Berringa, Victoria
Encyclopedia
Berringa is a small township in west-central Victoria
, Australia
. It is situated in Golden Plains Shire
, about 43km southwest of Ballarat.
The township and surrounding rural community are located on the southern extremity of a range of Silurian
slate
and sandstone
rock. The area was a centre of intensive gold mining
in the 19th and early 20th centuries.
The township was known as Kangaroo prior to 1900, the Post Office opening in
January 1878 as Kangaroo, being renamed Berringa in 1900 and closing in 1955.
Gold has been mined at Berringa since the 1850s, with the main period of production being from 1898 to 1917, during which time about 280,000 ounces of gold were extracted from five major mines and several other, smaller operations. Mining continued after World War I
on a lesser scale until the area was abandoned in the 1950s.
Ballarat Goldfields NL, through its subsidiary, Berringa Resources Pty. Ltd., still conducts exploration operations at Berringa.
Gold mining had a direct effect on Berringa's population, which increased from 150 in 1899 to a peak of about 4000 in 1908. By 1922, with the gold mining boom over, the population had fallen to about 100. As of the 2006 census
, Berringa and the surrounding area had a population of 259.
The Berringa district is showing a modest population revival with the tree change phenomenon. The district was the site of a significant bushfire in February 1995.
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. It is situated in Golden Plains Shire
Golden Plains Shire
Golden Plains Shire is a Local Government Area in Victoria, Australia. It is located in the south-western part of the state. It includes the towns of Bannockburn, Gheringhap, Linton, Berringa and Meredith. It has an area of 2,721 square kilometres. In 2009 it had a population of 18,173...
, about 43km southwest of Ballarat.
The township and surrounding rural community are located on the southern extremity of a range of Silurian
Silurian
The Silurian is a geologic period and system that extends from the end of the Ordovician Period, about 443.7 ± 1.5 Mya , to the beginning of the Devonian Period, about 416.0 ± 2.8 Mya . As with other geologic periods, the rock beds that define the period's start and end are well identified, but the...
slate
Slate
Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. The result is a foliated rock in which the foliation may not correspond to the original sedimentary layering...
and sandstone
Sandstone
Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...
rock. The area was a centre of intensive gold mining
Gold mining
Gold mining is the removal of gold from the ground. There are several techniques and processes by which gold may be extracted from the earth.-History:...
in the 19th and early 20th centuries.
The township was known as Kangaroo prior to 1900, the Post Office opening in
January 1878 as Kangaroo, being renamed Berringa in 1900 and closing in 1955.
Gold has been mined at Berringa since the 1850s, with the main period of production being from 1898 to 1917, during which time about 280,000 ounces of gold were extracted from five major mines and several other, smaller operations. Mining continued after World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
on a lesser scale until the area was abandoned in the 1950s.
Ballarat Goldfields NL, through its subsidiary, Berringa Resources Pty. Ltd., still conducts exploration operations at Berringa.
Gold mining had a direct effect on Berringa's population, which increased from 150 in 1899 to a peak of about 4000 in 1908. By 1922, with the gold mining boom over, the population had fallen to about 100. As of the 2006 census
Census in Australia
The Australian census is administered once every five years by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The most recent census was conducted on 9 August 2011; the next will be conducted in 2016. Prior to the introduction of regular censuses in 1961, they had also been run in 1901, 1911, 1921, 1933,...
, Berringa and the surrounding area had a population of 259.
The Berringa district is showing a modest population revival with the tree change phenomenon. The district was the site of a significant bushfire in February 1995.
External links
- Golden Plains Shire Municipality website
- Ballarat Mining company with operations at Berringa
- Berringa Gold Field: Victoria Geol. Survey 1904 W.M. Bradford: Geological and Historical description of the Berringa Gold Field.
- DSE Berringa Bushfire 1995