The first European settlement in the Greta area was by squatters. GRANT had taken up the lease of the Fifteen Mile Creek run in 1840. This was taken over by ROBERTSON two years later. In 1845 Edward Bernard GREEN purchased part of the run and named it Greenvale. He set up a horse depot for his mail run. At this stage, the main route between Melbourne and Sydney passed through the area. A small settlement developed around this and the Greta Inn which ROBERTSON established. The remaining portion of the Fifteen Mile Creek run was leased by William Francis SPLATT in 1846.
Greta township and outlying agricultural allotments ranging in size from 31 to 90 acres were surveyed in 1852 in the southern portion of Greenvale run. The township was situated on the Fifteen Mile Creek and south of the Greta swamp. John DENNETT was one of the first purchasers of an agricultural allotment in 1854.
The discovery of gold at the Woolshed Valley, Beechworth in 1852 brought increased traffic through Greta, and the township blossomed. During this period there were six streets containing at least two hotels, two blacksmiths shops, a school, a coach-changing station, a store, a catholic church and a number of timber houses
Land was made available for selection in the Greta area in the 1860's when the Land Selection Acts were introduced. Ellis, in "The History of Greta" lists many of the early settlers of Greta. They were "John DENNETT, Thomas and John LLOYD, W FORGE [should be James FORGE], Andrew and John A CLARKE, William WOODS and family including his sons William, Moses, John and Joseph, Alex McKENZIE, John BRYSON, Alex and John MURDOCH, Samuel and Thomas ELLIS, James TOAKLEY, James BROADBENT, William SINCLAIR, M O'CONNELL, Wm WATSON and his sons Matthew and John, Michael KEARNEY and his sons Michael, John, Andrew and James, James and William O'BRIEN, P DELANEY, Wm BAIRD, Duncan BAUCHOP and his son George, Henry GOODLAND, Richard HUGHES, Rowland HUGHES, Robt JEFFREY, Thos BOURKE, Patrick QUINN, John CODY, Timothy O'MALLEY, Patrick and John FITZSIMMONS, Wm and John McMILLEN, John DINNING, Richard WOOLF, R GRAFF, Henry WALKLING, Patrick LANGTRY, Michael GLYNN, M O'NEIL, John CARMICHAEL and his sons Donald, Alexander and John, W McCARTHY, D McNAB, Frank HARTY, Harry and Thos AINGE, Thomas SMITH, Francis FRENCH, John and Geo PATTERSON, Thomas LLOYD, J C YOUNGER, David and John CHALMERS, James CURRY, John and Patrick O'BRIEN, Michael ENGLISH, W HANDCOCK, M DELANEY, B FRANKLIN, John B PETTY, John, James, Frederick, William and Daniel TANNER, M BRYAN, Andrew COWAN, Thos and John BARNETT, Edward HENRYS, Robert KING, G COLVILLE, James and John PRENDERGAST, Joseph and James CORKER, Michael MURRAY, Alexander and Robert GRAHAM, Charles JEWETT, John REES, M O'MALLEY, Wm DICKSON, Geo ADAMS, Robt, John and James BRODIE, E BATCHELOR, J McCORMICK."
In 1864 James FORGE built the Newmarket Inn in opposition to HOLLOWAY's hotel. "The country was sparsely populated, the nearest neighbours being many miles away". In 1865 the first race meeting was held at Greta and was carried out in the vicinity of FORGE's Hotel, saddles and bridles being given as prizes. ".. The door of the hotel acted as a judge's box." (Wangaratta Chronicle, Wednesday October 8, 1913). The Newmarket was sold to Lawrence O'BRIEN in 1870, although O'BRIEN was granted a publican's license as early as 1867. O'BRIEN later replaced it with a large two story brick building, the Victoria Hotel, construction of which began in April 1871.
In 1865 , the township of Greta was a small settlement with "a few shacks scattered among venerable red gums on the banks of Fifteen Mile Creek at the edge of the broad, tree-shaded Oxley flats. Beyond, across the eastern horizon, a chain of hills ran south to the ridges of the Great Divide and the blue-hazed grandeur of the Buffalo massif, with Mount Bogong and the Alps fading beyond. At Greta the road triforked - to the left it skirted a huge swamp towards busy Wangaratta; ahead, out over the river flats towards Oxley on the King River, then on to the Ovens and Beechworth in the hills beyond; to the right, winding towards Moyhu and the Upper King. In the roaring days of the Ovens gold rush, Greta had been on the main road to Beechworth, a watering hole for diggers and teamsters. But now the traffic could support only one hotel." (Jones, 1995). "The township consisted of a small collection of rough buildings scattered around the bridge and crossroads and was the central village for the five vast pastoral leases that surrounded it. It was often described as picturesque because of the park-like setting among tall, ancient red gums. The people of the area were small farmers, owners of a few cattle, carriers on the roads, and were generally in poor circumstances. The township had a school, hotel, store, blacksmith and even a shoemaker. At the time it did not have a church, police camp, or apparently, a post office." (McMenomy, 2001).
In 1867 "The KELLY family moved into a former hotel that was now occupied by Ellen's sisters, Catherine and Jane LLOYD. The LLOYDs took up a parcel of land north of Greta which bordered the property of J W CHISOLM. The children attended a school at the back of the hotel." (Passey, 1986). "Ned's family took up residence in Greta township, in a big old rambling timber house that had previously been a hotel".. With fourteen rooms under the main roof, it was one of the largest local buildings" At the rear of their house the LLOYDs owned a detached brick building near a piggery and large stockyard. They allowed an elderly schoolmaster, John LYONS, to lease and renovate this building as the first local common school. The younger KELLY children most likely attended along with their cousins but no records survive." (McMenomy, 2001). "That old building [the hotel] was on the north end of O'BRIENs Hotel. It was burnt down by James KELLY, (Ned's Uncle) in 1868 after a drunkard rage."(Passey, 1986).
According to Ellis (1972), a school was conducted in a building on the property of Alexander McKENZIE. Edward William PATTERSON was engaged as the teacher and conducted the school for some years. Edward had been a teacher in Douglas, New Brunswick before emigrating to Victoria and settling in Greta in 1865. When the Government began the state education system, a State School was built, and the Education department appointed R C B McDONALD. Edward PATTERSON was then engaged by parents of South Hanson who had erected a bush-timber school room. He again continued as the teacher until the Education Department built a school and appointed Mr BROOKS.
A Police Station was opened at Greta in 1870. It was situated on the north side of Curlewis Street. "It was a long, low, brick building with a shingle roof and a picket-fenced verandah. An arched, wooden sign board emblazoned with the cipher of Victoria Regina affirmed her authority over the surrounding sprawl of muddy tracks, scattered shacks and ancient, spreading gums." (Ian Jones, 1995).
A site for a cemetery along Greta Road was selected in 1871 despite an area being allotted in Greta township when it was surveyed in 1852. This land was never gazetted, and the Greta Road site became permanent. The cemetery was situated in the area of Greta known as Hanson. Other developments followed in this locality. In 1878 a Methodist church was built, and William PEARD established a store. In 1888 the Greta Post Office was moved to the store. The original Post Office had been conducted at the farm of Thomas and Annie ELLIS. The name of the Hanson School was changed to Greta School to avoid confusion, as it was situated next to the relocated Greta Post Office. The original Greta school was changed to Greta West, as it was close to the Greta West Post Office. A Police station was opened at the "new" Greta in April 1889 opposite the store, and an Anglican church was opened in 1890.
References
ELLIS, S. E. (1972). A History of Greta. Lowden Publishing Co., Kilmore
JONES, Graham (1995). Memories of Oxley. Shire of Oxley 1862 - 1994. Charquin
Hill, Wangaratta.
JONES, Ian (1995). Ned Kelly. A Short Life. Lothian Books,
Melbourne.
McMENOMY, Keith (2001). Ned Kelly. The Authentic Illustrated History. Hardie
Grant Publishing, South Yarra
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Last updated on 01 September 2021