WARRANDYTE HISTORICAL SOCIETY
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How did the name Warrandyte originate? |
"It has long been thought that "Warrandyte" could be translated as "that which is thrown". The Wurundji dreamtime story: how Bunjil, the great eagle, the all-powerful, ever-watchful creator of the world, had once gazed down upon his people from the Star Altair and seen their wrongdoing. Awaiting their return, with a mighty crash of thunder, he hurled down a star to destroy them. Where star struck created the gorge we see today. Bunjil's people always remembered the spot. They called it Warrandyte, the place where Bunjil had hurled down the Star to punish his people."
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Was Warrandyte always known by that name? |
Warrandyte was originally called Anderson's Creek after James Anderson who in 1839 had a cattle and sheep station in the area where the creek, that still bears his name, meets the Yarra River.
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When was gold discovered in Warrandyte? |
The first recorded official discovery of gold in Victoria was at Warrandyte together with one in the Pyrenees, both declared on July 16, 1851.
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What is the history of goldmining in Warrandyte? |
Alluvial gold, discovered in the gullies in July 1851, was almost depleted by the end of that year. The search was revived in 1854 when prospecting began in the Yarra Riverand tributary creeks. This resulted in the diversion of the river at Thompsons Bend (The Island) in 1859 and through the Pound Bend tunnel in 1870.
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The Pound Bend Tunnel |
On February 8 1870 a public company named the Evelyn Tunnel Mining Company was formed. The object was to create a tunnel through the narrow section where the Yarra River turns back on itself and divert the river through it. This left five kilometres of river bed which could be mined for alluvial gold.
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Incorporated in Victoria, Registration No. A00133113L
This page last modified 1 July 2008
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