| Whitfield Victoria | |||||||||
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 Main street prior to the 2023 upgrades | |||||||||
  Whitfield | |||||||||
| Coordinates | 36°46′S146°25′E / 36.767°S 146.417°E | ||||||||
| Population | 220 (2021 census) [1] | ||||||||
| Postcode(s) | 3733 | ||||||||
| Elevation | 253 m (830 ft) | ||||||||
| Location |
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| LGA(s) | Rural City of Wangaratta | ||||||||
| State electorate(s) | Ovens Valley | ||||||||
| Federal division(s) | Indi | ||||||||
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Whitfield is a viticultural, tourist township in the King Valley in north-eastern Victoria.
The township is immediately west of the flood-prone King River and has State Forest to its west and east. Agriculture extends along several stream valleys which are tributaries of the King River. [3] At the 2021 census, Whitfield and the surrounding area had a population of 220. [1]
Pastoral runs were established in the area in the 1840s but population was small until the 1870s, the Post Office opening on 1 May 1874 as Upper King River and being renamed Whitfield in 1889. [4] The name Whitfield is believed to come from the name of a pastoral run Whitefields. In the early 1900s Whitfield was the site of a Government experimental farm growing tobacco and hops. After World War II many European immigrants settled in the area and grew tobacco.
Commencing in the 1980's many of the tobacco farms converted to vineyards and today Whitfield hosts many independent wineries including Dal Zotto, (famed for the introduction of Prosecco in Australia), Pizzini, Darling Estate, and the Politini and Chrismont wineries in nearby Cheshunt. Many wineries along the Oxley to Cheshunt Road, colloquilly known as "Prosecco Road", offer their own Prosseco. There is also the King River Brewery located approximately 4 km before Whitfield. The area holds a number of wine and culinary events throughout the year.
Tragedy struck the township when the only general store in town (which had recently been taken over by new owners) was destroyed in a fire early in 2013. [5]
The township is close to nearby Cheshunt, Victoria, and the localities of Rose River and Dandongadale. Local places of interest include Paradise Falls, Mount Cobbler, Power's Lookout, Lake William Hovell and Wabonga Plateau. Waterfalls, mountain streams, wildflowers and views of the Alps are features of the Wabonga Plateau-Mount Cobbler area of the Alpine National Park. There are tours and places of interest for day visitors as well as those staying longer.[ citation needed ] Bushwalking, 4WD touring and camping are offered in the area.[ citation needed ]
Mount Cobbler and the Wabonga Plateau area of the Alpine National Park are often approached from Whitfield. From Melbourne, Whitfield can be reached via the Hume Highway to Wangaratta or via the Maroondah Highway to Mansfield and then via Tolmie. Roads from Benalla, Mansfield and Myrtleford.
Whitfield has a number of facilities as the principal town of the upper King Valley. It has the award-winning Mountain View Hotel/Gastropub, Whitfield Gourmet Foods, Hobbleday Cafe, Police Station, golf course and has many boutique accommodations as well as the award-winning Valley View caravan park located near the town center. It is home of the King Valley football team competing in the Ovens and King Football League.
In 2023, the Rural City of Wangaratta constructed an adventure playground and visitor hub, including new toilets and footpaths, in the town. [6]
There is a link between Whitfield and Melbourne's tourist railway Puffing Billy. In 1897 the Victorian Railways accepted the tender from the Baldwin Locomotive Works, Philadelphia, U.S.A. for narrow-gauge locomotives of the ‘A’ Class, (two 2 foot 6 inch-gauge locomotives) and the first two to be received were placed on the Whitfield/Wangaratta line construction project. Thus the line has the distinction of being the first narrow-gauge line to be built in Victoria. Some of the whistle stop name-boards such as Angleside, Claremont, Dwyer, Pieper and Jarrott can still be seen. The line terminated in Whitfield and still can be seen is the historic locomotive terminus shed at the town center although in a state of near terminal disrepair. There is now a bus service that has replaced the old train system, still taking the same route in and out of Wangaratta. The bus runs on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. [7]
Climate data for Whitfield are sourced at nearby Edi Upper. Winters are cool to cold, damp and rainy with occasional snow, while summer is warm and sunny interspersed with periods of cooler weather. On 03 February 2005 the maximum temperature did not exceed 10.6 °C (51.1 °F) all day.
| Climate data for Edi Upper (1985–2023); 355 m AMSL; 36.74° S, 146.47° E | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 43.0 (109.4) | 43.8 (110.8) | 37.8 (100.0) | 34.2 (93.6) | 26.6 (79.9) | 20.5 (68.9) | 19.4 (66.9) | 21.8 (71.2) | 27.0 (80.6) | 32.5 (90.5) | 39.2 (102.6) | 40.8 (105.4) | 43.8 (110.8) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 29.8 (85.6) | 29.6 (85.3) | 26.1 (79.0) | 20.6 (69.1) | 16.5 (61.7) | 13.1 (55.6) | 11.8 (53.2) | 13.3 (55.9) | 16.2 (61.2) | 19.5 (67.1) | 23.4 (74.1) | 26.8 (80.2) | 20.6 (69.0) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 14.2 (57.6) | 14.0 (57.2) | 11.3 (52.3) | 8.0 (46.4) | 5.9 (42.6) | 4.5 (40.1) | 3.6 (38.5) | 3.8 (38.8) | 5.3 (41.5) | 7.1 (44.8) | 9.7 (49.5) | 11.5 (52.7) | 8.2 (46.8) |
| Record low °C (°F) | 3.0 (37.4) | 3.6 (38.5) | 3.2 (37.8) | 0.4 (32.7) | −0.8 (30.6) | −2.0 (28.4) | −2.2 (28.0) | −2.4 (27.7) | −1.9 (28.6) | −0.6 (30.9) | 0.2 (32.4) | 2.5 (36.5) | −2.4 (27.7) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 68.2 (2.69) | 55.3 (2.18) | 60.8 (2.39) | 61.5 (2.42) | 91.7 (3.61) | 118.2 (4.65) | 126.0 (4.96) | 116.7 (4.59) | 97.1 (3.82) | 79.9 (3.15) | 81.9 (3.22) | 76.8 (3.02) | 1,033.2 (40.68) |
| Average precipitation days (≥ 0.2 mm) | 6.6 | 5.5 | 6.4 | 7.0 | 12.8 | 14.0 | 16.2 | 15.8 | 13.1 | 10.4 | 9.0 | 8.3 | 125.1 |
| Average afternoon relative humidity (%) | 38 | 42 | 44 | 53 | 65 | 74 | 76 | 70 | 65 | 56 | 51 | 43 | 56 |
| Source: Australian Bureau of Meteorology; Edi Upper | |||||||||||||
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.
Mansfield is a small town in the foothills of the Victorian Alps in the Australian state of Victoria. It is approximately 180 kilometres (110 mi) north-east of Melbourne by road. The population of Mansfield was 5,541 at the 2021 census.
Seymour is a town located in the Southern end of the Goulburn Valley in the Shire of Mitchell, Victoria, Australia and is located 104 kilometres (65 mi) north of Melbourne. At the 2021 census, Seymour had a population of 6,569. The township services the surrounding agricultural industries as well as the nearby military base of Puckapunyal, which is an important training centre for the Australian Army. Other important sectors of employment in Seymour include retail, light engineering, agricultural services support, medical services, and education.
Moyhu is a town in the Rural City of Wangaratta Local Government Area, 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.
Bright is a town in northeastern Victoria, Australia, 319 metres above sea level at the southeastern end of the Ovens Valley. At the 2021 census, Bright had a population of 2,620. It is located in the Alpine Shire local government area.
The Ovens River, a perennial river of the north-east Murray catchment, part of the Murray-Darling basin, is located in the Alpine and Hume regions of the Australian state of Victoria.
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.
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.
The King River, a perennial river of the North-East Murray catchment of the Murray-Darling basin, is located in the Alpine and Hume regions of Victoria, Australia. It flows from the northwestern slopes of the Alpine National Park in the Australian Alps, through the King Valley, and joining with the Ovens River at the rural city of Wangaratta.
Benalla railway station is located on the North East line in Victoria, Australia. It serves the town of Benalla, and it opened on 18 August 1873.
Wangaratta railway station is located on the North East line in Victoria, Australia. It serves the town of the same name, and opened on 28 October 1873.
The North East railway line is a railway line in Victoria, Australia. The line runs from Southern Cross railway station on the western edge of the Melbourne central business district to Albury railway station in the border settlement of Albury-Wodonga, serving the cities of Wangaratta and Seymour, and smaller towns in northeastern Victoria.
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 William Hovell Dam is a rock and earth-fill embankment dam with a flip bucket chute spillway across the King River, operated by Pacific Blue and located in the Hume region of Victoria, Australia. The purposes of the dam are for irrigation and the generation of hydroelectricity. The impounded reservoir is called Lake William Hovell.
Porepunkah is a town in northeast Victoria, Australia on the Great Alpine Road, at the foot of Mount Buffalo 320 kilometres (199 mi) northeast of the state capital, Melbourne and 5 kilometres (3 mi) northwest of Bright. It is part of Alpine Shire local government area and on the banks of the Ovens River, near the Buckland River junction. At the 2016 census, Porepunkah had a population of 941.
The King Valley, or King River Valley, is a wine-producing and agricultural region centered 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.
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.
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".
Mount Cobbler is a mountain located in the Alpine National Park to the east of Mansfield in north-eastern Victoria, Australia. Its summit rises to 1,628 metres (5,341 ft) above sea level. The peak and surrounding Cobbler land system are composed of sedimentary rocks, dating to the Lower Carboniferous period, some 359 to 318 million years ago.
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