Where was Scrublands filmed? The real Riversend town location

Posted by Ra Moon

Set in the fictional town of Riversend, Scrublands was filmed on location in Victoria, Australia.

The four-episode series is an adaptation of Chris Hammer's award-winning novel of the same name, which was published in 2018.

The crime thriller revolves around a remote town where Byron Swift, a young priest portrayed by Jay Ryan, goes berserk and shoots five parishioners.

A year later, journalist Martin Scarsden (Luke Arnold) arrives in the town to write an article about the tragedy. Rounding out the main cast is Bella Heathcote as local bookstore owner Mandy Bond.

Welcome to Riversend and our guide to (almost) all the filming locations of Scrublands. We have sorted the locations more or less into chronological order.

The Riversend town location

St. Brigids Catholic Church in Maldon served as Riversend's St. James Catholic Church.

Opened in 1891, this Victorian temple was built during the Gold Rush era.

(You can open all the locations on Google Maps by clicking on the links below in the captions ↴)
Image courtesy of Stan - Map

Nestled in the heart of Victoria's Goldfields region, Maldon doubles as Riversend.

Located about 136 km (85 miles) from Melbourne, Maldon retains its 19th-century charm with many preserved heritage buildings lining its streets.

Image courtesy of Stan - Map

Most of the scenes were filmed on the main street of this quaint town of barely 1,500 people.

Mandy's Oasis Bookshop & Cafe is the lovely The Book Wolf, which, according to a local guide, it has "an old-timey feel, and a decent selection of books".

The Landers General Store exterior is located in a vacant storefront across the street.

Image courtesy of Stan - Map

According to one of our readers, the dry salt lake at the beginning of the series is located in the Towan Plains Nature Conservation Reserve, about 26 kilometers west of Nyah West in Victoria.

Image courtesy of Stan - Map

The Black Dog Motel is the Gisborne Motel, located in the town of the same name located about 50 kilometers northwest of Melbourne.

You can stay in this motel for about 170 Australian dollars per night in a double room.

Image courtesy of Stan - Map

Harley Reagan's magnificent house, the Springfields estate, is located in Baringhup, Victoria.

Thanks to Then/Now Filming Locations for tracking down this location.

Image courtesy of Stan - Map

The Riversend Hospital is the Maldon Hospital housed in a beautiful 19th-century building.

In the book, the town of Riversend is located in New South Wales.

Image courtesy of Stan - Map

Martin meets Defence and Foreign Affairs lawyer Ms. Coulson near a disused railway bridge over Joyces Creek in Newstead.

The local press reported that Scrublands was also filmed in Castlemaine.

Image courtesy of Stan - Map

Can you help to improve this article about the filming locations of Scrublands? To complete and correct this report, any feedback, info, or images that you may have are more than welcome, thank you!

NOTICE: If you’re using this information on your website, please credit and link to this page as a source.
*****

6 comments:

1- Anonymous - Nov 26, 2023, 9:48 AM
I think Springfields is the same house as A Place to Call Home? Am I right?

   Reply
   2- Ra Moon - Nov 26, 2023, 13:06 PM
   Thanks, but it's another house.

3- Anonymous - Nov 26, 2023, 8:35 PM
The Black Dog Motel is the Gisborne Motel.

4- Anonymous - Nov 29, 2023, 11:23 PM
Harley Reagan’s house is in Baringhup, Victoria.

5- Anonymous - Dec 27, 2023, 5:01 PM
The salt lake in the 1st episode is 26 km west of Nyah West in Victoria.

   Reply
   6- Ra Moon - Dec 28, 2023, 12:35 PM
   Thanks to all, updated!

0 comments

All comments are reviewed prior to publication