Whroo is a locality in the Shire of Strathbogie and Shire of Campaspe, Victoria, Australia.[2][3] The locality includes the Whroo Historical Area state reserve.[4][5][6][7]

Whroo
Victoria
Whroo is located in Shire of Campaspe
Whroo
Whroo
Coordinates36°39′S 145°1′E / 36.650°S 145.017°E / -36.650; 145.017
Population45 (2021 census)[1]
Postcode(s)3612
LGA(s)
State electorate(s)Euroa
Federal division(s)Nicholls

History

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The first inhabitants of the area were the Ngooraialum people.[8] The first European explorer to enter the Goulburn Valley was Thomas Mitchell. The first Europeans to visit the area were 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 Balaclava Mine then operated on and off and officially closed in the 1960s.[9] Thought to be derived from an Aboriginal word meaning lips,[10] 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[10] factory and three ore crushing mills.[10]

References

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  1. ^ "2021 Whroo, Census All persons QuickStats | Australian Bureau of Statistics". abs.gov.au. Retrieved 28 October 2022.
  2. ^ "Whroo... a hidden treasure". The Riverine Herald. No. 29, 279. New South Wales, Australia. 21 May 1999. p. 12. Retrieved 11 August 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
  3. ^ Hammond, Joyce (1981), The golden years of Rushworth & Whroo (2nd ed.), J.G. Hammond, retrieved 11 August 2018
  4. ^ Whroo Historic Area.
  5. ^ "Rushworth,Whroo and Whroo Historic Reserve. | Rushworth Mining History". rushworthmininghistory.wordpress.com. Retrieved 27 March 2016.
  6. ^ Thomson, Nicola; King, Doris (M.D.) (1999), Collected memories of Whroo, N. Thomson & D. King, retrieved 11 August 2018
  7. ^ Thomson, James; Thomson, Nicola (1996), Whroo cemetery Victoria : a list of internments, James & Nicola Thomson, retrieved 11 August 2018
  8. ^ Gunn, R. G; Victoria Archaeological Survey (1990), The Ngurai-illiam-wurrung rock well at Whroo (Site 7924/01), Department of Conservation & Environment, ISSN 0725-7317
  9. ^ Tara Moss, The Ghost Town of Whroo October 29, 2012 .
  10. ^ a b c Whroo at Victorian Places