The Little River has headwaters in the nearby Brisbane Ranges. It was also known as the Cocoroc Rivulet,[2][3]Cocoroc being a locality near the area. Where the road from Melbourne to Geelong crossed Little River, the Travellers Rest Inn was opened there in about 1839.[4]
It had been one of the Port Phillip Association's pastoral runs (the first occupier being James Simpson), and later a large part of the district was included in the Chirnside Estate centred on Werribee. Early on small farmers had the benefit of an 80 square kilometres (31 sq mi) common for grazing.
In the vicinity of Mount Rothwell, near Little River, a semi-circular arrangement of rocks now known as Wurdi Youang was discovered and in 2011 described by an astrophysicist from the CSIRO as indicating the setting sun at the solstices and equinox. Although the age is unknown, it could range from 200 to 30,000 years.[7]
Heritage sites
Little River contains a number of heritage listed sites, including:
795-805 Old Melbourne Road, Travellers' Rest (Rothwell Ruins)[11]
Today
The township has a petrol station and post office, a primary school, a kindergarten, a pub, a bed and breakfast, a park, two playgrounds, a train station, a cricket ground and several churches. Visitors from Melbourne pass through the town on the way to the You Yangs Regional Park and the Mount Rothwell Biodiversity Interpretation Centre.
Australian rock band Little River Band is named after Little River after seeing the name on a road sign on their way to a gig in Geelong.[12] Some scenes for the Australian television series We Can Be Heroes: Finding The Australian of the Year and Angry Boys were filmed at Little River, although it was referred to as the fictional town of 'Dunt'. Little River also featured in the movie Mad Max, with Little River Road being used as the movie's infamous "Highway 9".
Some parts of Little River and surrounding areas were filmed in the Australian television drama series, Blue Heelers. Also, in the nearby You Yangs, the 2003 film, Ned Kelly was shot.[citation needed]
^Victorian Places (2015). "Little River". victorianplaces.com.au. Monash University; The University of Queensland. The Vic Places project is a joint initiative of Monash University and the University of Queensland. Retrieved 15 January 2022.
