Kingower is a small town in Victoria, Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

, located on Inglewood-Rheola Road, in the Shire of Loddon. The town was once very populated during the times of the Victorian Gold Rush

Victorian gold rush

The Victorian gold rush was a period in the history of Victoria, Australia approximately between 1851 and the late 1860s. In 10 years the Australian population nearly tripled.- Overview :During this era Victoria dominated the world's gold output...

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History

The Kingower goldfield was discovered in August 1853 by Captain John Mechosk and his party of 11 hired men. The discovery resulted in a rush of about 4000 diggers as the field became famous for unearthing monster nuggets.

In August 1857, Robert and James Ambrose and Samuel and Charles Napier discovered the Blanche Barkly nugget, at that time the world's largest gold nugget, weighing in at 1743 ounces. The Blanche Barkly remains the third largest gold nugget ever discovered to this day.

The discovery of the nearby Inglewood

Inglewood, Victoria

Inglewood is a town in Victoria, Australia, located on the Calder Highway, in the Shire of Loddon. At the 2006 census, Inglewood had a population of 834...

 goldfield drained Kingower of most of its population in 1859, and from then only a small number of diggers continued working on the field, despite large nuggets still being unearthed from time to time.

In 1980, Kevin Hillier was fossicking in the forest behind the old Kingower school house when he came across the 875 ounce 'Hand of Faith

Hand of Faith

The Hand of Faith is a nugget of fine-quality gold that was found by Kevin Hillier using a metal detector near Kingower, Victoria, Australia on 26 September 1980. Weighing 875 troy ounces , the gold nugget was only 12 inches below the surface, resting in a vertical position...

' nugget. The nugget was sold to the Golden Nugget Casino in Las Vegas for over US$1 million and remains the largest nugget still in existence in the world today, and the largest ever found with a metal detector.

The Town Today

Today, Kingower is a tiny village of perhaps 50 persons, many of whom choose the location for its tranquil bush lifestyle.

The area has made a name for itself as a wine region, with 4 wineries calling Kingower home.

The town is bordered by Kooyoora State Park

Kooyoora State Park

Kooyoora State Park is a state park in Victoria, Australia located northwest of Melbourne, and 12km west of Inglewood. It is a 11,350 hectare reserve comprising box-ironbark forest and rocky granite outcrops, including the Melville Caves....

, home of rare Box-Ironbark forest

Box-Ironbark forest

Box-Ironbark forest is a forest or woodland ecosystem that is largely limited to central Victoria in south-eastern Australia. Because its component tree species produce abundant nectar and pollen throughout the year, it is important for the conservation of many species of birds and other...

, scenic granite outcrops and significant aboriginal sites. Melville's Caves, a collection of granite tors which form fissures (loosely called 'caves'), is the jewel in the Park's crown and a popular picnic and recreation spot. The bushranger Captain Melville is rumoured to have used the caves as a hideout in the 1850s.

Historic buildings that remain in Kingower include the Bridge Hotel, Kingower Schoolhouse, St Mary's Church and Glenalbyn Grange, the original homestead for the Glenalbyn pastoral run. On the old Cobb & Co route from Dunolly to Wedderburn remain an historic bridge, the earliest civil construction remaining in the area, and water wells used for refreshing thirsty Cobb & Co horses. Across the track are the workings of the old Union Reef Mine.

A picturesque bush cricket ground is the home of the Kingower Cricket Club.