The Island, Thompson Bend, Warrandyte
Encyclopedia
The Island is located at Thompson Bend on the Yarra River
at Warrandyte
, Victoria
, Australia
, approximately 24 kilometres (14.9 mi) north-east of Melbourne
. It was created by gold miners in 1859-60, during the Victorian gold rush
. They dug a diversion channel to alter the course of the Yarra River, providing access to the alluvial gold in the exposed river bed.
The canal was widened by subsequent flooding becoming the main river course, with the previous river bed becoming a willow-choked backwater.
Mining Registrars and Surveyors Reports for the St. Andrews Division date the diversion of the river into a canal as May–July 1859. The work cost £7,000. There was more work in November 1859 and February 1860.
The nearby Pound Bend Tunnel
was cut for a similar purpose in 1870. Two other tunnels,
the Big Peninsula Tunnel
and the Little Peninsula Tunnel
, were dug further upstream in the 1860s.
The site is listed in the Victorian Heritage Inventory
.
Yarra River
The Yarra River, originally Birrarung, is a river in east-central Victoria, Australia. The lower stretches of the river is where the city of Melbourne was established in 1835 and today Greater Melbourne dominates and influences the landscape of its lower reaches...
at Warrandyte
Warrandyte, Victoria
Warrandyte is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 24 km north-east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Manningham...
, 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....
, 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...
, approximately 24 kilometres (14.9 mi) north-east of Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
. It was created by gold miners in 1859-60, during 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...
. They dug a diversion channel to alter the course of the Yarra River, providing access to the alluvial gold in the exposed river bed.
The canal was widened by subsequent flooding becoming the main river course, with the previous river bed becoming a willow-choked backwater.
Mining Registrars and Surveyors Reports for the St. Andrews Division date the diversion of the river into a canal as May–July 1859. The work cost £7,000. There was more work in November 1859 and February 1860.
The nearby Pound Bend Tunnel
Pound Bend Tunnel
The Pound Bend Tunnel, or the Evelyn Tunnel, is a diversion tunnel on the Yarra River at Warrandyte, Victoria, Australia, approximately 24 km north-east of Melbourne...
was cut for a similar purpose in 1870. Two other tunnels,
the Big Peninsula Tunnel
Big Peninsula Tunnel
The Big Peninsula Tunnel is a small river diversion tunnel on the upper Yarra River near McMahons Creek, around 80 km East of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The tunnel was dug in 1864, during the Victorian gold rush, by alluvial gold miners to provide access to the bed of the Yarra River...
and the Little Peninsula Tunnel
Little Peninsula Tunnel
The Little Peninsula Tunnel is a small river diversion tunnel on the upper Yarra River near McMahons Creek, around 80 km East of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia...
, were dug further upstream in the 1860s.
The site is listed in the Victorian Heritage Inventory
Victorian Heritage Inventory
The Victorian Heritage Inventory, commonly known as the Heritage Inventory, is a list of all known historical archaeology sites in Victoria, Australia...
.