| Dunolly Victoria | |||||||||||||||
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 Broadway, the main street of Dunolly | |||||||||||||||
  Dunolly | |||||||||||||||
| Coordinates | 36°51′0″S143°44′0″E / 36.85000°S 143.73333°E | ||||||||||||||
| Population | 893 (2016 census) [1] | ||||||||||||||
| Postcode(s) | 3472 | ||||||||||||||
| Location |
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| LGA(s) | Shire of Central Goldfields | ||||||||||||||
| State electorate(s) | Ripon | ||||||||||||||
| Federal division(s) | Mallee | ||||||||||||||
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Dunolly is a town in Victoria, Australia, located on the Dunolly - Maryborough Road, in the Shire of Central Goldfields. At the 2016 census, Dunolly had a population of 893, down from 969 in 2006.
The town began during the Victorian Gold Rush. It is located on the traditional lands of the Dja Dja Wurrung people, who called the area Lea Kuribur.
One of the first accounts of the Dunolly Gold Rush was recorded by the Bendigo Advertiser on 3 July 1857 that estimated the population at 12,000. Confirmation of a rush followed on 10 July. [2]
The exact date that Dunolly was founded is unknown. The location of the township itself moved four times before the 1856 rush, further adding to the confusion of its early history. The modern town is the 5th location, and was founded in July 1856 with the previous resettlements driven by further discoveries of gold leads. [3] Technically, even at this time Dunolly was not a town. It was held as a Municipality from 1858 to 1863, and wasn't officially declared a borough until 1 October 1863. [4]
Goldborough Post Office opened on 1 March 1856 and was renamed Dunolly in 1859. [5]
One of the largest natural gold nuggets ever found, the legendary "Welcome Stranger", was discovered in nearby Moliagul township. [6]
Rail came to Dunolly with the opening of the Mildura railway line in 1875. Another branch line that connected to Inglewood in 1888.
The Dunolly Magistrates' Court closed on 1 August 1981. [7]
Centred on the main street, Broadway, Dunolly features a rural transaction centre, [8] SES, CFA, a pre-school and a primary school, and many businesses. Dunolly is known for its amazing bakery, providing the best sweets in the district. Dunolly hosts a monthly market for vendors from all over Victoria and other states.
Although Dunolly is located on a major rail line, no passenger services are available, but regular bus services offer travel to and from Dunolly.
There is a local museum on Broadway which has a large collection of historic photographs, goldfields implements, replicas of gold nuggets, ladies fashions, needlework, and guns. It also offers a family research facility and regular history tours.
Dunolly has become a favourite location for gold fossicking using metal detectors. In 2016–2017, gold nuggets of 4 kg (8.8 lb) and 4.3 kg (9.5 lb) were found near Dunolly. The nuggets have been valued at around $300,000. [9] [10]
The town's Australian Rules football team, the Dunolly Eagles, competes in the Maryborough Castlemaine District Football League. Star recruits, Shannon Motlop and Robbie Ahmat, have played on the team. [11]
Bendigo is a city in Victoria, Australia, located in the Bendigo Valley near the geographical centre of the state and approximately 150 kilometres (93 mi) north-west of Melbourne, the state capital.
Castlemaine is a town in west central Victoria, Australia, in the Goldfields region about 120 kilometres northwest by road from Melbourne and about 40 kilometres from the major provincial centre of Bendigo. It is the administrative and economic centre of the Shire of Mount Alexander. The population at the 2021 Census was 7,506. Castlemaine was named by the chief goldfield commissioner, Captain W. Wright, in honour of his Irish uncle, Viscount Castlemaine.
The Victorian gold rush was a period in the history of Victoria, Australia, approximately between 1851 and the late 1860s. It led to a period of extreme prosperity for the Australian colony and an influx of population growth and financial capital for Melbourne, which was dubbed "Marvellous Melbourne" as a result of the procurement of wealth.
A gold nugget is a naturally occurring piece of native gold. Watercourses often concentrate nuggets and finer gold in placers. Nuggets are recovered by placer mining, but they are also found in residual deposits where the gold-bearing veins or lodes are weathered. Nuggets are also found in the tailings piles of previous mining operations, especially those left by gold mining dredges.
Shire of Central Goldfields is a local government area in Victoria, Australia, located in the central part of the state. It covers an area of 1,533 square kilometres (592 sq mi) and, in August 2021 had a population of 13,483.
Maldon is a town in Victoria, Australia, in the Shire of Mount Alexander local government area. It has been designated "Australia's first notable town" and is notable for its 19th-century appearance, maintained since gold-rush days. At the 2016 census, Maldon had a population of 1,513.
Maryborough is a town in Victoria, Australia, on the Pyrenees Highway, 58 kilometres (36 mi) north of Ballarat and 168 kilometres (104 mi) northwest of Melbourne, in the Shire of Central Goldfields. At the 2021 census, the urban centre had a population of 7,769., while the larger Level 2 Statistical Area which includes the urban fringe, had 8,160, both an increase of more than 3% since 2016.
Clunes is a town in Victoria, Australia, 36 kilometres north of Ballarat, in the Shire of Hepburn. At the 2016 census it had a population of 1,728.
The Welcome Stranger is an alluvial gold nugget which is the biggest ever discovered, and was unearthed by Cornish miners John Deason and Richard Oates on 5 February 1869, 9 miles north-west of Dunolly, Australia.
Moliagul is a locality in Victoria, Australia, 202 kilometres (126 mi) northwest of Melbourne and 60 kilometres (37 mi) west of Bendigo. The town's name is believed to be a derivation of the aboriginal word "moliagulk", meaning "wooded hill". The area is notable for the discovery of a number of gold nuggets. These finds include the world's largest, the Welcome Stranger, which was discovered in 1869 by John Deason and Richard Oates.
Inglewood is a town in Victoria, Australia, located on the Calder Highway in the Shire of Loddon.
Adelaide Lead is a locality in Victoria, Australia, located on Old Avoca Road, 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) south-west of Maryborough, west of the Paddy Ranges State Park, in the Shire of Central Goldfields. Located on the northern slopes of the Central Highlands, the area is naturally characterised by Box-Ironbark forest. Remnants of Aboriginal settlement include rock wells beside Possum Gully Road.
The Mildura railway line is a heavy rail line in northwestern Victoria, Australia. The line runs from Yelta station to Ballarat station via the settlements of Mildura, Ouyen and Maryborough in an approximate south-southeasterly direction. Initial sections of the line opened from Ballarat in 1874 and the line reached Mildura in 1903.
Tarnagulla is a town in central Victoria, Australia. The town is in the Shire of Loddon local government area, 183 kilometres (114 mi) north west of the state capital, Melbourne. At the 2011 census, Tarnagulla had a population of 304. By 2016, the population was 133.
The Goldfields region of Victoria is a region commonly used but typically defined in both historical geography and tourism geography. The region is also known as the Victorian Golden Triangle.
Timor (/ˈtaɪˈmɔː/), short-speak for the adjoining localities of Bowenvale and Timor, in the Central Goldfields Shire of Victoria, Australia. Their shared boundary is 8 kilometres (5 mi) north of Maryborough, Victoria and 178 kilometres (111 mi) northwest of Melbourne, the state capital.
Bealiba is a town in the Australian state of Victoria. The town is located in the Central Goldfields Shire local government area, 207 kilometres (129 mi) north-west of the state capital, Melbourne, and 74 kilometres (46 mi) from the regional city of Bendigo. At the 2011 census, Bealiba and the surrounding area had a population of 300.
During the Australian gold rushes, starting in 1851, significant numbers of workers moved from elsewhere in Australia and overseas to where gold had been discovered. Gold had been found several times before, but the colonial government of New South Wales had suppressed the news out of the fear that it would reduce the workforce and destabilise the economy.
The Jim Crow goldfield was part of the Goldfields region of Victoria, Australia, where gold was mined from the mid- to the late-nineteenth century.
Rheola is a locality in central Victoria, Australia. At the 2011 census, Rheola and the surrounding area had a population of 316. Originally called the 'Berlin Rush' or 'Berlin field' after gold nuggets were found. It is part of Victoria's 'Golden Triangle,' which contains some of the world's richest gold fields. Some of the gold nuggets found in these fields include the Welcome Stranger, Hand of Faith, and the Blanche Barkly. The Viscount Canterbury, Viscountess Canterbury and Precious were all found in the gold field at Rheola.
Localities in the Shire of Central Goldfields | ||
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^ - Territory divided with another LGA | ||
