Diggers Rest, Victoria
Encyclopedia
Diggers Rest is a town in Melbourne
, Victoria
, Australia
, 33 km north-west from Melbourne's central business district
. It lies on the old Calder Highway near the Calder Freeway
. Its Local Government Area is the Shire of Melton
and City of Hume
. At the 2006 Census Diggers Rest had a population of 2,381.
goldfields and the Post Office opened on 18 June 1860. Caroline Chisholm
started a women's shelter in the area. The town grew in the 1870s and 1880s and became a postal village with a general store, post office, weighbridge, mechanics' institute and a chaff mill.
It is famous for being the location of the first controlled powered flight of an aeroplane undertaken in Australia. The flight was performed by Harry Houdini
in 1910.
To the north of Diggers Rest township within the locality is the former township known as The Gap or Buttlejorrk
.
fire station, along with three large recreation reserves. Sporting groups in Diggers Rest include Diggers Rest Football Club
who play in the Riddell District Football League
.
Diggers Rest Primary School was first opened in 1882 and moved to its present site in 1990. Diggers Rest Primary School features excellent facilities including air conditioned and heated classrooms, computer and Internet access to all grades, modern sports and playground equipment and landscaped grounds.
Diggers Rest Primary School is an integral part of the wider community and hosts annual events such as the Community Carols, Billy Cart Derby and Grandparents’ Day.
Other facilities in the Diggers Rest area include the Holden Flora and Fauna Reserve, Animal Land Children's Farm http://www.animalland.com.au and SPSK Jadran, a Slovenia
n social club which services nearby St Albans and Keilor
.
Diggers Rest also has a Scout Group containing Cub Scouts and Scouts. They meet at the Diggers Rest Reserve behind the Tennis Club rooms.
.
Bus route connection with Moonee Ponds and with nearby Sunbury
, at the former Victoria University
campus.
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, Victoria
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...
, 33 km north-west from Melbourne's central business district
Melbourne city centre
Melbourne City Centre is an area of Melbourne in Victoria, Australia. It is not to be confused with the larger local government area of the City of Melbourne...
. It lies on the old Calder Highway near the Calder Freeway
Calder Freeway
Calder Freeway is a freeway linking Melbourne to Ravenswood South in Victoria, Australia, superseding stretches of the Calder Highway. Originally just a short spur of the Tullamarine Freeway linking to the Calder Highway in Keilor in suburban Melbourne, it has been extended in phases to Ravenswood...
. Its Local Government Area is the Shire of Melton
Shire of Melton
The Shire of Melton is a Local Government Area in Victoria, Australia, located in the outer western suburbs of Melbourne. The Shire comprises several settled urban areas, the main one being the township of Melton, which lies at the western end of the Shire...
and City of Hume
City of Hume
The City of Hume is a Local Government Area located partially within the metropolitan area of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It includes outer north-western suburbs and a number of rural localities between 13 and 40 kilometres from the Melbourne city centre....
. At the 2006 Census Diggers Rest had a population of 2,381.
History
Diggers Rest began life as a stopping place on the road to the BendigoBendigo, Victoria
Bendigo is a major regional city in the state of Victoria, Australia, located very close to the geographical centre of the state and approximately north west of the state capital Melbourne. It is the second largest inland city and fourth most populous city in the state. The estimated urban...
goldfields and the Post Office opened on 18 June 1860. Caroline Chisholm
Caroline Chisholm
Caroline Chisholm was a progressive 19th-century English humanitarian known mostly for her involvement with female immigrant welfare in Australia. She is commemorated on 16 May in the Calendar of saints of the Church of England...
started a women's shelter in the area. The town grew in the 1870s and 1880s and became a postal village with a general store, post office, weighbridge, mechanics' institute and a chaff mill.
It is famous for being the location of the first controlled powered flight of an aeroplane undertaken in Australia. The flight was performed by Harry Houdini
Harry Houdini
Harry Houdini was a Hungarian-born American magician and escapologist, stunt performer, actor and film producer noted for his sensational escape acts...
in 1910.
To the north of Diggers Rest township within the locality is the former township known as The Gap or Buttlejorrk
Buttlejorrk, Victoria
Buttlejorrk is a parish of the County of Bourke located to the west of Sunbury, in Victoria, Australia and a neighbourhood within the locality of Diggers Rest. It was named in 1839 by the surveyor William Darke. A township developed and was initially known as Aitken's Gap. By the 1890s it had...
.
Sunbury Rock Festival
The four Sunbury Pop Festivals were held on on the same 620-acre (2.5 km2) private farm along Jacksons Creek, on the southern outskirts of Sunbury, between Sunbury and Diggers Rest. The Property was owned by farmer and local identity George Duncan, and the property has become known in the district over the years simply as "Duncan's farm". The entrance gates to the Sunbury Pop Festivals was off Watsons Road. Also because of its close proximity (2 km) to the smaller township of Digger Rest, many of the attendees who traveled to Sunbury by train, actually alighted at Diggers Rest Railway station, and not Sunbury.Present day
Diggers Rest contains a general store, a primary school and a CFACountry Fire Authority
Country Fire Authority, or CFA, is the name of the fire service that provides firefighting and other emergency services to all of the country areas and regional townships within the state of Victoria, Australia, as well as large portions of the outer suburban areas and growth corridors of Melbourne...
fire station, along with three large recreation reserves. Sporting groups in Diggers Rest include Diggers Rest Football Club
Diggers Rest Football Club
The Diggers Rest Football Club, nicknamed the Burras, is an Australian Rules Football club and is located 38km north west of Melbourne in the town of Diggers Rest and is affiliated with the Riddell District Football League....
who play in the Riddell District Football League
Riddell District Football League
The Riddell District Football League is an Australian rules football league affiliated with Football Victoria.The league covers towns in the Macedon Ranges Victoria and an area from Rockbank in the south to Broadford in the north....
.
Diggers Rest Primary School was first opened in 1882 and moved to its present site in 1990. Diggers Rest Primary School features excellent facilities including air conditioned and heated classrooms, computer and Internet access to all grades, modern sports and playground equipment and landscaped grounds.
Diggers Rest Primary School is an integral part of the wider community and hosts annual events such as the Community Carols, Billy Cart Derby and Grandparents’ Day.
Other facilities in the Diggers Rest area include the Holden Flora and Fauna Reserve, Animal Land Children's Farm http://www.animalland.com.au and SPSK Jadran, a Slovenia
Slovenia
Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...
n social club which services nearby St Albans and Keilor
Keilor, Victoria
Keilor is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 18 km north-west from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area are the Cities of Brimbank and Hume...
.
Diggers Rest also has a Scout Group containing Cub Scouts and Scouts. They meet at the Diggers Rest Reserve behind the Tennis Club rooms.
Transport
Diggers Rest has a railway station on the Sunbury line, connecting the town with Melbourne's CBDCentral business district
A central business district is the commercial and often geographic heart of a city. In North America this part of a city is commonly referred to as "downtown" or "city center"...
.
Bus route connection with Moonee Ponds and with nearby Sunbury
Sunbury, Victoria
Sunbury is a regional city, located north-west of Melbourne's central business district, in the state of Victoria, Australia. Its Local Government Area is the City of Hume. At the 2006 Census, Sunbury had a population of 31,000...
, at the former Victoria University
Victoria University, Australia
Victoria University is a multi-sector tertiary institution based in Melbourne, Australia with 10 campuses.VU offers qualifications in higher education, vocational education , and short courses...
campus.
External links
- Diggers Rest (Australian Gazetteer)