Hamilton Highway

Hamilton Highway

Victoria
Hamilton Highway; Victoria
	East end West end
Coordinates	38°08′49″S144°21′11″E / 38.147°S 144.353°E (East end); 37°44′35″S142°03′07″E / 37.743°S 142.052°E (West end);
General information
Type	Highway
Length	229.2 km (142 mi)
Gazetted	March 1914 (as Main Road); 1959/60 (as State Highway)
Route number(s)	B140 (1998–present)
Former; route number	State Route 106 (1986–1998)
Major junctions
East end	Portarlington Road; Newtown, Geelong
	Princes Highway ; Geelong Ring Road ; Hopkins Highway ;
West end	Glenelg Highway ; Hamilton, Victoria
Location(s)
Major settlements	Fyansford, Cressy, Lismore, Mortlake, Penshurst
Highway system
	Highways in Australia ; National Highway • Freeways in Australia ; Highways in Victoria ;

Last updated November 22, 2025

Hamilton Highway is a rural highway through the Barwon South West region of Victoria, Australia, linking Geelong and the town of Hamilton.^[4]

Route

Hamilton Highway commences at the intersection of Latrobe Terrace and Portarlington Road in Geelong and heads in a westerly direction as a two-lane, single carriageway through Fyansford, crossing the Barwon River and an interchange with Geelong Ring Road, before leaving the Geelong suburbs and continuing west as a rural highway through the localities of Inverleigh, Cressy, Lismore, Mortlake, and Penshurst to eventually terminate at the intersection with Glenelg Highway at the eastern edge of Hamilton. Glenelg Highway continues west across the border with South Australia to Mount Gambier, making Hamilton Highway a popular alternative Melbourne-Mount Gambier route (being roughly 50 km shorter than a corresponding journey via the Victorian coast along Highway 1).

History

The passing of the Country Roads Act of 1912^[5] through the Parliament of Victoria provided for the establishment of the Country Roads Board (later VicRoads) and their ability to declare Main Roads, taking responsibility for the management, construction and care of the state's major roads from local municipalities. (Geelong-)Inverleigh Road from Geelong to Inverleigh was declared a Main Road on 16 March 1914,^[2] and Cressy-Inverleigh Road from Inverleigh to Cressy was declared a Main Road on 9 June 1925.^[6]

The passing of the Highways and Vehicles Act of 1924^[7] provided for the declaration of State Highways, roads two-thirds financed by the State government through the Country Roads Board. Hamilton Highway was declared a State Highway in the 1959/60 financial year, from Geelong via Cressy and Mortlake to Hamilton (for a total of 143 miles), subsuming the original declarations of Geelong-Inverleigh Road and Cressy-Inverleigh Road as Main Roads; before this declaration, this road was also referred to as Geelong-Hamilton Road.^[3]

The Geelong end of the highway was once routed along Hyland Street through Fyansford, until the construction of Deviation Road between 1931 and 1932 with unemployment labour during the Great Depression. Opened in 1933, it was cut into the hillside, the surface was originally of concrete construction. The road opened 54 years after the first petition by Fyansford residents for such a road.^[8]

A new bridge over Woady Yaloak River in Cressy was opened in 1995, at a cost of $2.86 million, adjacent to and replacing a structure built in 1854 and rebuilt in 1880 after fire damage, retained but now closed to vehicular traffic.^[9]

Hamilton Highway was signed as State Route 106 between Geelong and Hamilton in 1986; with Victoria's conversion to the newer alphanumeric system in the late 1990s, this was replaced by route B140.

The passing of the Road Management Act 2004^[10] granted the responsibility of overall management and development of Victoria's major arterial roads to VicRoads: in 2004, VicRoads re-declared the road as Hamilton Highway (Arterial #6780), beginning at Latrobe Terrace at Geelong and ending at Glenelg Highway in Hamilton.^[4]

Major Intersections and Towns

LGA	Location^[1]^[4]	km^[1]	mi	Destinations	Notes
Greater Geelong	Newtown	0.0	0.0	Ryrie Street (C123 east) – Geelong, Drysdale, Portarlington	Eastern terminus of highway and route B140
		0.0	0.0	Latrobe Terrace (A10/Tourist Drive 21 north, south) – Corio, Waurn Ponds
		1.5	0.93	Shannon Avenue (C136) – Belmont, Corio
	Fyansford	3.9	2.4	Hyland Street (C118) – Corio	Roundabout
		5.4	3.4	Geelong Ring Road (M1) – Melbourne, Colac, Warrnambool Mount Gambier, Adelaide
		6.0	3.7	Fyansford–Gheringhap Road (C137) – Ballarat
Golden Plains	Stonehaven	8.3	5.2	Merrawarp Road (C111 south) – Ceres, Moriac, Torquay	Concurrency with route C111
	Stonehaven	8.7	5.4	Friend In Hand Road (C111 north) – Gheringhap, Ballarat	Concurrency with route C111
	Inverleigh	27.4	17.0	Inverleigh–Winchelsea Road (C145) – Winchelsea
	Inverleigh	31.7	19.7	Inverleigh–Shelford Road (C144) – Shelford
Colac Otway	Cressy	64.4	40.0	Colac–Ballarat Road (C146 north) – Rokewood, Ballarat	Concurrency with route C146
Colac Otway	Cressy	65.7	40.8	Colac–Ballarat Road (C146 south) – Cressy, Colac	Concurrency with route C146
Corangamite	Duverney	72.1	44.8	Foxhow Road (C164) – Camperdown
	Lismore	89.9	55.9	Lismore–Scarsdale Road (C171) – Ballarat
		94.7	58.8	Camperdown–Lismore Road (C165) – Camperdown
		96.6	60.0	Lismore–Skipton Road (C172) – Camperdown, Skipton, Beaufort
	Darlington	121.5	75.5	Darlington Road (C173) – Camperdown
Moyne	Mortlake	144.5	89.8	Mortlake–Ararat Road (C148 north) – Lake Bolac, Ararat Terang–Mortlake Road (C156 south) – Terang, Cobden
	Mortlake	146.3	90.9	Hopkins Highway (B120) – Warrnambool
	Caramut	177.4	110.2	Warrnambool–Caramut Road (C174) – Warrnambool
Southern Grampians	Penshurst	201.4	125.1	Penshurst–Dunkeld Road (C178 north) – Dunkeld, Horsham, Stawell	Concurrency with route C178
	Penshurst	202.4	125.8	Penshurst–Warrnambool Road (C178 south) – Port Fairy, Warrnambool Macarthur–Penshurst Road (C185 west) – Macarthur	Concurrency with route C178
	Hamilton	229.2	142.4	Glenelg Highway (B160) – Hamilton, Portland, Horsham, Mount Gambier	Western terminus of highway and route B140
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi Concurrency terminus Route transition

References

1 2 3 "Hamilton Highway" (Map). Google Maps . Retrieved 15 October 2021.
1 2 "Victorian Government Gazette". State Library of Victoria. 1 April 1914. p. 1546. Retrieved 20 June 2024.
1 2 "Country Roads Board Victoria. Forty-Seventh Annual Report: for the year ended 30 June 1960". Country Roads Board of Victoria. Melbourne: Victorian Government Library Service. 21 November 1960. pp. 7–8.
1 2 3 VicRoads. "VicRoads – Register of Public Roads 2024" (PDF). Government of Victoria. p. 957. Archived from the original on 19 June 2024. Retrieved 19 June 2024.
↑ An Act relating to Country Roads State of Victoria, 23 December 1912
↑ "Victorian Government Gazette". State Library of Victoria. 24 June 1925. p. 2168. Retrieved 18 May 2025.
↑ An Act to make further provision with respect to Highways and Country Roads Motor Cars and Traction Engines and for other purposes State of Victoria, 30 December 1924
↑ John, McNeil (1990) A Journey to Destiny 1890-1990 100 Years of Cement Manufacturing at Fyansford by Australian Cement Limited
↑ "VicRoads Annual Report 1994-95". VicRoads . Melbourne: Victorian Government Library Service. 26 September 1995. p. 10.
↑ State Government of Victoria. "Road Management Act 2004" (PDF). Government of Victoria. Archived (PDF) from the original on 18 October 2021. Retrieved 19 October 2021.

External links

Media related to Hamilton Highway at Wikimedia Commons

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[gmaps-1] 1 2 3 "Hamilton Highway" (Map). Google Maps . Retrieved 15 October 2021.

[vicgovgaz14-2] 1 2 "Victorian Government Gazette". State Library of Victoria. 1 April 1914. p. 1546. Retrieved 20 June 2024.

[CRB47AR-3] 1 2 "Country Roads Board Victoria. Forty-Seventh Annual Report: for the year ended 30 June 1960". Country Roads Board of Victoria. Melbourne: Victorian Government Library Service. 21 November 1960. pp. 7–8.

[vicreg-4] 1 2 3 VicRoads. "VicRoads – Register of Public Roads 2024" (PDF). Government of Victoria. p. 957. Archived from the original on 19 June 2024. Retrieved 19 June 2024.

[5] An Act relating to Country Roads State of Victoria, 23 December 1912

[vicgovgaz25-6] "Victorian Government Gazette". State Library of Victoria. 24 June 1925. p. 2168. Retrieved 18 May 2025.

[7] An Act to make further provision with respect to Highways and Country Roads Motor Cars and Traction Engines and for other purposes State of Victoria, 30 December 1924

[john-8] John, McNeil (1990) A Journey to Destiny 1890-1990 100 Years of Cement Manufacturing at Fyansford by Australian Cement Limited

[VR95AR-9] "VicRoads Annual Report 1994-95". VicRoads . Melbourne: Victorian Government Library Service. 26 September 1995. p. 10.

[roadact-10] State Government of Victoria. "Road Management Act 2004" (PDF). Government of Victoria. Archived (PDF) from the original on 18 October 2021. Retrieved 19 October 2021.

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v t e Road infrastructure in Victoria
Freeways	Calder Freeway Goulburn Valley Freeway Hume Freeway Princes Freeway (Geelong Ring Road) Western Freeway
Highways	Bass Highway Bellarine Highway Borung Highway Burwood Highway Calder Highway Calder Highway Glenelg Highway Goulburn Valley Highway Hamilton Highway Henty Highway Hopkins Highway Hyland Highway Kiewa Valley Highway Loddon Valley Highway Mallee Highway Maroondah Highway McIvor Highway Melba Highway Midland Highway Monaro Highway Murray Valley Highway Nepean Highway Northern Highway Omeo Highway Princes Highway Pyrenees Highway South Gippsland Highway Strzelecki Highway Sturt Highway Sunraysia Highway Surf Coast Highway Warburton Highway Western Highway Western Port Highway Wimmera Highway
Bypass routes	Old Hume Highway Old Princes Highway
Tourist routes	Great Alpine Road Great Ocean Road Murray Valley Highway Phillip Island Road