Towns and Localities
Shire of Indigo

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For a map of this shire click HERE.

small green ball Allans Flat
small green ball Baarmutha
small green ball Back Creek
small green ball Barmootha (variant of Baarmutha)
small green ball Barnawartha
small green ball Barnawartha South
small green ball Beechworth
small green ball Bell's Flat (see Yackandandah)
small green ball Black Dog Creek (see Dugays Bridge)
small green ball Black Dog Creek Township (see Chiltern)
small green ball Black Springs
small green ball Brimin
small green ball Browns Plains
small green ball Bruarong
small green ball Carlyle
small green ball Charleroi
small green ball Chiltern
small green ball Chiltern Valley
small green ball Christmastown
small green ball Cornishtown
small green ball Devil's Elbow (see Woolshed)
small green ball Doctor Flat
small green ball Doma Mungie
small green ball Dugays Bridge
small green ball Europa Gully
small green ball Gap Flat (see Allans Flat)
small green ball Gooramadda
small green ball Great Northern
small green ball Great Southern
small green ball Gundowring
small green ball Gundowring North
small green ball Haines
small green ball Hillsborough
small green ball Huon
small green ball Hurdle Flat
small green ball Indigo
small green ball Indigo Crossing (see Barnawartha)
small green ball Indigo Upper
small green ball Indigo Valley
small green ball Kergunyah
small green ball Kergunyah South
small green ball Kerty's Flat (see Yackandandah)
small green ball Kiewa
small green ball Kinchington[s] Creek
small green ball Kirby's Flat (see Yackandandah)
small green ball Kirty's Flat (see Yackandandah)
small green ball Lake Moodemere
small green ball Lilliput
small green ball Lockhart's Creek (see Charleroi)
small green ball Long Swamp
small green ball Lower Woolshed (see Woolshed)
small green ball Madman's Gully (see Beechworth)
small green ball Magenta
small green ball Middle Indigo
small green ball Milkman's Flat
small green ball Mount Pleasant
small green ball New Ballarat (see Chiltern)
small green ball Newtoun (see Beechworth)
small green ball Nine Mile
small green ball Norong
small green ball Norong Central
small green ball One Mile (see Beechworth)
small green ball Osbornes Flat
small green ball Pennyweight Flat (see Beechworth)
small green ball Prentice Freehold
small green ball Prentice North
small green ball Red Bluff
small green ball Reid's Creek
small green ball Rowdy Flat
small green ball Rutherglen
small green ball Sandy Creek
small green ball Sandy Creek Upper
small green ball Silver Creek
small green ball Snake Valley (see Stanley)
small green ball Spring Creek (see Beechworth)
small green ball Staghorn Flat
small green ball Stanley
small green ball Stanley Road
small green ball Sutton
small green ball Tangambalanga
small green ball The Crossing
small green ball The Junction (see Brimin)
small green ball The Junction (see Yackandandah Junction)
small green ball Three Mile (see Beechworth)
small green ball Twist[s] Creek
small green ball Two Mile (see Beechworth)
small green ball Wahgunyah
small green ball Whisky Flat
small green ball Woolshed
small green ball Wooragee
small green ball Yackandandah
small green ball Yackandandah Junction

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small green ball Return to the Towns/localities page.

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Allans Flat
Approximate Location: Approximately 20 km south of Albury/Wodonga and 8 km east of Yackandandah.
Comments: Settled in 1845 by David Reid. Gold mining 1850s to 1890s. Officially surveyed and proclaimed in 1905. Named after Edwin Allen.
A nearby locality is Gap Flat which is about 5km ESE of Allans Flat.
Schools: SS11 opened in 1859 and closed in the mid 1990s.
Churches: Rev W. L. Blamires (based in Beechworth) appears to have conducted  Methodist services in a restaurant in 1857.
 

Baarmutha
Approximate Location: 6km SW of Beechworth
Comments: According to Blake Baarmutha was previously called Three Mile (even though it is not on the Three Mile Creek). Also spelt Barmootha.
Buildings: A public hall no longer survives (details of it are unknown). 

Back Creek
Approximate Location: 6km SW of Beechworth.
Comments: *CAUTION* - Many other areas were known locally as Back Creek. This is the only 'official' one still in existence.
Schools: SS2025 opened in 1877, operated part-time with SS837 Twists Creek in 1882, resumed full-time operation in 1883 and was again part-time with SS837 Twists Creek in 1887/8. The school closed in 1968 when the building was condemned, re-opened in a new building in 1969 but has since closed.
Books: See the Books page for details of books about this town.

Barnawartha
Approximate Location: Approximately 20 km west of Albury/Wodonga on the Hume Freeway.
Comments: Initially called Indigo Crossing. Barnawartha was surveyed and proclaimed in 1857
Schools: The Catholic Church opened a non-vested school (#99) in 1859, which was closed in 1874.
SS1489 replaced SS99 in 1875 and is still operating.
SS2625 Cookinburra opened on the Cookinburra Creek (SW of Barnawartha) in 1884 and closed in 1907.
Buildings: A public hall is in existence (details of it are unknown).
Cemetery: For details of the cemetery click here.
Newspapers: See the Barnawartha and Chiltern newspapers.
Also see: Barnawartha North on the Rural City of Wodonga webpage.

Barnawartha South
Approximate Location: Approximately 12 km SE of Barnawartha on the Indigo Creek Road. The road continues SE to Indigo Upper and then to Yackandandah.

Beechworth
Approximate Location: Halfway between Wangaratta and Wodonga, on the original Melbourne-Sydney road, but now well south of the current Hume Freeway that links those two towns.
Short history: Sometime between 1840 and 1852 a shepherd by the name of Meldrum settled on the Ovens River near Wangaratta. From here he organised several prospecting parties sending them into the May Day Hills. One of these parties returned with a pint pot full of pure gold from a creek which became the famous Spring Creek goldfields. The date was February 1852, and the find is considered to have been just above the old stone bridge at the foot of Newtown Hill. However The History of Gold Discovery in Victoria (by James Flett) includes a report by Reid some 50 years later which mentions Howell as the name of the shepherd. By the latter part of 1852 thousands flocked to the district, mining all the creeks in the area. On July 1st 1853, Beechworth was declared a town (named after surveyor Smyth's home town in Leicestershire, England) and on 23rd August 1856 Beechworth was declared a District and the town's first Councillors were elected. Over the next few years the town gained the Old Ovens District Hospital (1857), its post office (1858), the Gaol (1859/60), Powder Magazine (1860), and the streets were grubbed. In 1863 Beechworth was proclaimed a municipality and the Burke Memorial Museum was built. The rail to Beechworth was opened on 29th September 1876. The town was the hub of the north east of Victoria and over the years produced some very well known and famous people in the State of Victoria. (Denise)
Suburbs: The following towns are either nearby ghost towns or towns that have been taken over by Beechworth itself.
Madman's Gully is south west of the centre of Beechworth and less than 2km from the town's centre. Gold discovered there in March 1853.
One Mile is (not surprisingly) about a mile south of the centre of Beechworth and likewise Two Mile and Three Mile are also south of the centre of Beechworth (creeks still bear these names). Although prospected in earlier times, these towns reached their gold producing peaks about 1855. In 1857 Three Mile had a population of 2000. Three Mile may have been the area now known as Baarmutha which is about 6km SW of Beechworth (but not on the Three Mile Creek).
Gold discovered at Pennyweight Flat in 1852. Now on the western outskirts of Beechworth township, south east of the Spring Creek bridge.
Spring Creek was used as one of the names of the goldfield.
Newtoun appears to be just west of the Spring Creek bridge.
May Day Hills is also an earlier name for part of the Beechworth area.
Ovens Diggings are a general name for the goldfields in the Beechworth area
Reids Creek. After Beechworth, Spring Creek becomes Reids Creek and about one month after the discovery of gold at Spring Creek, it was discovered on Reids Creek some 5km north of Beechworth.
Newspapers: See Newspapers page for a list of Beechworth newspapers.
Post Office: A 'permanent' Post Office was opened in 1870 after having operated in 'temporary' buildings for years.
Schools: The Wesleyan Church opened a school (#82) in 1855. It closed in 1863.
A non-vested school (#61) was opened by the Church of England in 1856. It closed in 1875.
The Catholic Church opened a school (#94) in 1857. It closed in 1875.
In this period many many other private schools (both primary and 'finishing') operated in the town.
A National School opened in November 1858. It became Common School #36 (known locally as �The Beechworth Academy�) in 1862 and closed in 1875 when SS1560 opened.
SS1560 opened on its present site in July 1875. In 1892 and again from 1897 to 1902, it operated in conjunction with SS2438 Silver Creek. It became a Higher Elementary School in 1912 and temporarily included a separate High School on the same site from 1959 until 1962 when a separate High School was built on a separate location and thus reverted to being a Primary School.
A Technical School existed from about 1912 until its closure in 1930.
A school in the Beechworth Prison opened in 1955.
SS736 Three Mile Creek opened in 1864 and closed in 1942.
Churches: In 1852 Mr C Williams was holding open air Methodist services. A tent was subsequently purchased. Rev Mr Arkill was appointed in 1854. An auction room was used temporarily as a church until a stone church was opened at Easter 1857 (Rev J.C. Symons had replace Rev Mr Arkill by then and was assisted by Rev D.J. Draper) on the corner of Ford and Church Streets..
Christ Church (Anglican) was holding services in 1855, and completed  the building of a church in 1858 on the corner of Ford and Church Streets, with a tower added in 1864.
In 1857, a Presbyterian church (St Andrews) was opened in the Old Sydney Road.
A Congregational Church, located in Camp Street, was opened in 1858 and i became a hall when a bigger church was completed in 1862.
Cemetery:  The Burke Museum holds a list of burials and these can be obtained for photocopying costs in person. Also click here.
Notable Buildings: A court house was built in 1857/8 of local granite. After re-alignment of the Sydney road in 1960, the building was modified to swap the front and rear entrances. The court house was officially closed in 1989 and is now part of the museum.
A Young Men's Association began in 1856 and erected a building in Loch Street. The building was renamed to Athenaeum Hall in 1958 and then became a public library In effect it was a Mechanics' Institute. In 1863 the O'Hara Burke Memorial Museum was added to this building.
Organisations: The first Lodge to be formed in Beechworth was St. John's Masonic Lodge No.14 in 1856. In 1858 the present Masonic Hall in Loch Street was built, and is now the oldest operating lodge in Victoria. Oddfellows Lodge was established in 1861, followed by The Foresters in 1864. The Hibernian Lodge appeared over the next 10 years and also the Rechabites. The Druids came only in 1878. The regalia and banners of these lodges were seen in every procession until well into the 20th century. (Denise)
Records: Rate books are held by The Burke Museum.
Societies/museums: See the Museums page for the museums in the town. A Beechworth & District Progress Association exists.
Books: See the Books page for details of books about this town.
General Comments: Great bakery in Stanley Road (personal opinion only). Caters for tourists.

Black Springs
Approximate Location: 5km ESE of Beechworth on the Beechworth - Everton Road.
Schools: SS1740 Melbourne Road opened in 1876 to service the Black Springs area and closed in 1894. A private school was conducted in the leased schoolhouse for some time prior to 1989. It re-opened as a public school in November 1899 and destroyed by bushfire the next month. It continued operating in a leased building and was part-time with SS822 Bowman�s Forest in 1904 resuming full-time operation in 1906. It finally closed in 1918.

Brimin
Approximate Location: On the Murray River halfway between Yarrawonga and Wahgunyah/Corowa.
Comments: Area previously known as The Junction. Also the name of a local station taken up in 1841.
Schools: SS1752 opened in 1876 operating in two separate school houses, one at Brimin and one at Black Dog Creek (later to be named Dugay�s Bridge). The Brimin school became SS1964 in 1877. It again worked half-time with SS1752 Black Dog Creek from 1882 until it closed in 1887. It re-opened in 1890, worked part-time with SS1752 Black Dog Creek from 1915 until 1921, part-time with SS2341 Boorhaman North from 1921 until it closed in 1922.

Browns Plains
Approximate Location: 15km north of Chiltern.
Comments: Named after John Lindsay Brown who had a station in the area.
Schools: SS 821 opened in 1866 and closed in 1895. The schoolhouse was moved to Prentice North as SS3296 in 1898.
SS1462 operated from 1875 until 1949. The same school number was also used for the Lower Indigo and Hermitage schools, so may have used these names as well. Hermitage is a heritage classified homestead near Browns Plains.

Bruarong
Approximate Location: 10km south of Yackandandah.
Schools: SS3533 opened in 1907, was part-time with SS2818 Dederang North for some time after 1909, and closed sometime after 1973.

Carlyle
Approximate Location: About 7km north of Rutherglen.
Comments: Named after the author Thomas Carlyle. Township surveyed and proclaimed in 1858.
Schools: SS2390 opened in 1881 and closed in 1883.
SS4256 opened in 1925 and closed in 1952.
Cemetery: For details of the cemetery click here.

Charleroi
Approximate Location: About 15km SE of Kiewa on the Lockharts Creek Road.
Comments: Area named after a place in Belgium which is French for King Charles. Initially known as Lockharts Creek but renamed because of postal confusion with Lockhart (north of Albury in NSW).
Post Office: Receiving Office from 1/11/1922; Post Office from 1/7/1927 until 30/4/1965.
Schools: SS3156 Lockhart�s Creek opened part-time with SS3145 Sandy Creek Upper about 1891, resumed full-time operation in 1919, renamed Charleroi in the 1920s to and closed in 1953 when the Kiewa Valley Consolidated School opened at Tangambalanga.

Chiltern
Approximate Location: Halfway between Wangaratta and Wodonga (30 Km west of Albury Wodonga) just off the  Hume Freeway.
Short history:  The first settlers in the area were graziers with the contiguous townships of Chiltern and Chiltern East surveyed and proclaimed in 1858 along the Black Dog Creek. The township was named Chiltern after the Chiltern Hills in England. Prior to May 1854 the area was known as the Black Dog Creek Township, and then as New Ballarat.  Development of the town ceased abruptly when gold was discovered at Indigo by John Conness in 1858. The influx of miners shifted the focus of settlement from Black Dog Creek to the Chiltern Lead. The population grew along the lead (now Conness St) and the Beechworth and Indigo gold fields routes. In February 1862 Chiltern was proclaimed a municipality and the first elected Council comprised all representatives from the miners group, believed to be a precedent in Victoria. Mining continued until the early 1900's, quartz reef mining finally ceasing in 1911. Principal mines of the area included Gold Bar Mine, Gold Bar Extended and the Pass Poy. At its height, Chiltern had a population of 20,000. Magenta Mine closed after 1910, but had a revival in the Depression years. (Denise)
Newspapers: See Newspapers page for a list of Chiltern newspapers.
Schools: A Catholic school #167 operated from 1859 to 1874.
A Presbyterian school #169 operated for just over a year in 1860/1861.
SS327 opened in 1860 originally as a Church of England School. It became a Higher Elementary School in 1912. In 1949 the school was burnt down, and rebuilt. Currently operating as only a primary school.
SS1984 Upper Black Dog Creek opened in 1877, closed in 1894, re-opened in 1898, closed in 1902, re-opened 1905, closed 1925, re-opened in 1928 and finally closed in 1946. The name of the school was changed to Beechworth Road in 1937. It appears that the school would have been approximately 5 km south of Chiltern on the Chiltern-Beechworth Road.
At Chiltern Valley SS2804 opened in 1887, was amalgamated with SS327 about 1892.  SS2804 was moved to Chiltern Valley Gold Mine No 2 in 1898, and closed in 1954/1955. 
Churches: In 1870/75 a brick Anglican church (St Paul's) was built in Albert Road.
In 1871/75 a brick Presbyterian church (St Andrew's) was built in High Street.
Buildings: Bank of New South Wales - present one built c 1935 but this building is the third to be erected on this site.
Dow's Pharmacy - medical dispensary established in 1859. Present building erected in 1868 by Hiram A Crawford and was maintained as a pharmacy until 1969 (now owned by National Trust with the exterior retained in its original condition). The last Chemist was Gow.
Bank of Australasia - constructed 1877-79 ceased in 1943. Post Office - 1863 was the first of the Government buildings in Chiltern.
Masonic Hall built on land set aside as the Police Reserve. Star Hotel and Theatre built in 1866 by Hiram A Crawford and houses the largest grapevine in the Southern Hemisphere in its courtyard with the vine planted in 1867.
The Railway Station  was built in the best public works tradition in 1875.
Federal Standard Office owned now by the National Trust this newspaper was established in 1859 and the building still contains the old printing press and ancillary equipment. (Denise)
A court house was built in Main Street in 1865. The last court sitting was in the early 1970s and the Court formally closed in 1983.
The Chiltern Library Institute erected a timber building in the 1850s. In 1864 they merged with the Chiltern Young Men's Improvement Society to form the Chiltern Athenaeum. Construction of the current Athenaeum building commenced in 1866 and was opened in 1867. It continued to be used as a library until 1970 as well as Road Board Office (1871-1874) and Shire offices (1874-1937) and general community use. Since then it is the home of the Museum (see below)
Cemetery: For details of the cemetery click here.
 Societies/museums: Chiltern Athenaeum Museum - See the Museums page for details of the Chiltern Athaneum.
Books: See the Books page for details of books about this town.

Chiltern Valley
Approximate Location: 8km WNW of Chiltern.
Schools: SS2804 opened in 1887 and it appears it may have been south of the present township. In 1892 it amalgamated with SS327 Chiltern and  teaching only Grades 1 and 2. The school was moved to the Chiltern Valley Gold Mine No 2 in 1898 and closed in 1954.

Christmastown
Approximate Location: 6km NW of Chiltern just off the Chiltern-Rutherglen Rd.
Comments: Town no longer exists.

Cornishtown
Approximate Location: 8km NW of Chiltern.
Comments: Gold discovered 1859.
Schools: Common School 802 opened in 1865. It was still operating in 1935 but has closed since then.

Doctor Flat
Approximate Location: One to two kilometres SW of Yackandandah.

Doma Mungi
Approximate Location: One to two kilometres NW of Chiltern.

Dugay's Bridge
Approximate Location: 10km SW of Corowa/Wahgunyah.
Comments: Area originally called Black Dog Creek.
Schools:SS1752 opened in 1876 operating in two separate school houses, one at Brimin and one at Black Dog Creek. Brimin became a separate school in 1877. The two schools again worked half-time from 1882 until the Black Dog Creek school closed in 1887. It re-opened in 1914 and in 1925 changed its name to Dugay's Bridge because another school (SS1984) in the Beechworth district with a similar name. It closed some time after 1973.

Europa Gully
Approximate Location: Slightly over one kilometre east of Hurdle Flat.
Comments: Gold discovered 1853.

Gooramadda
Approximate Location: 10km ENE of Rutherglen.
Comments: Also name of a local station taken up in 1839. The township was surveyed in 1864 and proclaimed in 1880.
Schools: The Catholic Church opened a school (#875) in 1866 and it closed in 1870.
SS1948 Mount Ochtertyre opened in 1877. The school's name was changed to Gooramadda in 1888. The school closed in mid 1903, re-opened in late 1904 and finally closed in 1938.

Great Northern
Approximate Location: 6km east of Rutherglen on the Murray Valley Highway.
Comments: Named after a major mine in the area.
Links: http://www.tourisminternet.com.au/Rgold.htm

Great Southern
Approximate Location: 5km SE of Rutherglen.
Comments: Named after the major mine in the area.
Schools: SS3379 opened in 1901 as an adjunct to SS522 Rutherglen serving just the infant grades (older children were expected to walk to Rutherglen or Lilliput) and closed in 1926.
Links: http://www.tourisminternet.com.au/Rgold.htm

Gundowring
 Approximate Location: 20km south of Kiewa and 8km NE of Dederang.
Comments: Also name of a local station taken up in 1838.
Schools: Common School 1159 officially opened in 1872 and closed in 1894. It re-opened in 1910 and permanently closed in 1953.
Also see: Gundowring Upper on the Shire of Alpine webpage.

Gundowring North
 Approximate Location: 10km north of Gundowring.
Schools: SS4581 opened in 1939 and closed in 1952.

Haines
Approximate Location: 2 km NE of Browns Plains on the Junction of the Murray River and the Indigo Creek.
Comments: Proposed town was named after William Haines, Chief Secretary (1855-1857), surveyed and proclaimed in 1860.

Hillsborough
 Approximate Location: Just over 10km south of Yackandandah and SE of Beechworth.
Comments: Township surveyed and proclaimed in 1865 but the proclamation was rescinded in 1951 because the town had been abandoned and in the middle of a State Forest
Schools: SS889 opened in 1868 and closed in 1897.
Books: See the Books page for details of books about this town.

Huon
 Approximate Location: 8km north of Kiewa on the edge of Lake Hume.
Comments: Named after Charles and/or Paul Huon who took up a station in the area in 1836.
Schools: SS3882 opened in 1915 and appears to have closed in 1942.

Hurdle Flat
 Approximate Location: 5km SE of Beechworth.
Schools: The Church of England opened a school (#305) in 1859 and it closed in 1917.
Books: See the Books page for details of books about this town.

Indigo
 Approximate Location: 10km NNW of Chiltern and about a kilometre or so NE of Cornishtown.
Comments: Gold discovered in 1858.
Schools: The Church of England opened a school (#305) at Indigo Creek in 1859 and it closed in 1917. Unsure whether Indigo Creek is the same place at Indigo, but if not is very close.

Indigo Upper
 Approximate Location: 10km NNE of Yackandandah.
Schools: The Catholic Church opened a school (#639) in 1862 and it closed in 1873.
A non-vested school (#968) operated from 1868 until 1875.
SS1673 Wooragee North opened in 1875 and worked part-time with SS2195 Middle Creek West (see Leneva) from 1884 until both resumed full-time operation in 1901 or 1902. It closed in 1911. In 1922 it re-opened part-time with SS1506 Leneva becoming full-time in 1923. The name of the school was changed to Indigo Upper in 1925.

Indigo Valley
 Approximate Location: Locality very close to Barnawartha South.

Kergunyah
Approximate Location: 30km SSE of Wodonga on the Kiewa Valley Highway.
Comments: Named after a station taken up in 1837. Aboriginal word for camping ground.
Schools: Rural School 151 opened in 1873, became SS1345 in 1874 and closed in 1953 when the Kiewa Valley Consolidated School opened at Tangambalanga.

Kergunyah South
 Approximate Location: About 7km south of Kergunyah
Schools: SS2871 opened in 1887, closed in 1916, re-opened in 1944 and finally closed some-time after 1970.

Kiewa
 Approximate Location: 20km SE of Wodonga.
Comments: Aboriginal word for sweet water.
Schools: SS1472 opened in 1873 and was burnt down in early 1877. It operated in a de-licensed pub until a new schoolhouse was completed late the same year. It closed in 1953 when the Kiewa Valley Consolidated School was opened at Tangambalanga.
Buildings: A public hall previously existed and may or may not have survived (details of it are unknown).
Cemetery: For details of the cemetery click here.
Books: See the Books page for details of books about the Kiewa Valley.

Kinchington[s] Creek
 Approximate Location: About 10km SSE of Yackandandah.

Lake Moodemere
 Approximate Location: 10km south of Corowa/Wahgunyah and 10km west of Rutherglen.
Schools: A private school began operating in 1870.
In 1875 SS1557 opened and it closed in 1951.

Lilliput
 Approximate Location: About 7km south of Rutherglen.
Comments: A station of the same name was taken up in 1844 by James Gullifer (Possibly based on Gulliver's Travels).
Schools: A school (#1015) opened in 1869 and closed in 1944. It re-opened in 1947 and finally closed in 1969.

Long Swamp
 Approximate Location: Just south of Osbornes Flat on Kinchington Creek.

Magenta
 Approximate Location: About 5km NE of Chiltern.
Comments: A mine of the same name operated in this area.

Middle Indigo
 Approximate Location: Halfway between Barnawartha and Barnawartha South at the intersection of the Indigo Creek Road and Yackandandah Road.
Schools: SS1115 opened in 1874 and was still operational in 2003.

Milkmans Flat
 Approximate Location: Very close to (or part of) Hurdle flat which is about 5km SE of Beechworth.

Mount Pleasant
 Approximate Location: A few kilometres east of Indigo on the Indigo Post Office Road.
Comments: The township on the actual Indigo diggings was surveyed but never proclaimed. The area was generally known by the postal name of Indigo.

Nine Mile
Approximate Location: Approx 2 km east (ENE to be more exact) of Hurdle Flat on the banks of the Nine Mile Creek.
Short history: Rich goldfield discovered April 1853 with a strong Scottish population. Until 1857 supported 1,000 Europeans and hundreds of Chinese. Final mine closing 1910.

Norong
 Approximate Location: Approximately 10km SSW of Rutherglen on the Wahgunyah-Wangaratta Road.
Comments: Aboriginal word for mother.
Schools: SS2454 Norong opened in 1882. The school worked part-time with SS3030 Norong Central from 1894 to 1898 and in 1929 before it closed later that year.

Norong Central
 Approximate Location: Approximately 12km west of Rutherglen on the Murray Valley Highway.
Schools: SS3030 Norong Central opened in 1890, was part-time with SS2454 Norong from 1894 to 1898 and again in 1929 and closed some time after 1970.

Osbornes Flat
Approximate Location: Approximately 25 km south of Albury/Wodonga and 5 km east of Yackandandah.
Short history: James Osborne squatted here in October 1837 on the Yackandandah No 1 Run. Alluvial gold mining from the 1850s. At its peak had 5 hotels, 3 stores, boarding house, blacksmith, butcher and other shops. The township was officially surveyed but never proclaimed.
Schools: The Church of England opened a school (#477) in 1856 and it closed in 1874.
SS1463 opened in 1874 and was still operating in 2003.

Prentice Freehold
Approximate Location: 8km east of Rutherglen.
Comments: Named after A Prentice. I believe a town was surveyed/planned at this location but never progressed beyond that.
Schools: Rural School 125 opened in 1872. It became SS1314 Chiltern Road in 1874. After a change in location, the school was renamed Prentice Freehold. From 1898 SS3296 Prentice North worked as an adjunct to this school. The school closed in 1951.
Links: http://www.tourisminternet.com.au/Rgold.htm

Prentice North
Approximate Location: 5km NE of Rutherglen.
Comments: Named after A Prentice.
Schools: SS3296 Prentice North opened in 1898 as an adjunct to SS1314 Prentice Freehold. It became a separate entity in 1900. The school closed in 1945.
Links: http://www.tourisminternet.com.au/Rgold.htm

Red Bluff
Approximate Location: 15km west of Tallangatta near the southern edge of Lake Hume.
Schools: SS3526 opened in 1906 and closed in 1952 when students moved to the Kiewa Valley Consolidated School at Tangambalanga.

Reid's Creek
Approximate Location: Approx 5 km north of Beechworth on the Beechworth - Chiltern Road.
Short history: Gold discovered November 1852 following earlier finds at Spring Creek and Pennyweight Flat and supported thousands of people at its prime. Named after local settler David Reid who had a lease at Tarrawingee, and also 'Reisdale' at Beechworth from c1839. Shepherds of Reid later discovered gold at both Spring Creek and Woolshed.

Rowdy Flat
Approximate Location: Approximately 4 km east of Yackandandah.
Comments: Rich alluvial gold mining area during the gold rushes of the late 1800s.
Schools: The Catholic Church opened a school (#536) in 1860 and it closed in 1874.

Rutherglen
Approximate Location: 15km NW of Chiltern and 10km SE of Corowa/Wahgunyah.
Comments: Named after town in Scotland. The township was surveyed and proclaimed in 1860.
Gold was found at what was to be called the Wahgunyah diggings in July 1860 (located near Drummond St).
Schools: The Catholic Church opened a school (#537) in 1860. Until 1862 the school was called Wahgunyah. It closed in 1874.
The Church of England opened a school (#538) in 1860 and it closed in 1862.
Common School 522 opened in 1869. The School operated as a Higher Elementary School from some time about 1920 until a separate High School was opened in 1962.
Buildings: A court house was built in High Street in 1863 and remodelled in 1906. The court house closed in 1989.
Cemetery: For details, see the Carlyle cemetery here.
Newspapers: Click here.
Books: See the Books page for details of books about this town.

Sandy Creek
Approximate Location: 10km from both Kiewa to the NW and Tallangatta to the NE.
Gold discovered here in mid 1854.
Schools: The Church of England opened a school (#575) in 1859. It closed in 1878 when SS2024 opened.
SS2024 opened in 1878, closed in 1921, re-opened in 1942 and finally closed in 1953 when the Kiewa Valley Consolidated School opened.
Cemetery: For details of the cemetery click here.

Sandy Creek Upper
Approximate Location: About 7km south of Sandy Creek.
Schools: SS3145 opened about 1891 part-time with SS3156 Lockhart�s Creek (see Charleroi), resumed full-time operation about 1919, closed in 1950, re-opened in 1957 and was still operational in 2003.

Silver Creek
Approximate Location: 4 km east of Beechworth.
Comments: Silver found here.
Schools: A Church of England school (#611) may have existed prior to 1861.
SS2438 opened in 1882. In 1892 the school amalgamated with SS1560 Beechworth with only the first and second grades remaining at Silver Creek. It closed in 1893 and re-opened in 1897 as an adjunct of Beechworth for grades 1-3. In 1902 it again operated separately, and finally closed in 1927.

Staghorn Flat
Approximate Location: 10km NE of Yackandandah.
Comments: Gold discovered 1861.
Schools: SS1593 opened in 1875 and closed in 1937.

Stanley
Approximate Location: 8km SE of Beechworth.
Comments: Gold discovered 1853. Town named after Lord Stanley (Prime Minister of England). It was surveyed and proclaimed in 1857. The area was initially called Snake Valley.
Schools: SS 550 opened in 1858 and is still operating.
Churches: A brick Presbyterian church was built in Main Street in 1870.
An Anglican church (All Saints) was built in 1872. It was timber with a shingle roof.
A Methodist church was also established early in the town's life..
Buildings:  The Stanley Public Room (i.e. hall) was constructed in 1857 and served a variety of purposes such as school. meeting place, church. In 1862 an Athenaeum was formed and they opened a library in the building. The building was destroyed by bushfire c1870. The current Stanley Athenaeum was constructed on the present site in 1874 with extensions in 1891. It still serves as a library.
Cemetery: For details of the cemetery click here.
Books: See the Books page for details of books about this town.

Stanley Road
Approximate Location: On Stanley Road half way between Stanley and Hurdle Flat.
Comments: Name of area cited in the 1871 and 1881 census and distinct from Stanley and Hurdle Flat.

Sutton
Approximate Location: 12km south of Yackandandah. Close to Bruarong and may even be the same place.
Schools: SS907 opened in 1867 and closed in 1880.

Tangambalanga
Approximate Location: A few kilometres east of Kiewa.
Comments: Name of local aboriginal tribe.
Schools: SS2682 opened in 1885 and closed in 1906 to allow the school to be resited to Red Bluff.
SS3724 opened in 1912 and closed in 1951 when the Kiewa Valley Consolidated School opened.
The Kiewa Valley Consolidated School opened in 1953 with buildings subsequently moved from recently closed nearby schools.

The Crossing
Approximate Location: On Reedy/Reids Creek next to Woolshed and about 8km NW of Woolshed.

Twist[s] Creek
Approximate Location: 5 km west of Yackandandah.
Schools: SS837 opened in 1866 and closed in 1892. During 1882 and 1887/8 it operated part-time with SS2025 Back Creek.

Wahgunyah
Approximate Location: On Murray River (opposite Corowa) and 10 km NW of Rutherglen
Comments: Surveyed as a private township in 1856. Also name of local station taken up in 1839. Early gold field.
Schools: A vested school was started in 1857, became SS 644 in 1873 and was still operational in 2004.
Buildings:  A public hall was built in 1861. In 1911 it was demolished and replaced by a building that was removed from North Prentice but this was fire damaged the following year. A brick hall was built in 1912 and was still in use in 2000.
Cemetery: For details of the cemetery Click here.
Societies/museums: See the Museums webpage for details of the museum in Corowa.
Family History Group/HistoricaL society:Click here for the Corowa Historical Society.
Newspapers: See the Wahgunyah and Corowa newspapers (and also look under Rutherglen).
Books: See Rutherglen on the Books page for details of books about this town.

Whisky Flat
Approximate Location: About 1 to 2 km SW of Yackandandah.

Woolshed
Approximate Location: Approx 8 km north east of Beechworth.
Comments: Gold discovered somewhere about 1853/4. In 1857 about equal second (with Sebastapol Flat) in population behind Beechworth. While driving sheep through the area, David Reid (who had settled at Tarrawingee much earlier and also created Reidsdale Station (Beechworth)) built a woolshed on this site.
Gold also discovered at Devil's Elbow (Lower Woolshed) about 1 km upstream (west) of Woolshed.
Schools: The Church of England opened a school (#660) in 1855 and it closed in 1862.
The Catholic Church opened a school (#689) in 1862 and it closed in 1877 when SS 1900 opened.
SS 1900 opened in 1877, closed in 1922, re-opened in 1938 and finally closed in 1941.
Books: See the Books page for details of books about this town.

Wooragee
Approximate Location: 8 km NE of Beechworth on the Beechworth-Wodonga Road.
Short history: Wooragee was originally known as Woorajay and is the native word for Peppermint Tree. The Aboriginals were the first to reside in the area followed by pastoral squatters before the miners arrived. By 1861 the miners were deserting the area, many leaving for richer fields. Wooragee is about 10 kms north of Reid's Creek and was on what was then the main road from Sydney to Melbourne. In 1865 there was a population of 400 people of whom 100 were chinese. The mining towns of Woolshed, Reid's Creek and Sebastopol were also in the Wooragee Road Board District. The old Wooragee had many hotels, and churches, a school and post office. A railway station was built where the rail crosses the Beechworth-Yackandandah Road . (Denise)
Schools: Wooragee primary school opened on 1/1/1862, but was built on the wrong site and 'claimed' by the landowner. It was rebuilt in 1866 (this time on the right site) and became State School #653 on 1/8/1866, a new school room added in 1877 and extended in 1879 and 1891. Closed from 1951 to February 1953 due to low enrolments. Original building condemned in 1962 and replaced by a portable schoolroom.
Wooragee North SS #1672 opened on 1/12/1875, was part-time with Middle Creek West SS 2195 from 18884 until 1902, full-time from 1902 until closure in 1911 due to white ants. Re-opened part-time with Levena SS1506 in 1922, full-time in 1923, renamed Indigo Upper in 1924 and closed in 1940. (See also Indigo Upper)
Books: See the Books page for details of books about this town.

Yackandandah
Approximate Location: Approx 25 km south of Albury-Wodonga.
Comments: First settled about 1837 with gold being discovered in mid 1852. Gold also mined in surrounding areas such as Osbornes Flat, Whiskey Flat and nearby Twists and Nine Mile Creeks in the mid 1850s.
The township was surveyed in 1856 and proclaimed in 1857. Railway service from 1891 to 1955.
Schools: The Church of England opened a school (#694) in 1855 which was replaced in 1872 by SS1103.
SS1103 opened in 1872 and is still operational.
SS3629 Bells Flat opened in 1909 and closed in 1925.
Also see Yackandandah Junction below.
Buildings: Current Post Office includes sections built in 1863. A timber Post Office may have existed before that.
The Athenaeum was built in 1878 housing 3,000 books and two reading rooms. A few additions including a billiard room made in 1899. It is still used for community purposes.
State Bank building built in 1929.
The Yackandandah court house was built in Williams Street in 1864 and was designed and operated as both a Court of Petty Sessions as well as a Court of Mines. The last court sat in 1971.
The Yackandandah Lower Hall previously existed and may or may not have survived (details of it are unknown).
Suburbs: Bell's Flat (where Joseph Bell found gold) and Kerty's/Kirby's/Kirty's Flat are a few kilometres south west of the town. Also see Yackandandah Junction below.
Cemetery: For details of the cemetery click here.
Churches: Rev W. L. Blamires (based in Beechworth) appears to have conducted the first Methodist service in the billiard room in Jarvis' Hall in 1857.
A stonework Anglican church (Holy Trinity) was built in Church Street in the early 1860s.
Societies/museums: Details of the The Bank of Victoria Museum (in the former bank building constructed in in 1865) in High Street can be found on the Museums page.
Newspapers : Yackandandah Times (starting about 1861) and Yackandandah News (closing 1970). See Newspaper page for details.
Books: See the Books page for details of books about this town.

Yackandandah Junction
Approximate Location: Approx 5 km SW of Yackandandah on the Junction of the Nine Mile Creek and Yackandandah/Clear Creeks. It was on the original Stanley-Yackandandah Road (which is now only a bush track).
Comments: A large mining town beginning about the late 1850s. At its peak it had a population of about 500 (including a large number of Chinese miners) a school, a couple of hotels and sly grog shops. Basically nothing exists there now.
Also known as The Junction.
Schools: A non-vested school (#692) named Yackandandah Junction opened in 1861 and closed in 1891.

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Last updated on 01 September 2021