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what’s my name?I am a town in Victoria, Australia,
founded as a gold-mining community in late 1862,
and at my peak, home to around 4,000 residents.
by 1914 there was a hush over the valley
i was initially known as Stringer’s Creek, for the convict Edward Stringer who pegged a gold claim here,
later my name was changed to that of the largest mine here
— in Norse mythology, it’s the name of a palace where the souls of slain warriors rest
i am in Gippsland
in a steep Valley
4 kms upstream of the junction of
Stringers Creek and the Thompson river,
in the great dividing range,
In late 1874 a visitor described my township as consisting “of a street about a mile long, situated at the foot of the mountains, with ranges running up almost perpendicular from south-east and west, and the first impression a visitor receives is that the houses are a number of birds' nests situated in the branches of trees, for they are built on the side of the ranges in every conceivable position
Gold panning and related techniques quickly exhausted all the alluvial (surface) deposits.
By late 1863 mining operations began as prospectors sought and then followed the underground veins of gold.
This could mean tunnelling into the steep valley walls,
as well as the more traditional digging downward.
Due to the enormous expenses of underground gold mining, small claims operated by individuals or small groups soon folded, replaced by large companies
The crushing machinery used to extract the gold from the quartz-based ore required large amounts of energy, supplied largely by wood-burning steam engines. The need for fuel wood led to the hills being denuded for some considerable distance around town, timber tramways bringing freshly cut timber for the boilers. The associated costs of bringing wood from further and further away were a key factor in the economic problems which eventually ended mining here
at my peak i had all the usual features; pubs, library, mechanics institute, banks, stores, church, newspaper and school. the band rotunda was constructed in 1896
a narrow gauge rail line opened in 1910
— later used for the removal of old buildings out of town. the line was dismantled late in 1958
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1998, I was the last mainland town in Australia to be connected to “a” reticulated electricity supply.
there has been some restoration work;
the long tunnel mine is open for tours, and Train rides are operated over a restored section of line
As of 2023, i have a population of about 20 permanent residents
though i have a large proportion of houses owned as holiday properties.
i attract large numbers of tourists and am a major focus of the regional tourism industry.
