Author Archives: Waanyarra Admin
Quartz Crushing
The Dunolly Government Battery was managed by Mr. Hamilton. Stone was carted to Dunolly from Waanyarra for crushing. In February Raven and Gourley crushed two ton of stone for 55 1/2 ozs. of gold and another load of quartz weighing six ton yielded 5 2 ozs. 12 dwt. The Mines Department called tenders for moving … Continue reading
Gold Discoveries 1855 to 1934
1855 – Two nuggets, one 145 ozs. 5 dwt., the other 140 ozs. were found at a depth of 20 ft. 1856 – 281 ozs found in shallow ground by an undisclosed finder. 1857 Henry Davey named the huge nugget he found at “The Shoots” Jones’ Creek on 11 th July, “Schlemm”. The nuggett which … Continue reading
Gold At Waanyarra
Waanyarra is known to have produced the purest gold ever found in the world, being 99.9% pure. Waanyarra is also known for the large amount of alluvial nuggets found there. Nuggets fascinated the digger more than the awesome amount of finer gold produced on the fields. A dull time on the fields was always revitalized … Continue reading
“The Footsteps Echo” by Lynne Douthat
Waanyarra has its legends and myths set around the early gold-rush days of the 1850’s. “The Footsteps Echo” relates many of these stories and records the events of the times, with an abundance of photographs. Over fifty family histories and stories have been contributed to this book, thereby making it a book for future generations … Continue reading
“In Neptune’s Wake” by Ken Morton
Whilst written primarily as a family history for his children, Ken Morton’s book “In Neptune’s Wake” records the story of one of Waanyarra’s pioneering families, the Mortons, and their associated families. The family, established by Irish convict Michael Morton in the early 1850’s lived at Waanyarra … Continue reading
“The Loddon Aboriginals” by Norm Darwin.
Occupying parts of the North Central area of Victoria were the Jajoweroung (Jajawurrung) tribe, also known as the Djadja Wurrung people. The name, “Jim Crow blacks”, was also used by the early settlers. Jim Crow being the name given to Mt Franklin by Captain Hepburn. It is thought Jim Crow was a corruption of the … Continue reading
Michael Morton – The Irish Rebel
Early in July 1847, a young Irishman in the County of Tipperary stole a cow. Was he registering a protest against the poverty and oppression he and his family were suffering? Poverty brought on by the failure of yet another of their meagre potato crops due to Potato Blight, and oppression from the harsh treatment … Continue reading
Raven and Williams Families
The Williams Family By: Nell Callister “There were eight of them, Dave, Bill, Jim, Tom, Ted, Jane, Emily and Alice. Along with the Raven kids, they walked two and a half miles to attend the Waanyarra School. The families had no money but they had plenty of fun, and my brother and I were made to … Continue reading
Cemetery Records
Extensive research by FAFOW members and other volunteers over many years has lead to the reconstruction of the burial records for the cemetery, the original having been destroyed in a house fire in the early forties we believe. Copies of these records have been placed with most genealogical societies in Victoria, and are now shown … Continue reading
FAFOW – Families & Friends of Waanyarra
The Families and Friends of Waanyarra is a group of people dedicated to the preservation of the historic significance of this once rich gold mining area. The group had it’s beginnings in 1988 when a highly successful “Back to” was held in March of that year. Descendants of the pioneer families of the district and … Continue reading