The area was once occupied by the Wurundjeri people. The first European settler was George Evans who established the Emu Bottom sheep station in 1836. His homestead, built that year, still forms the basis for the present Emu Bottom homestead, making it probably the oldest extant homestead in Victoria.
The Sunbury Hotel, named after Sunbury-on-Thames in Middlesex, was built in 1851 on the gold route to Bendigo in an area then known as Koora Kooracup. The townsite was surveyed later that year. The railway line arrived in 1859 and local government was granted in 1866. At that time Sunbury was something of a wine-producing centre with eight vineyards, including Goona Warra and Craiglee which have both been re-established in recent years.
The Dilkara Arts Festival is held at the Boilerhouse Arts Centre in February, the Sunbury Fair in March, the Arts Society Exhibition in May, the Sip-n-Sup Wine Festival on the last Sunday in August, the Agricultural Show in August and a craft market on the first Saturday of the month from February to December at the corner of Gap Rd and Elizabeth Drive.
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