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Wine region | |
The upper King Valley seen from Powers Lookout | |
Type | Australian Geographical Indication [1] |
---|---|
Year established | 2007 |
Country | Australia |
Part of | North East Victoria |
Heat units | 1350-1580 |
Precipitation (annual average) | 640 millimetres (25 in) – 1,410 millimetres (56 in) [2] |
The King Valley, or King River Valley is a wine-producing and agricultural region centred on the King River between Wangaratta and the Alpine National Park in the North East Victoria zone of the Australian state of Victoria. There are several small towns within the region including Cheshunt, Whitfield, King Valley, Edi, Claremont, Moyhu, Byrne, Docker and Oxley. King Valley was recorded as an Australian Geographical Indication protected name on 12 October 2007. [1]
The fertile valley area has been used since the 1880s to grow a variety of crops, which include hops and tobacco alongside dairy and beef cattle production. A narrow-gauge railway was built between Wangaratta and Whitfield in 1889, and a government tobacco research farm was established in Edi and moved to Whitfield in 1902. Following the end of World War II, a large number of Italian, Yugoslav and Spanish migrants settled in the area and established tobacco farms. Following the decline of the tobacco industry in the mid-80s to its demise in 2006 from government deregulation, local farmers branched out into other crops, such as chestnuts, hops, and berries, and several vineyards were established. [2]
The King Valley has a history that includes bushrangers, Chinese and Italian immigration. Chinese migrants came from the Victorian Goldfields in the mid-19th century and began careers as market gardeners, tobacco growers and merchants. Many roads in the Valley today carry the names of the more prominent families, like Mahlooks, Honey, Laffy and Fosangs. Italian migrants came to the region in the 1940s and 1950s and similarly began tobacco farming. However, they would eventually switch to producing European wine varietals. The valley eventually gained a reputation as a wine region for sangiovese, nebbiolo and barbera varieties, with the region containing some of the highest-altitude vineyards in Australia, which are around 800 metres (2,600 ft) above sea level on the Whitlands Plateau at the southern end of the region. Milawa is at the northern end with an altitude of 155 metres (509 ft). [2]
The Whitfield railway line operated in the King Valley from 1899 to 1953. One of four narrow gauge lines of the Victorian Railways, the 50-kilometre line operated from Wangaratta (where it connected with the North East railway line) to Whitfield. [3] Today, this route is a rail trail.
Whitfield and Moyhu are the larger townships in the King Valley, located along the road from Wangaratta or Mansfield. The two towns serve as major tourism centers within the Valley, and smaller hamlets are dotted throughout the King Valley region.
Whitfield has a nine-hole sand scrape public golf course, called the King Valley Golf Club situated on the King Valley Road. [4]
There was a King Valley Cricket Association that was established in 1948, comprising teams from - Carboor, Cheshunt, Dandongadale, Greta, King Valley, Myrrhee and Whitfield.
There was an annual Whitfield Sports Day held annually on Boxing Day from 1905 onwards at the Whitfield Recreation Reserve, [5] which included running, wood chopping and bike riding events.
The King Valley Football Association (KVFA) was formed in 1920 and ran through until 1934. The Whitfield Football Club dominated this competition, playing in 12 grand finals and winning six premierships. The sides that competed in this competition were - Cheshunt, Edi, Greta, King Valley, Moyhu, Moyhu Rovers (Reserves), Myrrhee and Whitfield. [6]
In 1935, the remaining clubs in the KVFA merged to form King Valley United Football Club and entered the Ovens & King Football League and have played there ever since. [7]
King Valley have won two senior Ovens & King Football League football premierships in 1970 and 1981 and two A. Grade netball premierships in 2015 and 2016.
The club's home ground is at the Whitfield Recreation Reserve.
Year | Venue | Premier | G | B | Pts | Runner Up | G | B | Pts | Comments |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1920 | Moyhu | Greta (1) | 3 | 5 | 23 | Whitfield (1) | 0 | 3 | 3 | |
1921 | Moyhu | Greta (2) | 6 | 7 | 43 | Whitfield (2) | 2 | 1 | 13 | |
1922 | Moyhu | Whitfield (1) | 3 | 8 | 24 | Greta (1) | 2 | 5 | 17 | |
1923 | ? | ? | ||||||||
1924 | Whitfield | Myrrhee (1) | 7 | 7 | 49 | Whitfield (3) | 4 | 11 | 35 | |
1925 | Whitfield | Moyhu (1) | 5 | 13 | 43 | Myrrhee (1) | 5 | 3 | 33 | [8] |
1926 | Edi | Whitfield (2) | 6 | 7 | 43 | Edi (1) | 4 | 7 | 31 | |
1927 | Whitfield | Whitfield (3) | 9 | 8 | 62 | Myrrhee (1) | 6 | 7 | 43 | Sloan Cup |
1928 | King Valley | Whitfield | 9 | 8 | 62 | Greta (2) | 2 | 7 | 19 | 1st G Final* |
1928 | King Valley | Whitfield (4) | 6 | 5 | 35 | Edi (2) | 2 | 9 | 21 | 2nd G Final |
1929 | Edi Upper | Myrrhee (2) | 7 | 18 | 60 | Cheshunt (1) | 6 | 6 | 42 | [9] |
1930 | King Valley | Whitfield (5) | 7 | 5 | 47 | Cheshunt (2) | 7 | 2 | 44 | |
1931 | Edi | Cheshunt (1) | 7 | 7 | 49 | Whitfield (4) | 6 | 8 | 44 | |
1932 | Cheshunt (2) | ? | Whitfield (5) | ? | ||||||
1933 | Whitfield | Edi (1) | 6 | 7 | 43 | Cheshunt (3) | 4 | 13 | 43 | |
1934 | Cheshunt | Whitfield (6) | 11 | 6 | 72 | Edi (3) | 4 | 14 | 38 | |
Wangaratta is a city in the northeast of Victoria, Australia, 236 km (147 mi) from Melbourne along the Hume Highway. The city had a population of 29,808 per the 2021 Australian Census.
The Rural City of Wangaratta is a local government area in the Hume region of Victoria, Australia, located in the north-east part of the state. It covers an area of 3,645 square kilometres (1,407 sq mi) and, in August 2021, had a population of 29,808. It includes the towns of Cheshunt, Eldorado, Everton, Glenrowan, Greta, Greta West, Milawa, Moyhu, Oxley, Tarrawingee, Wangaratta and Whitfield. It was formed in 1994 from the amalgamation of the City of Wangaratta, Shire of Wangaratta, Shire of Oxley, and parts of the United Shire of Beechworth, Shire of Benalla and Shire of Yarrawonga. When formed the municipality was originally called the Shire of Milawa, but a few months later, was renamed to its current name.
Moyhu is a small town in North East Victoria, Australia. It is situated in the fertile King Valley, near the King River, which flows from the Victorian Alps and joins the Ovens River in Wangaratta.
Greta is a district in Victoria, Australia, located east of Benalla, in the Rural City of Wangaratta. At the 2016 census, Greta had a population of 107 and Greta West had a population of 162.
Whitfield is an agricultural township in the King Valley in north-eastern Victoria.
Cheshunt is a small rural village situated in the Upper King Valley in north-east Victoria, Australia. It is located about 50 km from Wangaratta and is close to the Alpine National Park.
Robert W. "Bob" Murray is a former Australian rules footballer in the VFL.
The former Victorian Railways, the state railway authority in Victoria, Australia, built a number of experimental 2 ft 6 in narrow-gauge lines around the beginning of the 20th century. Although all were closed by the early 1960s, parts of two have been reopened as heritage railways.
The Myrtleford Alpine Saints Football Netball Club, is an Australian rules football and netball club based in the town of Myrtleford, in north east Victoria on the Ovens River. The football and netball squads play in the Ovens & Murray Football League (OMFL).
The Wangaratta Magpies Football Club, officially known as the Wangaratta Magpies Football & Netball Club, is an Australian rules football club, which first played in the Ovens and Murray Football League in 1893 and is based in Wangaratta, Victoria at the Wangaratta Showgrounds and play on the Norm Minns Oval.
The County of Delatite is one of the 37 counties of Victoria which are part of the cadastral divisions of Australia, used for land titles. It is located south west of Ovens River. Wangaratta is partly located in the county, at the northern end.
Norman 'Norm' Bussell is a former Australian rules footballer who played with Hawthorn in the VFL.
The Whitfield railway line was a 2 ft 6 in narrow gauge railway located in north-eastern Victoria, Australia, branching from the main North East railway at Wangaratta to the terminus of Whitfield.
The Ovens & King Football Netball League is a minor country Australian rules football league based in North-Eastern Victoria in the vicinity of Wangaratta and more recently Benalla.
Whorouly is a town in northeast Victoria, Australia. Its name is possibly derived from an Aboriginal word meaning a black cockatoo, although another suggestion is that it means "underwater".
Ian Armstrong Muller is a former Australian rules footballer who played with Carlton and St Kilda in the Australian Football League (AFL).
James Nicholas Slater was an Australian rules footballer who played with Carlton in the Victorian Football League (VFL).
David Mylor Evans is a former Australian politician.
Tom Bush was an Australian rules footballer who played with Melbourne in the Victorian Football League (VFL). He played five games for Melbourne from 1942 to 1944, and later played for several clubs in regional leagues. He won the best and fairest awards as coach for Peechelba and Moyhu in the late 1940s.
Arthur William Mills was an Australian rules footballer who played for the Hawthorn Football Club in the Victorian Football League (VFL).