Harcourt real estate

Harcourt was surveyed in 1853 where the Bendigo and Castlemaine roads met. It was named after Sir William Harcourt. Coliban water reached the orchards from 1881. After 1905 the valley became an apple growing area producing export quality crops. Local granite was quarried for buildings, including Flinders Street Station in Melbourne. The orchards have since branched into cider and table wine.

Mount Alexander rises above the town, with walking tracks, two lookouts, a koala sanctuary and an old oak forest planted for the tanning industry. La Larr Ba Gauwa Mountain Bike Park sits close to town. Stanley Park, laid out in 1914, has monuments and mature exotic trees. The 1863 bluestone and granite railway station is on the Victorian Heritage Register and now houses a community radio station. Applefest runs over the March Labour Day long weekend.

Day to day, Harcourt has a post office, general store, petrol station, community pool, public hall, recreation reserve and a motel. Harcourt Valley Primary School formed in 1993 from two older local schools. There is also a kindergarten. The Calder and Midland highways meet near town, with the Calder Highway bypass opened in 2009. The nearest operating train station is at Castlemaine.