Walhalla, Victoria facts for kids
Quick facts for kids WalhallaVictoria |
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View of part of Walhalla, showing mainly reconstructed buildings, including the Star Hotel/Oddfellows Hall and several original structures including the band rotunda, Corner Stores and Masonic Lodge.
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 Walhalla
Location in Baw Baw Shire
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| Population | 35 (2021 census) |
| Postcode(s) | 3825 |
| Elevation | 360 m (1,181 ft) |
| Location |
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| LGA(s) | Shire of Baw Baw |
| State electorate(s) | Narracan |
| Federal Division(s) | Monash |
Walhalla is a small town in Victoria, Australia. It started as a gold-mining town in late 1862. At its busiest, about 4,000 people lived here. Today, Walhalla has around 20 permanent residents. Many houses are used for holidays. The town attracts many tourists and is a big part of the local tourism industry. Its name comes from an old gold mine, which was named after the German hall of fame, the Walhalla temple. This name links to Valhalla from Norse stories.
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Where is Walhalla Located?
Walhalla is in South-East Australia, in the Gippsland region of eastern Victoria. It is about 180 kilometres (110 miles) east of Melbourne, the state capital. The town is nestled in the Great Dividing Range, in the steep Stringers Creek valley. It's about four kilometres (2.5 miles) upstream from where the creek meets the Thomson River. The area around Walhalla is a historic site. It is next to the Baw Baw National Park.
Because the land is so steep, the town is mainly built along one winding road in the valley. After gold mining stopped in December 1914, Walhalla's population quickly dropped. The town lost its status as the Shire of Walhalla in 1918. For many years in the late 1900s, fewer than 20 people lived there permanently.
Walhalla's Gold Rush History
How Gold Was Found
Walhalla's story is closely tied to the history of gold in Victoria. The Victorian gold rush began in 1851 when the first gold was found in Victoria. By 1859, gold seekers had moved far east of Melbourne. They explored the wild Great Dividing Range. Big gold finds on the Jordan River encouraged others. Prospectors followed the nearby Thomson River looking for gold.
In late December 1862, a group of four prospectors found gold. They were exploring creeks that flowed into the Thomson River valley. One of them, Edward Stringer, registered their discovery. This happened around January 12, 1863, at a town called Bald Hills (now Seaton). Edward Stringer died in September 1863 and could not enjoy his discovery. His group later received £100 for finding the gold.
When news spread, many people rushed to the creek. A small town quickly grew. It was first called Stringer's or Stringer's Creek. After the town was mapped, it was renamed Walhalla. This was the name of the biggest mine there at the time. The creek running through town is still called Stringer's Creek.
Getting to the creek was hard at first. The goldfield was remote and difficult to reach. In February 1863, two prospectors, John Hinchcliffe and William Myers, found a very rich quartz rock. It was in the hill just above the creek. They named it Cohen's Reef, after a storekeeper at Bald Hills.
Gold Mining Operations
At first, people used gold panning to find gold. This quickly used up all the gold found on the surface. By late 1863, mining began underground. Miners dug tunnels into the steep valley walls. They also dug downwards to follow the gold veins.
Most of the gold in Walhalla came from Cohen's Reef. This was the largest single gold reef in Victoria. By 1900, this reef had already produced about 55 tonnes of gold. This is about 1.8 million troy ounces.
Underground gold mining was very expensive. Small groups or individuals soon stopped mining. Large companies took over, like the Long Tunnel Mining Company. This company owned the richest mine on the reef, called the Long Tunnel. It produced over 30 tons of gold between 1865 and 1914. It paid out £1,283,000 to its owners.
Machines used to crush the gold ore needed a lot of power. This power came from steam engines that burned wood. So, trees were cut down for a long distance around the town. Wooden tramways brought fresh timber for the engines. The rising cost of bringing wood from further away was a main reason why mining in Walhalla eventually stopped.
Walhalla's Boom Period: 1863–1900
By late 1863, more gold was found nearby. This included Happy-Go-Lucky, three kilometres from Stringer's Creek. Copper was also found at Cooper's Creek. By March 1864, Walhalla had mail delivery once a week from Toongabbie. The Walhalla Post Office opened on August 22, 1864. It was called Stringer's Creek until 1868.
The first hotel, the Reefer's Arms, opened in September 1863. Soon, there were more than a dozen hotels. There were also breweries and a factory making fizzy drinks. A branch of the Bank of Victoria opened in September 1865. A branch of the Bank of Australasia opened in February 1866. Shopkeepers, hotel owners, and other businesses quickly built up the town.
In May 1866, the town of Stringer's Creek was mapped and renamed Walhalla. This was after one of the most successful mines. Most of the first town lots were sold to people already living there. That year, a church was built for the Wesleyan Church. A Police station and Court were also set up.
The growing number of families led to a school opening in 1867. It was in the Mechanics' Institute and Free Library building. Soon, Walhalla had many clubs. These included a debating club, a chess club, a singing group, and a drama club. By January 1870, the Walhalla Chronicle newspaper was being printed. By December of that year, a two-acre (0.8 ha) site was set aside for State School No. 957. This school had started taking students in 1868.
A group called the "Council of Ten" wanted Walhalla to become a Borough in 1869. But they didn't get enough public support to tax properties. A Borough was finally declared in late 1872. By 1878, the town successfully asked the government to finish the first part of the main road from Moe. By the end of 1879, Walhalla had daily coach services. These connected it to the railway line at Moe and to Traralgon. This greatly reduced its isolation.
In late December 1874, a visitor described Walhalla. He said the town was "about a mile long." It was "at the foot of the mountains," with steep hills rising up. He felt the houses looked like "birds' nests" built on the hillsides.
The Long Tunnel Company brought electricity (1884) and the telephone (1891) to the mine. Walhalla briefly had two electric street lights in 1884. This was a world first! But this service did not spread to the rest of the town. Still, the community grew. Houses and gardens lined the hillsides. The population peaked at over 2,000 people. Many more lived in nearby "suburbs" like Maiden Town and Happy Go Lucky. Sports included cricket and football. A cricket ground was made by leveling a hilltop, as there was no other flat land. The Walhalla Football Association played there from 1888 to 1913.
Poverty Point
Italian people greatly helped Walhalla grow. They worked as mine managers, woodcutters, farmers, miners, and builders. The first Italian residents came in 1873. Pietro Bombardieri opened a tram station. They were skilled farmers and hard workers. By 1882, Anthony Simonin opened the Alpine Hotel. Their communities, one north and one south of town, were largest around 1910.
Woodcutters often lived in bark huts near their work. They rarely came into town. Around 1900, some families settled at a remote place called Poverty Point. It was along the Thomson River.
End of Mining and Decline: 1915–1980
After many years, the Victorian government agreed to build a rail line to the town. The line reached Walhalla in 1910. It was the last of four narrow gauge (762 mm) railways built by the Victorian Railways. Seventeen small NA-class steam engines ran on these lines. Six of these engines are still preserved and working today on the Puffing Billy Railway.
The Walhalla line started at Moe. It crossed hilly farmland until it reached Erica. Then it entered very mountainous land. It crossed the Thomson River on a big steel and concrete bridge. It then snaked up Stringer's Creek Gorge. The track had ledges blasted from rock. It had stone walls built from the creek bed. There were six timber trestle bridges in the last few hundred metres into town.
People hoped the railway would bring new life to Walhalla. However, gold mining was already becoming unprofitable. The last major mines closed in 1914. When the main industry left, most people soon moved away. The Shire of Walhalla joined the Shire of Narracan in 1918.
One main use of the railway became moving old buildings out of town. The original railway station was moved in 1938 to Hartwell in Melbourne. In 1944, the section from Platina to Walhalla closed. The copper and lime settlement of Coopers Creek used Platina for supplies. This lasted until the line between Platina and Erica closed in 1952. The service from Moe to Erica continued for farming and timber. But fewer people used it, and it closed in 1954. The railway line was taken apart in late 1958.
A sawmill operated where the Long Tunnel Mine used to be (now Stringer's Park). It ran from 1949 until 1971. The Corner Stores building was used as a place for mill workers to live. It was in bad shape when the Walhalla Heritage League bought it in the early 1970s.
People tried to restart mining between 1915 and the early 1940s. But these were small operations. They produced only small amounts of gold. Walhalla never became a ghost town. People always lived there. They kept basic services going, like a post office, hotel, church, general store, and masonic lodge.
On March 10, 1942, a Curtiss P-40 Warhawk plane crashed near Walhalla. It belonged to the United States Army Air Force. Captain Joseph P McLaughlin was flying it from Canberra to Laverton. The plane was found in 1948. In 2006, his remains were buried at Arlington National Cemetery.
In 1945, the Mechanics Institute, Bank of Australasia, and St Patricks Catholic Church were destroyed by fire. A government worker burning off plants accidentally started it. In December 1951, the Star Hotel, Oddfellows Hall, and Walhalla Shire Hall also burned down. This fire started from using the wrong fuel in the kitchen ovens at the Star Hotel. The school closed in 1965. Floods and neglect slowly damaged the rest of the town. The last buildings lost to fire were Foley's Cottage in 1993 and Cumings Cottage in February 2019.
Walhalla's Comeback: 1980–Present
Since about 1977, Walhalla has seen a comeback. Tourism is booming. Many historic buildings have been restored or rebuilt. These include the Star Hotel and Mechanics Institute. The Thomson–Walhalla section of the old narrow-gauge railway has also been rebuilt.
In 1994, local governments in Victoria were combined. Walhalla and Erica/Rawson areas were placed under the Baw Baw Shire. This shire is far away in Warragul. Local people pointed out that Walhalla was much closer to Moe, Morwell, and Traralgon. But the government decided to put Walhalla in Baw Baw Shire.
The Gold Era Shops were restored by the Walhalla Heritage League. They now work as a Post Office, museum, and gift shop.
In 1991, a group wanted to rebuild the Walhalla railway as a tourist attraction. Work by the new Walhalla Goldfields Railway began in 1993. It started at the old Thomson Station site, next to the Thomson River. After the Thomson River Bridge was fixed, trains started taking tourists up Stringer's Creek Gorge. A temporary stop was made at Happy Creek. This was because the timber trestle bridges into town needed rebuilding.
This temporary stop was used from 1996 until 2002. Then, the line opened all the way to the old station site in Walhalla. The current station building is an exact copy of the original. But the track layout is different. This is because part of the old station area was covered by road changes in the 1960s.
In December 1998, Walhalla became the last mainland town in Australia to get connected to main electricity. Some other towns still don't have mains power. Walhalla was special because each property needed its own generator. It was against the law to share electricity without permission. In the 1970s, the State Electricity Commission thought about connecting Walhalla. But they weren't very interested. Also, the townspeople worried that power poles would ruin Walhalla's historic look.
When electricity was privatized in the mid-1990s, Walhalla was considered again. A company studied the idea. The new plan was to run cables underground from nearby Rawson. They would go along 4WD tracks and then under the main street. A total of 6,940 metres (4.3 miles) of cable was laid. This cost $640,000 to connect Walhalla to the power grid. The Star Hotel was the first to get power on December 16. The official switch-on was on December 21.
Several attempts have been made to restart gold mining in Walhalla. Companies like Walhalla Resources and Goldstar Resources invested a lot of money. They hoped to use modern methods to get gold that was too hard to reach before. In 2008, GoldStar was close to getting a mining license. But the company closed in early 2009 due to lack of money. This was partly because of the Financial crisis of 2007–08. The company was then restarted as Orion Gold NL. They took a slower approach to mining. In February 2016, Orion Gold sold its Walhalla land to A1 Consolidated Gold Limited for $850,000. There is no active gold mining happening in Walhalla now.
Walhalla has faced big bushfires in 2005, 2006/07, 2009, 2013, and 2019. The town itself has not been damaged by bushfire. However, a small rail bridge on the Walhalla Goldfields Railway was destroyed in the 2006/07 fire. It was quickly rebuilt. One cottage was lost in the February 2019 fire. A new CFA fire station opened in Walhalla on November 24, 2013. This is the fifth location for the fire brigade. It is part of the Erica and District Fire Brigade. The Walhalla Fire Brigade was closed in 1961. This is the second official fire station in Walhalla in 112 years. The first was built in 1901 over the creek. It is now a museum and holds the restored 1903 Merryweather Fire Cart.
In October 2016, Michael Leaney was elected to Baw Baw Shire Council. He is a long-time Walhalla resident and community supporter. He represents the new East Ward. This area is nearly 3,200 square kilometres (1,200 sq mi). Walhalla is the most remote town in the shire with a sealed road. It had been 50 years since Walhalla had a representative on the council.
On Sunday, February 3, 2019, Walhalla was directly threatened by a bushfire. The fire started five days earlier from lightning. It was burning away from town. But an unexpected easterly wind made the fire burn quickly towards the west. The town was mostly empty that day. Only a few residents and a fire team stayed. At 5:23 PM, the town's fire siren sounded. Two hours later, flames were seen on the ridge east of town. More firefighters rushed to Walhalla. Many small fires started on both sides of the valley. At 8:37 PM, rain began to fall. By 9:45 PM, over 15 mm (0.6 in) of rain had fallen. This mostly put out the fire. One cottage in Walhalla was lost. Five buildings were destroyed in Maidentown. The Walhalla-Stoney Creek Road Fire burned for over five weeks. It covered 8,775 hectares (21,680 acres).
Mobile phone service came to Walhalla on July 16, 2019. A Telstra tower was officially switched on. It was the 600th tower from the Black Spot Program. The community had worked for almost ten years to get mobile service. The steep hills made it technically difficult.
In October 2020, Michael Leaney was re-elected to Baw Baw Shire. In November 2021, he was elected Mayor. He is the first Mayor from Walhalla since 1918.
Major flood damage happened on June 9/10, 2021. About 204 mm (8 in) of rain fell in 12 hours. This caused a lot of damage to the creek walls in town. The North Gardens Camping area was badly hit. Debris blocked the creek flow at the bridge. Floodwaters poured through the camping area, eroding the creek bank. Further downstream, the road edge was damaged near Valhalla House, the Star Hotel, and the CFA shed. The creek wall was swept away. The Walhalla Goldfields Railway also had damage to its bridges. Community donations helped pay for the railway's repairs. Services restarted in the following weeks. Repairs to the creek walls were finished by July 2022.
What to See and Do in Walhalla
Walhalla has many historic buildings. It also has old mines and mine shafts. The mountains are popular for hikers and bushwalkers. Walhalla is the start of the 650 km (400 mi) Australian Alps Walking Track. This track goes all the way to near Canberra. Walhalla also has two camping grounds: North Gardens (free) and Chinese Gardens (paid).
The current railway station is an exact copy of the original. It was built using the old Victorian Railways plans. The original station building is now in Melbourne. The inside of the new station is different. It is on the opposite side of the station yard. This is because the main road into Walhalla was moved in the 1960s. The Walhalla Goldfields Railway offers train rides. They go between Walhalla and the Thomson.
The Long Tunnel Extended Mine is open daily for tours. You can go underground to see the original gold workings. You can also see Cohen's line of reef. The tour shows the huge machinery chamber carved out of the mountain.
The Walhalla Corner Stores were bought by the Walhalla Heritage & Development League in the early 1970s. They were restored to their original look. The Corner Store now has a Post Office, a shop, and a Tourist Information Centre. The shop next door has a museum.
Throughout the town, there is a Heritage Walk. It has over 30 signs with photos and text. These signs explain the different sites and buildings from the gold era. The Walhalla Visitor Map shows where these signs are. You can get the map for free in town.
The Walhalla Fire Station was built over Stringers Creek. It is now open to the public as a museum. It was completely rebuilt in the early 1960s after years of neglect. The building you see today was rebuilt from the ground up.
The Band Rotunda was built in 1896. It is where the two branches of Stringers Creek meet. The Mountaineer Brass Band asked for it to be built. Two hotels were across from the Band Rotunda. The Star Hotel was on the north side. The Grand Junction Hotel was on the south side. The original Star Hotel burned down in December 1951. It was rebuilt in 1999 to look like the original.
The American actor Patrick Swayze visited Walhalla when he was young. He enjoyed exploring the countryside and learning about the local history.
Windsor House was built by Johannes Gloz between 1878 and 1888. He was from Germany. He used about 90,000 handmade bricks. It is the only brick house still standing in town. Gloz had a vineyard on the hill above the house. In 1880, he made about 900 bottles of Riesling wine.
The Walhalla Cricket Ground is on top of the hill. It is north-east of where the east and west branches of Stringers Creek meet. It is about a 45-minute hike there and back from the valley floor.
The Long Tunnel Extended Mine
The Long Tunnel Extended Mine (LTEM) was one of Walhalla's richest mines. The main gold-bearing rock in Walhalla is called Cohen's Reef. The LTEM mine was started by Hercules United Gold Co. in 1863. After eight years, the company failed because they didn't find gold. The Long Tunnel Extended Company took over the mine in 1871. They looked in a different direction and found a profitable part of the reef. This mine quickly became the second most productive mine in the area. It produced 13,695 kg (30,200 lb) of gold before it closed in 1911. Overall, the Long Tunnel Extended Mine was Victoria’s fifth largest gold mine during the colonial era.
Today, the Walhalla Board of Management runs it as a tourist attraction. Underground tours happen daily. The mine has 8.5 kilometres (5.3 miles) of underground tunnels. They go down 923 metres (3,028 ft) below the machinery room. This room is about 150 metres (490 ft) below the surface. The tour takes visitors 300 metres (980 ft) into the huge underground machinery room. This room was carved out of solid rock over a century ago. Old mining methods are explained. A large part of the famous Cohen's Line of Reef is shown in the mine.
Famous People from Walhalla
- William "Barlow" Carkeek, an Australian Test Cricketer, was born in Walhalla on October 17, 1878.
- Suzanne Bennett (born Susannah Catherine Evans), was a Broadway actress and singer. She was married to explorer Sir Hubert Wilkins. She was born in Walhalla in 1893.
