Bridgewater On Loddon is a town in north central Victoria

Victoria (Australia)

Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....

, Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

. The town is located on the Calder Highway

Calder Highway

Calder Highway is a Highway linking Ravenswood South in Victoria, to Mildura. North of the Victoria/New South Wales border, the highway continues north to Broken Hill, Tibooburra and the New South Wales/Queensland border as the Silver City Highway, under the standard national route shield as far...

, north west of Bendigo

Bendigo, Victoria

Bendigo is a major regional city in the state of Victoria, Australia, located very close to the geographical centre of the state and approximately north west of the state capital Melbourne. It is the second largest inland city and fourth most populous city in the state. The estimated urban...

, astride the Loddon River

Loddon River

The Loddon River is a 392-km long tributary of the Murray River that flows through central and northern Victoria, Australia. The river rises near Trentham and flows by Glenlyon. It then flows generally northward through Guildford and Newstead, 40 km west of Bendigo through the Cairn Curran...

. At the 2006 census

Census in Australia

The Australian census is administered once every five years by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The most recent census was conducted on 9 August 2011; the next will be conducted in 2016. Prior to the introduction of regular censuses in 1961, they had also been run in 1901, 1911, 1921, 1933,...

, Bridgewater On Loddon had a population of 391. The rural area which surrounds Bridgewater on Loddon is named simply "Bridgewater".

The Post Office opened on 1 January 1868 as Bridgewater-on-Loddon and was renamed Bridgewater around 1941.

Bridgewater has a new swimming pool and beach about two minutes walk from the Loddon Bridge Hotel, opposite the Post Office.

When reasonable water levels flow, the Mill Rapid downstream of the Calder Hwy bridge provides technical whitewater kayaking

Whitewater kayaking

Whitewater kayaking is the sport of paddling a kayak on a moving body of water, typically a whitewater river. Whitewater kayaking can range from simple, carefree gently moving water, to demanding, dangerous whitewater. River rapids are graded like ski runs according to the difficulty, danger or...

 of Grade 3 standard featuring a short fast run. This should only be attempted by kayakers with an appropriate level of experience and training and equipped at the very least with spray covers, buoyancy vests and helmets. Access is usually via local roads on the west bank. If approaching on the water from upstream, beware of entering the flour mill race area on the right (east) bank. Upstream of the Calder Hwy bridge kayakers and canoeists will have a pleasant paddling experience but may have to share the river with swimmers, fishers, and waterskiers.

The town has an Australian Rules football team competing in the Loddon Valley Football League

Loddon Valley Football League

The Loddon Valley Football League is based in Central Victoria.-History:The Loddon Valley Football League was formed in 1903 and is one of the oldest country leagues to have survived without a name change or amalgamation.-Current:...

.

Golfers play at the Bridgewater-On-Loddon Golf Club on the Calder Highway.

Schools

In 2008 Bridgewater Primary School had around 32 students; four years earlier the enrolment was 70.