Eaglehawk, Victoria
Encyclopedia
Eaglehawk is a former gold-mining
town in Victoria
, Australia
and a suburb within the City of Greater Bendigo
.
The town is situated to the north-west of Bendigo on the Loddon Valley Highway
. The highway is known locally as High Street until the intersection with Sailors Gully Road (Bendigo - Pyramid Road) and as Peg Leg Road to the west. Located on this intersection is Brassey Square which is the location of the town hall. Next to the town hall is the former post office
and the Mechanics' Institute. To the north of the intersection on Napier Street is Canterbury Park and Lake Neangar while the Swan Hill railway line and the local railway station
are located to the south.
of the area were the Neangar people. Following the discovery of gold at Sandhurst (Bendigo) in October 1851, Joseph Crook discovered a gold nugget
while searching for stray horses. This event sparked a gold rush
in the area leading to the establishment of the township in 1852, the population quickly building up to 40,000. The Post Office opened on 1 August 1857. In 1862, the Borough of Eaglehawk
was established, which included the nearby township of California Gully. After the alluvial goal was exhausted in 1893, reef mines were established, with 300 tonnes of gold extracted. Most of the mines had closed by the 1890s and by 1947 the population had decreased substantially to 4,090. In 1994 the Borough of Eaglehawk amalgamated with four other councils to become the city of Greater Bendigo.
. This facility includes a 50-metre indoor swimming pool
, a health club
, mini golf and squash courts. The Albert Roy Reserve has a baseball
field,a badminton
, a table tennis
stadium and is home to the Roy Bateson Tennis Club. A soccer field is located at the nearby Truscott Reserve. The town has two golf course
s, the Eaglehawk Golf Course and the Neangar Park Golf Course.
The suburb has an Australian Rules football team competing in the Bendigo Football League
.
, better known by his pseudonym Rolf Boldrewood, wrote the novel The Sphinx of Eaglehawk in 1895, based on his experiences as a station owner in the area. In one of A.B. "Banjo" Paterson's poems "Mulga Bill's Bicycle
", first published in The Sydney Mail
in 1896, Paterson introduces the eponymous character as "Mulga Bill, from Eaglehawk, that caught the cycling craze". The poem's local connection was recognised with the creation of the Mulga Bill Bicycle Trail, taking in many of the mining attractions, historic sites and modern day amenities of Eaglehawk.
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:...
town in 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...
and a suburb within the City of Greater Bendigo
City of Greater Bendigo
The City of Greater Bendigo is a Local Government Area in Victoria, Australia. It is located in the central-western part of the state. It has an area of 3,048 square kilometres...
.
The town is situated to the north-west of Bendigo on the Loddon Valley Highway
Loddon Valley Highway
The Loddon Valley Highway runs roughly north-west from Bendigo to Kerang on the Murray Valley Highway. Previously assigned State Route 141, it was later designated as B260....
. The highway is known locally as High Street until the intersection with Sailors Gully Road (Bendigo - Pyramid Road) and as Peg Leg Road to the west. Located on this intersection is Brassey Square which is the location of the town hall. Next to the town hall is the former post office
Post office
A post office is a facility forming part of a postal system for the posting, receipt, sorting, handling, transmission or delivery of mail.Post offices offer mail-related services such as post office boxes, postage and packaging supplies...
and the Mechanics' Institute. To the north of the intersection on Napier Street is Canterbury Park and Lake Neangar while the Swan Hill railway line and the local railway station
Eaglehawk railway station, Victoria
Eaglehawk is a railway station on the Swan Hill railway line in the Bendigo suburb of Eaglehawk, Victoria, Australia. The station is located on Hall Street and has a disused goods shed and crane....
are located to the south.
History
The original inhabitantsIndigenous Australians
Indigenous Australians are the original inhabitants of the Australian continent and nearby islands. The Aboriginal Indigenous Australians migrated from the Indian continent around 75,000 to 100,000 years ago....
of the area were the Neangar people. Following the discovery of gold at Sandhurst (Bendigo) in October 1851, Joseph Crook discovered a gold nugget
Gold nugget
A gold nugget is a naturally occurring piece of native gold. Watercourses often concentrate and grow the nuggets. Nuggets are recovered by placer mining, but they are also found in residual deposits where the gold-bearing veins or lodes are weathered...
while searching for stray horses. This event sparked a gold rush
Gold rush
A gold rush is a period of feverish migration of workers to an area that has had a dramatic discovery of gold. Major gold rushes took place in the 19th century in Australia, Brazil, Canada, South Africa, and the United States, while smaller gold rushes took place elsewhere.In the 19th and early...
in the area leading to the establishment of the township in 1852, the population quickly building up to 40,000. The Post Office opened on 1 August 1857. In 1862, the Borough of Eaglehawk
Borough of Eaglehawk
The Borough of Eaglehawk was a Local Government Area which covered the northwestern suburbs of the regional city of Bendigo, Victoria, Australia. The borough covered an area of , and existed from 1862 until 1994....
was established, which included the nearby township of California Gully. After the alluvial goal was exhausted in 1893, reef mines were established, with 300 tonnes of gold extracted. Most of the mines had closed by the 1890s and by 1947 the population had decreased substantially to 4,090. In 1994 the Borough of Eaglehawk amalgamated with four other councils to become the city of Greater Bendigo.
Community facilities
Schools
The town has two government primary schools one at Eaglehawk and another at Eaglehawk North, a Catholic primary school (St. Liborius) and a government secondary college.Sporting facilities
Canterbury Park has an oval as well as bowling and croquet facilities. It is also home to the Bendigo Leisure Centre, operated by the Bendigo Regional YMCAYMCA
The Young Men's Christian Association is a worldwide organization of more than 45 million members from 125 national federations affiliated through the World Alliance of YMCAs...
. This facility includes a 50-metre indoor swimming pool
Swimming pool
A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, or simply a pool, is a container filled with water intended for swimming or water-based recreation. There are many standard sizes; the largest is the Olympic-size swimming pool...
, a health club
Health club
A health club is a place which houses exercise equipment for the purpose of physical exercise.-Main workout area:...
, mini golf and squash courts. The Albert Roy Reserve has a baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
field,a badminton
Badminton
Badminton is a racquet sport played by either two opposing players or two opposing pairs , who take positions on opposite halves of a rectangular court that is divided by a net. Players score points by striking a shuttlecock with their racquet so that it passes over the net and lands in their...
, a table tennis
Table tennis
Table tennis, also known as ping-pong, is a sport in which two or four players hit a lightweight, hollow ball back and forth using table tennis rackets. The game takes place on a hard table divided by a net...
stadium and is home to the Roy Bateson Tennis Club. A soccer field is located at the nearby Truscott Reserve. The town has two golf course
Golf course
A golf course comprises a series of holes, each consisting of a teeing ground, fairway, rough and other hazards, and a green with a flagstick and cup, all designed for the game of golf. A standard round of golf consists of playing 18 holes, thus most golf courses have this number of holes...
s, the Eaglehawk Golf Course and the Neangar Park Golf Course.
The suburb has an Australian Rules football team competing in the Bendigo Football League
Bendigo Football League
The Bendigo Football League is an Australian rules football competition based in the Bendigo region of Victoria, Australia.Formed in 1880, it is one of the oldest football leagues in Australia, and among its members are some of the oldest football clubs in Australia, including the Castlemaine...
.
Other facilities
A community and day hospital, a 66-bed aged-care facility (St Laurence Court) is operated by Benetas. A police station and a fire station are also located in the town.Cultural references
The author Thomas Alexander BrowneThomas Alexander Browne
Thomas Alexander Browne was an Australian writer, who sometimes published under the pseudonym Rolf Boldrewood and best known for his novel Robbery Under Arms.-Biography:...
, better known by his pseudonym Rolf Boldrewood, wrote the novel The Sphinx of Eaglehawk in 1895, based on his experiences as a station owner in the area. In one of A.B. "Banjo" Paterson's poems "Mulga Bill's Bicycle
Mulga Bill's Bicycle
"Mulga Bill's Bicycle" is a poem written in 1896 by Banjo Paterson.The poem is a ballad. Each line is a fourteener, having fourteen syllables and seven iambic feet....
", first published in The Sydney Mail
The Sydney Mail
The Sydney Mail was an Australian magazine published weekly in Sydney. The weekly edition of The Sydney Morning Herald newspaper, it ran from 1860 to 1938....
in 1896, Paterson introduces the eponymous character as "Mulga Bill, from Eaglehawk, that caught the cycling craze". The poem's local connection was recognised with the creation of the Mulga Bill Bicycle Trail, taking in many of the mining attractions, historic sites and modern day amenities of Eaglehawk.