Greenvale is located on the Willaura Wickliffe Road approximately eight kilometres south of Willaura.  The property has a history of many owners since its settlement in 1837. 

Originally pioneered in 1837 by Robert Adams, an Irishman, the property was then some 65,000 acres.  Robert Adams held Greenvale for only ten years before James Austin took up grazing rights in 1853.  A short time later James Austin’s brother, Josiah, in partnership with Thomas Maidment and Thomas Millear, purchased Greenvale. 

By 1877 the partnership between Millear, Austin and Maidment had dissolved and Greenvale was sold by auction at Melbourne. The property was not sold in its entirety but rather in smaller settlements.  Thomas Millear purchased 18,390 acres of the northern portion and named it after his family home in England ‘Edgarley’, and Josiah Austin retained 2,200 acres with the original homestead.  It was Josiah’s son Wilfred who married Miss Bessie McLellan, who then went on to live at Greenvale.  Mrs Bessie Austin conducted a private preparatory school for boys for some years after 1900 at the homestead. 

The school grew from the idea of a private tutor for her own son until she had a staff of six teaching French, Latin, English, Mathematics, Euclid Algebra, Music, Singing, Golf, Riding and Swimming.  A large domestic staff of ten girls and a number of men were employed to attend to the washing and cooking for up to forty boys.  The boys rode their ponies to the college and in 1916 the fees were “Three guineas per term – ninepence extra per day for dinner.” 

Many notable families took the opportunity of sending their boys to a country environment to further their education and it is said that lads from NSW, Queensland and South Australia attended the college.  The College which had been a preparatory school for Geelong Grammar closed around 1919, and thus ended a type of secondary education which had successfully fulfilled a need in the district. 

Greenvale was then sold to Mr W Hillip in 1922.  He made many structural alterations to the homestead adding two rooms but unfortunately died before taking residence. 

From 1939 to the present day Greenvale has had many ownerships: Mr AB Wood (1939), Mr Max Bingley and Family (1943-1984), Mr Greg Twit, Mr Scott Astbury and Mr Geoff King (1992), Jane Rutherford and James Kerr (1995), Ian and Dr Suzanne Ryan (1999), the Kumnick Family and Mr Neil Vallance (2017). 

Ref – The History of Willaura and District 1835-1985