Stawell, Victoria towns in Victoria (Australia)]] [[Category:Populated places established in 1853]] [[Category:1853 establishments in Australia]] Stawell, Victoria Stawell (pronounced /stɔːl/, "Stawl"), is an Australian town in the Wimmera region of Victoria west-north-west of the state capital, Melbourne. Located within the Shire of Northern Grampians local government area, it is a seat of local government for the shire and its main administrative centre. At the , Stawell had a population of . It was founded in 1853 during the Victorian gold rush and is one of few towns in Victoria retaining an active gold mining industry. Stawell is famed for the Stawell Gift,
Victoria (Australia) by international investment; attracted to the state by the availability of cheap land close to the city and inexpensive energy from the Latrobe Valley. Victoria produced 26.4% of total manufacturing output in Australia in 2015–16, behind New South Wales at 32.4%. Machinery and equipment manufacturing is the state's most valuable manufacturing activity, followed by food and beverage products, petrochemicals and chemicals. Prominent manufacturing plants in the state include the Portland and Point Henry aluminium smelters, owned by Alcoa; oil refineries at Geelong and Altona; a major petrochemical facility at Laverton; and Victorian-based CSL, a global biotechnology company that produces vaccines