Walhalla, mining town in country Victoria, Australia (Image heavy)

[Richard_M]

With Covid restrictions being slowly lifted in our state, the wife and I took a 2 hour drive to Walhalla, a mining town from the 1800's

Some info from Wikipedia

Walhalla is a small town in Victoria, Australia, founded as a gold-mining community in late 1862, and at its peak, home to around 4,000 residents. As of 2016, the town has a population of 20 permanent residents, though it has a large proportion of houses owned as holiday properties.

I took the Z6 with the 24-70 f/4 along for the ride.

It was quite busy while we were there, however timing of taking the shots allowed me to make it look a little deserted.


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[Richard_M]

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[Richard_M]

As we were out in the country I also managed a couple of snaps with the D500 and 200-500mm lens

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[Philinnz]

nice, never been there. Some really interesting places in Victoria

 

[Mike Buckley]

Your photos definitely provide the flavor of the town. Well done!

 

[NCV]

I really like these documentary sets of places that i will never probably see for myself.

You have made a fine documentary about this fascinating place.

Can you tell us a little bit about the history of this place.

 

[Hylander]

Outstanding series!

 

[LyndeeLoo]

Wonderful images, Richard!

 

[Binnur]

Very nice set.

 

[Richard_M]

nice, never been there. Some really interesting places in Victoria

Yes there are, this was our first visit, and will go back again

Your photos definitely provide the flavor of the town. Well done!

Thank you

I really like these documentary sets of places that i will never probably see for myself.

You have made a fine documentary about this fascinating place.

Can you tell us a little bit about the history of this place.

Thank you. Here is some info from a web page
https://www.travelvictoria.com.au/walhalla/

Walhalla is a picturesque village, located north of Moe and Traralgon. Nestled in a steep sided valley at the southern edge of the Victorian Alps, the town is surrounded by a national park, lush forests and fern gullies.

During the gold rush of the 1860s, Walhalla was one of Australia's richest towns and a mecca for thousands of gold seekers. While the town is now home to only a handful of permanent residents, tourism has taken over and Walhalla receives around 100,000 visitors each year. Those taking the scenic drive to Walhalla can step back in time to visit this beautifully preserved village full of heritage buildings including old hotels, shops, school and churches.

The town centre features a pub, cafes, corner store, gift store and museum. There are plenty of options for accommodation, ranging from B&Bs and hotels, to basic rooms.

Walhalla is storybook magical in autumn, thanks to the colourful deciduous trees that line the town's streets and the random scatterings of wildflowers.

Visitors can experience the town's gold mining heritage with a tour of the Long Tunnel Extended Gold Mine accessing Cohens Reef - a three kilometre vein of gold running through the town.

The Walhalla Goldfields Railway runs from Walhalla through Stringers Creek Gorge to Thomson Station, operating three days per week. Walhalla also has an eerier side, which can be experienced on a ghost tour to the old cemetery on the hill.

Located on the edge of forested national park, Walhalla is also a popular base for camping, fishing, bushwalking and four wheel driving. The snow fields of Mount Baw Baw and Mount St Gwinear are both within a comfortable drive of Walhalla.

There are a number of pages with background info including this one

http://www.visitwalhalla.com/index.php?EXP=698

Outstanding series!

Thank you

Wonderful images, Richard!

Thank you

Very nice set.

Thank you

 

[Phil K]

Looks like a very interesting place to visit. Thanks for taking us there.

 

[Philinnz]

quite a few years ago - about 1977 or thereabouts, I did a road trip from Wilson promontory and headed north to end up at Lake Eildon, seem to remember some pretty remote countryside. I can't remember which roads we took, but it took a while and for some distance didn't see too much traffic. Sure is a big country

 

[soxOZ]

Great series of images of a beautiful old town, makes me want to drive over the border & visit...

 

[Richard_M]

Looks like a very interesting place to visit. Thanks for taking us there.

Thank you

quite a few years ago - about 1977 or thereabouts, I did a road trip from Wilson promontory and headed north to end up at Lake Eildon, seem to remember some pretty remote countryside. I can't remember which roads we took, but it took a while and for some distance didn't see too much traffic. Sure is a big country

Thank you. Yes, it is a big country, particularly if you're driving. Wilson Prom is also a great place to visit. The Big and Little Drift are both worth a visit when there.

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Great series of images of a beautiful old town, makes me want to drive over the border & visit...

Thank you


We're planning to go back in Autumn for the colours and also checkout a few of areas we didn't get to on the weekend, mainly due to the heat. One positive of the Covid restrictions is the lack of tourist buses at these popular sites.

If anyone viewing this thread does go to Walhalla and its surrounds you should also check out the Noojee Trestle Bridge and Toorongo & Amphitheatre Waterfalls

Noojee Trestle Bridge

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Toorongo Waterfalls

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[drr1531]

Nice set of images that gives a good sense of the place. Interestingly back in my home state there is a mountain town named Walhalla that was settled by German immigrants around the same time. But they grow apples rather than mine for gold.

 

[Louis Champan]

Super set of images, and has been said certainly gives one a very good sense of the area.

 

[Richard_M]

Nice set of images that gives a good sense of the place. Interestingly back in my home state there is a mountain town named Walhalla that was settled by German immigrants around the same time. But they grow apples rather than mine for gold.

Thank you. According to Wikipedia the name possibly has a similar background based on the name of one of the mines.

The town's name is taken from an early gold mine in the area, named for the German hall of fame, the Walhalla temple

The history of Walhalla is closely linked to the history of gold in Victoria. The first gold had been found in Victoria in 1851, leading to the Victorian gold rush. By 1859 prospectors had pushed far east of Melbourne into the trackless wilderness of the Great Dividing Range. Major gold strikes on the Jordan River encouraged other prospectors to follow the nearby Thomson River in their search for the valuable metal.

A group of four prospectors who had been exploring in creeks flowing into the Thomson River valley found gold in late December 1862. A claim was pegged out and a member of this group, former convict Edward Stringer, registered the claim at the stage post town of Bald Hills, now called Seaton, about 12 January 1863. Although his party were later posthumously presented with a monetary reward of £100 for the discovery, Stringer was unable to capitalise on his finds, dying in September 1863. After news of the discovery became known, a rush to the creek began and a small town sprang up, The settlement was initially called Stringer's or Stringer's Creek, but after the township was surveyed it was later rechristened Walhalla - the name of the town's largest mine at that time. The creek running through town still bears his name.

Access to the creek was an ongoing problem in the town's early days owing to the goldfield's remote and inaccessible location. In February 1863, two prospectors John Hinchcliffe and William Myers, discovered an immensely rich quartz outcrop in the hill just above the creek, which was named Cohen's Reef, after a storekeeper at Bald Hills.

Super set of images, and has been said certainly gives one a very good sense of the area.

Thank you