Sun, 21st June, 2015 ‘Waanyarra’, Dunolly State Forest (Tarnagulla History Walk)

Anthony’s birthday today – wow 24 years has just flown by.

Colder night. At 6am it was 5 degrees in the van but at 8am it was only 4 degrees and -2.2 degrees outside. Unfortunately the heater didn’t fire up again – Steve had put in the recommended dosage – might ring the chap we bought it from tomorrow.  Steve crawled out of bed at 9 as I had put the oven on to try and get some warmth in the van. He poured hot water over the metal spout from the fuel tank and the heater fired up then and it was still -2 outside. Maybe we need to insulate the fuel tank pipe or stay out of minus degree areas!! There were frozen droplets on the underside of the awning and around the vents in the van.

A lot more frost on the ground.

Happier now as the van is heating and I can move my fingers on the keyboard of the laptop!! As I turned over the water tank taps I found my solar lights and fairy lights so set them up.

Headed towards Tarnagulla to find Nugget Lane which we didn’t but there were a few other lanes so we drove up Robyn’s Lane and I dropped Steve off where it met Weed Lane, to do some detecting while I explore the history of Tarnagulla.

I turned off at the Historical Reserve sign and found the cricket ground. The Loddon Shire and the Tarnagulla Historical Society have erected information plaques around town. The Recreation Reserve opened in 1865 and upgraded to a sports arena in 1872. The large town reservoir was constructed in 1860. There was separate swimming dam but men and women were not allowed to swim together – believing women could get pregnant or catch terrible diseases if there was mixed bathing!!

The Cricket Pavilion was built in 1883 with the top floor a larger ballroom and restored by the community in 1990. It is the oldest remaining pavilion in Victoria.

The Band Rotunda was built in 1886 at the request of the Tarnagulla Brass Band and restored by volunteers in 1988.

I then drove to the main road called Commercial Road and parked at the Post Office which is also a small shop. The first brick was laid by Annie Lewis of the Golden Age Hotel on 7^th Sept, 1885. The Post Office opened in March 1886 and telegraph lines were connected on the 28^th May, 1886.

There was map showing the old gold areas.

Lovely trees line the street.

Next was the Golden Age Hotel. The original hotel was built on this site in December 1857 by Joseph Foo and granted a licence in 1859 and traded as Foo’s Family Hotel. The hotel was known as the Golden Age Hotel from 1861. The hotel was severely damaged by fire in 1962, with the front being completely rebuilt. The site has remained as a hotel over all the years.

The Colonial Bank’s corner stone was laid in 1865 and opened in July 1866. The bank offered free gold smelting service – there is a tall chimney at the back. The original chimney was much taller. The Colonial Bank ceased business in 1888, the building was then taken over by the Union Bank until 1942.  It served as the town’s general store until 1989 and is now privately owned.

There was another info board about the banks. There were four banks in Tarnagulla.

Next door to the bank was Locharron which was originally built in 1859 for the Union Bank of Australia. After 1888 it was used as a doctor and dentist surgeries then a restaurant and is now a private residence.

Cute little house with its add-on rooms.

Mechanics Institute and Reading Rooms was opened on 27^th Aug, 1858 to instruct workmen in the scientific principles. Evening lectures and reading rooms were available to local residents. Not looking to good nowadays.

The Victoria Hotel and Theatre was opened in 1862 and has been a public hall since 1924 and has been lovingly restored. Lola Montez and Dame Nellie Melba entertained miners from its stage. Lola performed her infamous Spider Dance here and miners in rapture threw gold nuggets at her feet. The cleaners did very well too sweeping up the gold dust from the seats and floors.

Stopped at the information boards for a read. Miners discovered gold in 1852 down the road a bit opposite where the local golf club is now. That started the rush of over 5000 miners to the area which was known as Sandy Creek Diggings. It was named Tarnagulla in 1860. The heaviest nugget found in Nuggetty Gully just south of Tarnagulla weighed 32 lbs.

Interesting reading and some great photos.

A more modern heritage trail sign, as they have promoted the area in the Golden Triangle the Council has put in walking tracks etc.

The town was lucky to escape a lot of damage during the 2011 floods.

I went into the Info Centre and chatted with the ladies about the area. There are only a small number of residents now compared to the gold mining days but they are determined to hang onto their history and apply for grants etc to upkeep their historical buildings etc. They said the Cricket Pavilion is the last of that style of historical pavilion in Victoria and they restored it in 1990. Grabbed some brochures and headed off to continue my walk. In the park was a cute Kangaroo Chair.

It was in the Soldiers Memorial Park which was opened in 1919 to commemorate the soldiers sacrifice in various wars. The monument was restored in 1996 as part of the ‘Australia Remembers’ project. The canon was taken from the flagship ‘HMS Nelson’ and presented to Tarnagulla Borough Council in 1898. It was originally located at the Reservoir Reserve and moved to this location in 1960. The canon has been fired 5 times in Tarnagulla – Relief of Mafeking (Boer War Battle) on19^th May 1900, monster picnic to celebrate the Relief of Mafeking on 23^rd May, 1900, Coronation Thanksgiving Celebration on 26^th June 1902, for the end of WW1 and for the Bicentennial Celebrations in 1988. When it was fired the first time it shot backwards at great speed knocking an old lady spectator over as it went into the swimming pool, knocked of a statue and started a fire on the south east of town. It took a team of horses to pull it back out of the pool.

Further down Commercial Road was Ebenezer Chapel – Baptist Church which was formerly a store and opened as a chapel in April 1864. The brick façade was erected in 1872. It is now a private residence like many of the historical buildings in the town. Certainly not the most exciting looking building.

At the intersection was a plaque showing where the Allen family camped under this large grey box eucalypt tree on their arrival in 1853.

Headed back down the road past Bowman’s Bakery. Frederick George Bowman settled in Sandy Creek in 1858 and started a bakery. The shop was built around 1861. Frederick died in 1904 and his wife died in the same year. J Williamson continued operating the bakery and Frederick Bowman Jnr, a boot-maker, purchased the building from his father’s estate in 1906.

Next to the police station was a plaque about the Flour Mill. First milling took place in 1882 and the steam operated mill closed in 1917. The mill was demolished and re-erected in Mildura after 1920.

Turned up Poverty Road to what is left of the Wesleyan Methodist Church. It opened in 1865 with a seating capacity of 300. In 1962 it was converted to the Uniting Church. Unfortunately it was badly damaged in a fire in 2000 and is now privately owned.

Nearby was the Poverty Mine Monument. The Poverty Reef was discovered by New Zealanders from Poverty Bay, hence the name. During 1852-53 they retrieved 13½ tons or 324,000 oz of gold.

Next door was a fenced off area of the Ironbark Mining P/L Tarnagulla Mining Project – Prince of Wale’s Shaft, Poverty Reef. Doesn’t look like it has been worked for a long time.

The Masonic Hotel and Lodge opened in the 1870s but is now a private residence. Could do with a paint job.

The lady at the Info Centre gave me a CD which narrates a tour around the town. Put it on and then followed it as it lead to other places a couple of streets away. St Saviours Church of England was the first of a group of churches in the same block. It was built of locally made bricks and opened in November 1864 with 200 attending the opening. The Tarnagulla Philharmonic Society sang in tribute. The church’s bell sounded as the fire alarm until 1892.  It was sold in 1995 and is a private residence – would have loved to look inside.

One house down was St Francis’ Catholic Church which opened on 18^th Feb, 1912 on the site of the original timber and iron church which was opened in 1865. The timber church was relocated to Dunolly in 1911 and used as St Marys School. In 1923 it was relocated to Murphy’s Creek.

Next was the site of the Tarnagulla State Primary School which opened in 1^st June, 1874 with 274 pupils. The shelter sheds were erected in 1907 and the school bell in 1910.

The Sandy Creek Post Office was built in 1856 as the Gold Warden’s Office, but never used as such. It became the post office and telegraph station and opened on 1^st Jan, 1861 and closed in 1886 when the new one on Commerical Road opened. It was sold in 1887 and has been a private residence ever since.

The Court House was erected in 1863 and opened on 3^rd Dec, 1863. County Court was first held in Tarnagulla on 1^st June, 1865 with Judge F. J. Macaboy presiding. The Court House was closed in the 1970s and is now a private residence.

Across the road were the Police Station and brick and bluestone two cell lock-up Gaol which was built in 1869. The original police camp was on the site of the present day school.

Following the CD I drove down to the entrance to the Golf Course but then the CD stopped playing. Turned around and headed back to our camp. Stopped off at another church on the way. The Presbyterian Church was built in 1864 then became the Uniting Church and is now privately owned.

Back to find Steve and collect all his gold – unfortunately all he had to offer was 20 cents!!

Back to the van for a late lunch then watched RPM then the V8s at Darwin. Really missing Channel 7’s broadcasts. 10 degrees but a lovely clear day. Chatted with Eddie who has been camped here for 8 years and cleans the toilets etc.

Put the CD in the laptop and listened to the remaining information –

In 1851Victoria became a separate colony and within a week of the proclamation, gold was discovered at Clunes, starting the gold era and making Victoria the financial centre of Aust. In December 1852 the Louder family crossed Loddon River and found nuggets on the ground starting the gold rush in this area. The first gold was found near the Tarnagulla Golf Club.

By 1855 the Sandy Creek Diggings were well established with rich leads. One of those was the Poverty Reef. Named after Poverty Bay in New Zealand where David Hatt was captain of his ship. The ship capsized killing all of his crew but he was saved by a Maori Princess who swam out and rescued him. He married her and brought her to Tarnagulla where he made his fortune in gold. Another rich reef was the Prince of Wales. In 1866 no one took up a half share of this mine for 20 pounds. A few weeks later the half share was offered again but this time for 50,000 pounds. At first there was heaps of gold on the surface of the ground. In 1906 a huge nugget was found named the Poseidon after a Melbourne Cup winner. It weighed 926 ounces or nearly one kilogram. At its peak there were 20,000 miners in the area and many of them were Chinese. By 1857 they outnumbered Europeans on the goldfields by 8 to 1. By 1920 there were only 2 Chinese living in the camp at the northern end of town. Underground mining followed.

At 6.30pm it was 2 degrees outside. Going to be another cold night – hope the heater will be ok in the morning.

Mum had rung to say everyone was there for dinner as Joc and John were visiting. Rang for a chat, they were having icecream and about to play Beanie – Jon was teaching Tash how to play.