Mortlake is a town in the Western District of Victoria, Australia on the Hamilton Highway, 50 kilometres (31 mi) north-east of Warrnambool.

[4] Mortlake is situated at the foot of a dormant volcano, Mount Shadwell, formed 25,000 years ago.

[5] Self-proclaimed as the olivine capital of Australia, large ejected rocks from Mt Shadwell are called volcanic bombs.

The area was inhabited by Kirrae, Djab wurrung and Gunditjmara people, who built homes in small villages, sometimes using stones in their construction, and lived a settled life.

The first white settlers to arrive in Mortlake were probably David Fisher and his party in 1839, who set up a station which was left under the charge of Thomas Anderson.

[citation needed] An influx of settlers initially attracted to the 1850s Victorian gold rush but after their lack of success, they headed for the rich volcanic soil around Mt Shadwell.

In the late 1870s, an area of swamp was drained and established as the Mortlake Botanical Gardens, which at its height covered nearly 50 acres (20 ha).

The War Service Homes Commission was established in 1919 to provide houses for successful "soldier settler" applicants and their dependants.

In 1918, in popular opinion this area was regarded as "an agricultural Utopia" due to the high rainfall and good soil in most of the parts and the ability of local farmers to make a livelihood on a small acreage.

A series of droughts and the inevitable process of the young moving to more urban areas for education and work, lend to a change in demographics.

Deregulation of state government laws put more pressure on small businesses from competition from larger firms in the city.

[11] The selection of Holm Oaks as the replacement tree brought to a close a decade of intense debate over the future of the Avenue of Honour.

While the current plan is to replace the existing trees with Holm Oaks, an alternative plan proposed by local veterans involves extending the length of the Avenue of Honour to allow veterans of all conflicts that local men and women have participated in to be commemorated with a Oak Tree.

As of April 2007, Clarke's have begun producing the original square pie, on a smaller scale, and delivering within the local area.

In 2008 it was announced that an export boning room would commence production mid-year in the premises of the old Clarke's Pies factory.

On 4 July 2008, the Origin Energy Board announced it would construct a $640 million 550 megaWatt (MW) gas-fired power station located 12 km west of Mortlake.

Although approvals have been gained for approximately 1,000 MW, the Mortlake Power Station will be built in two stages adjacent to the existing Moorabool to Heywood 500 kV high voltage transmission line.

The A$200m project will generate significant economic activity in the Moyne Shire and surrounds- including over 80–100 construction jobs and 5–10 full time operational positions.