ararat–Elphinstone) |
| Major junctions | |
| West end | Glenelg Highway Glenthompson, Victoria |
| East end | Calder Freeway Elphinstone, Victoria |
| Location(s) | |
| Major settlements | Willaura, Ararat, Amphitheatre, Avoca, Maryborough, Newstead, Castlemaine, Chewton |
| Highway system | |
In 1855, the Victorian Parliament passed the Chinese Immigration Act 1855, severely limiting the number of Chinese passengers permitted on an arriving vessel. To evade the new law, ship's captains landed many Chinese in the south-east of South Australia, from where the new arrivals travelled more than 400 km across country to the Victorian goldfields, along tracks including what is now the Pyrenees Highway.