Whroo, Victoria

Whroo is a rural locality and ghost town in Victoria, Australia, between Shepparton and Seymour in the Shire of Strathbogie. The area at 36°34S 145°01′e is a former mining area and remains predominantly agricultural today. The locality includes the Whroo Historical Area state reserve.[1][2]

History

The first inhabitants of the area were the Ngooraialum people. The first European explorer to enter the Goulburn Valley was Thomas Mitchell. The first Europeans to visit the area where the drovers Joseph Hawdon and Charles Bonney. Squatters started settling the area in 1840.

Two sailors – John Thomas Lewis and James Meek Nickinson discovered a gold nugget in the grass at Whroo in 1854, leading to the development of the town of Whroo. The mine then operated on and off and officially closed in the 1960s.[3] Thought to be derived from an Aboriginal word meaning lips,[4] the first school opened in 1857 and by 1900 had a Mechanics' Institute and library with 950 volumes opened in 1859 and closed in 1955, Presbyterian and United Methodist churches, three hotels, a cordial.[4] factory and three ore crushing mills.[4]

Population

References

  1. ↑ Whroo Historic Area.
  2. ↑ "Rushworth,Whroo and Whroo Historic Reserve. | Rushworth Mining History.". rushworthmininghistory.wordpress.com. Retrieved 2016-03-27.
  3. ↑ Tara Moss, The Ghost Town of Whroo October 29, 2012 .
  4. 1 2 3 4 Whroo at Victorian Places

Coordinates: 36°39′S 145°01′E / 36.650°S 145.017°E / -36.650; 145.017

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