Eaglehawk, Victoria

Eaglehawk is a former gold-mining town in Victoria, Australia and a suburb within the City of Greater Bendigo.

Eaglehawk
Victoria
Town hall, now a cinema, with the war memorial in the foreground
Eaglehawk
Coordinates36°43′0″S 144°15′0″E
Population5,691 (2016 census)[1]
Established1852
Postcode(s)3556 [2]
Location
LGA(s)City of Greater Bendigo
Federal Division(s)Division of Bendigo
Localities around Eaglehawk:
Eaglehawk Jackass Flat
California Gully

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.[4]

History

The original inhabitants 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.[5] In 1862, the Borough of Eaglehawk was established, which included the nearby township of California Gully. After the alluvial gold 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.

The Eaglehawk Magistrates' Court closed on 1 January 1990.[6]

In 1994 the Borough of Eaglehawk was amalgamated by the Victorian Government with four other councils to become the city of Greater Bendigo.[7]

Community facilities
High St, the main street of Eaglehawk

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 (Eaglehawk Secondary College).

Sporting facilities

Canterbury Park has an oval as well as bowling and croquet facilities. The Eaglehawk Croquet Club Inc. was founded in 1909, in premises vacated by the Eaglehawk Bowling Club. Golf Croquet was introduced in 1975 and subscriptions for this style of croquet is rising. Association, Golf Croquet and Golf Croquet Pennant games are played. The Eaglehawk Croquet Club is a part of the Northern District Croquet Association (NDCA) and the club now hosts some major regional tournaments and competitions, the NDCA Pennant Competition and also teaches and coaches school and college children from all over Bendigo. The club hosts the Victorian Teachers Games (welcoming teachers and players from all over Victoria) and will host the Special Olympics. Eaglehawk Croquet Club also runs regular "Come & Try" days.

Canterbury Park is also home to the Bendigo Leisure Centre, operated by the Bendigo Regional YMCA. This facility includes a 50-metre indoor swimming pool, a health club, mini golf and squash courts.[8] 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 one golf course, the Neangar Park Golf Course.[9]

The suburb has an Australian Rules football team competing in the Bendigo Football League.[10]

Other facilities

A community and day hospital, a 66-bed aged-care facility (St Laurence Court) is operated by Benetas.[11] A police station and a fire station are also located in the town. Eaglehawk is also home to the Star Cinema, a non-profit community-owned cinema located in the old Eaglehawk Town Hall.

1st Eaglehawk Scout Hall runs programs for Scouts on a Tuesday night and Cubs on a Thursday night, they are a part of Scouts Australia and have their hall available for hire to the general public.

Events

The annual Dahlia and Arts Festival is held in March.[9]

Annual Canterbury Carols are held in December

Cultural references

The author Thomas Alexander Browne, 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".[12] 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.[13]

Notable residents
  • William John Symons (1889-1948) - soldier and business man[14]
  • Edgar Charles Harris (1897-1964) - publisher[15]
  • Martin Victor Kennedy (1895-1952) - journalist and author[16]
  • John Brumby - premier of Victoria (2007–10) taught at Eaglehawk Secondary School
  • Samuel Totten, internationally renowned scholar of genocide and humanitarian -- taught at Eaglehawk Secondary School (1976-1978)

References
  1. Australian Bureau of Statistics (27 June 2017). "Easglehawk (State Suburb)". 2016 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 16 March 2018.
  2. "Eaglehawk". Gazetteer of Australia online. Geoscience Australia, Australian Government.
  3. "travelmate.com.au". Archived from the original on 24 March 2007. Retrieved 9 November 2007.
  4. "Travel:Eaglehawk". The Sydney Morning Herald. 8 February 2004. Retrieved 9 November 2007.
  5. Premier Postal History. "Post Office List". Retrieved 11 April 2008.
  6. "Review of Legal Services in Rural and Regional Victoria" (PDF). Parliament of Victoria Law Reform Committee. May 2001. pp. 291–292. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
  7. "Gazetteer: Eaglehawk". Archived from the original on 16 August 2003. Retrieved 9 November 2007.
  8. "Bendigo Regional YMCA". Bendigo Regional YMCA. Archived from the original on 28 August 2007. Retrieved 9 November 2007.
  9. "Eaglehawk Ward Profile". City of Greater Bendigo. Archived from the original on 5 December 2007. Retrieved 9 November 2007.
  10. Full Points Footy. "Eaglehawk". Archived from the original on 21 November 2008. Retrieved 25 July 2008.
  11. "St Laurence Court - Eaglehawk". Benetas. Archived from the original on 30 August 2007. Retrieved 9 November 2007.
  12. Paterson, Andrew Barton (October 1896). "Mulga Bill's Bicycle". The Sydney Mail.
  13. "Mulga Bill Bicycle Trail". Bendigo Tourism. Archived from the original on 19 July 2008. Retrieved 29 September 2008.
  14. Staunton, Anthony (1990). "Symons, William John (1889-1948)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Australian National University. Retrieved 30 March 2015.
  15. Holroyd, J (1996). "Harris, Edgar Charles (Ted) (1897–1964)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Australian National University. Retrieved 30 March 2015.
  16. Arnold, John (2005). "Kennedy, Martin Victor (1895–1952)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Australian National University. Retrieved 30 March 2015.
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