Murrindindi, Victoria
Encyclopedia
Murrindindi is a locality along the valley of the Murrundindi River in Victoria
, Australia
in the Shire of Murrindindi local government area. The nearest town is Yea, Victoria
.
The name comes from the pastoral run begun by squatter Peter Snodgrass in 1837, which was originally (and probably correctly) spelled Murrundindi. In the Woiwurrung
language of central Victoria
the name means “living in the mountains”. However, the inaccurate translation “mist of the mountains” is sometimes given.
Snodgrass’s station covered the area from the present-day town of Yea
up the valleys of the east and west branches of the Muddy Creek (now Yea River). His homestead was near the junction of these two branches, therefore surveyors named the east branch Murrindindi Creek (now River).
There has never been a Murrindindi town. The gold rush town of Higinbotham (began 1868, lasted for a few years, now completely vanished) with a maximum of 200 residents was the nearest to a town that the valley has seen. Modern maps place the name Murrindindi at the site where the War Memorial Hall once stood (now a public reserve) or a little further to the south on Cummins Lane where the local volunteer fire station
is situated. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries these would have been called Lower Murrindindi, and Upper Murrindindi was the locality now called Woodbourne and adjacent areas up the Ault Beag Creek. Ault Beag (Gaelic for “little creek”) was named by an early Scots settler, Duncan McLeish.
Farming and timber were the main industries of the area when the British settled the valley, and remain so today. Although much of the area was deforested by the timber industry, regrowth and sustainable logging techniques have restored the forests to some semblance of their former beauty, with management today as the Black Range State Forest. Tourism (trail-bike riding, fishing etc) and sightseeing (rapids on the Murrindindi River, and the Wilhelmina Falls on a tributary) activities are carried on in the forest areas.
Since the 1990s there has been a considerable growth in the number of vineyards in the valley, which is in the Upper Goulburn wine region of Victoria. These grow cabernet sauvignon
, merlot
, pinot noir
and chardonnay
grapes, primarily for wineries outside the area (and the grapes are usually labelled “Yea Valley”), but Cuthbertson‘s Murrindindi and Sedona are two local vineyard/winery labels.
On February 7, 2009 a fire started at the old abandoned Murrindindi timber mill which spread to become one of the major conflagrations known as Black Saturday. Although there were no human casualties at Murrindindi, many lives were lost further away at Marysville
and Narbethong
.
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
, 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...
in the Shire of Murrindindi local government area. The nearest town is Yea, Victoria
Yea, Victoria
Yea is a town in Victoria, Australia. It is in the Shire of Murrindindi local government area. Located north-east of Melbourne via the Melba Highway, Yea sits at the junction with the Goulburn Valley Highway, and above sea-level. At the 2006 Census, Yea had a population of 1,052.- History :The...
.
Woiwurrung
Woiwurrung is an Indigenous Australian language spoken by some of the Kulin Nation clans, the Wurundjeri people, of Central Victoria, from Mount Baw Baw in the east to Mount Macedon, Sunbury and Gisborne in the west.The Woiwurrung clans inhabited the Yarra River, called Birrarung in Woiwurrung,...
language of central Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
the name means “living in the mountains”. However, the inaccurate translation “mist of the mountains” is sometimes given.
Snodgrass’s station covered the area from the present-day town of Yea
Yea, Victoria
Yea is a town in Victoria, Australia. It is in the Shire of Murrindindi local government area. Located north-east of Melbourne via the Melba Highway, Yea sits at the junction with the Goulburn Valley Highway, and above sea-level. At the 2006 Census, Yea had a population of 1,052.- History :The...
up the valleys of the east and west branches of the Muddy Creek (now Yea River). His homestead was near the junction of these two branches, therefore surveyors named the east branch Murrindindi Creek (now River).
There has never been a Murrindindi town. The gold rush town of Higinbotham (began 1868, lasted for a few years, now completely vanished) with a maximum of 200 residents was the nearest to a town that the valley has seen. Modern maps place the name Murrindindi at the site where the War Memorial Hall once stood (now a public reserve) or a little further to the south on Cummins Lane where the local volunteer fire station
Country Fire Authority
Country Fire Authority, or CFA, is the name of the fire service that provides firefighting and other emergency services to all of the country areas and regional townships within the state of Victoria, Australia, as well as large portions of the outer suburban areas and growth corridors of Melbourne...
is situated. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries these would have been called Lower Murrindindi, and Upper Murrindindi was the locality now called Woodbourne and adjacent areas up the Ault Beag Creek. Ault Beag (Gaelic for “little creek”) was named by an early Scots settler, Duncan McLeish.
Farming and timber were the main industries of the area when the British settled the valley, and remain so today. Although much of the area was deforested by the timber industry, regrowth and sustainable logging techniques have restored the forests to some semblance of their former beauty, with management today as the Black Range State Forest. Tourism (trail-bike riding, fishing etc) and sightseeing (rapids on the Murrindindi River, and the Wilhelmina Falls on a tributary) activities are carried on in the forest areas.
Since the 1990s there has been a considerable growth in the number of vineyards in the valley, which is in the Upper Goulburn wine region of Victoria. These grow cabernet sauvignon
Cabernet Sauvignon
Cabernet Sauvignon is one of the world's most widely recognized red wine grape varieties. It is grown in nearly every major wine producing country among a diverse spectrum of climates from Canada's Okanagan Valley to Lebanon's Beqaa Valley...
, merlot
Merlot
Merlot is a darkly blue-coloured wine grape, that is used as both a blending grape and for varietal wines. The name Merlot is thought to derive from the Old French word for young blackbird, merlot, a diminutive of merle, the blackbird , probably from the color of the grape. Merlot-based wines...
, pinot noir
Pinot Noir
Pinot noir is a black wine grape variety of the species Vitis vinifera. The name may also refer to wines created predominantly from Pinot noir grapes...
and chardonnay
Chardonnay
Chardonnay is a green-skinned grape variety used to make white wine. It is originated from the Burgundy wine region of eastern France but is now grown wherever wine is produced, from England to New Zealand...
grapes, primarily for wineries outside the area (and the grapes are usually labelled “Yea Valley”), but Cuthbertson‘s Murrindindi and Sedona are two local vineyard/winery labels.
On February 7, 2009 a fire started at the old abandoned Murrindindi timber mill which spread to become one of the major conflagrations known as Black Saturday. Although there were no human casualties at Murrindindi, many lives were lost further away at Marysville
Marysville, Victoria
Marysville is a small town, 34 kilometres north-east of Healesville, in the Shire of Murrindindi in Victoria, Australia. The town, which previously had a population of around 500 people, was devastated by the Murrindindi Mill bushfire on 7 February 2009. On 19 February 2009 the official death toll...
and Narbethong
Narbethong, Victoria
Narbethong is a town in central Victoria, Australia. The town is located on the Maroondah Highway, north east of the state capital, Melbourne. At the 2006 census, Narbethong and the surrounding area had a population of 280....
.