Walkerville, Victoria
Encyclopedia
Walkerville Victoria
, Australia
, is a tiny fishing village on Waratah Bay
in southwest Gippsland
, about 190 km southeast of Melbourne
. The small town, originally known as Waratah, is separated into North Walkerville and South Walkerville. At the 2006 census
, Walkerville had a population of 262.
Its heyday was the early quarter of the 20th century, where commercial quantities of lime
were bagged and exported to the booming capital city. Lime obtained from the site is said to have been used in the building of Melbourne's iconic Flinders Street Station
.
Raw material was mined from the surrounding limestone cliffs, loaded into horse-drawn trams and hauled along above the high-tide line to be burned in one of six kiln
s. Much of the surrounding countryside was depleted from a combination of mining
and timber-harvesting
to fuel the kilns. Burned lime was bagged, then stacked in sheds. Lime was transported to Melbourne aboard a series of ships that stopped at the 300-metre jetty
nearby. Operations continued until 1926, when shipping expenses made the product unprofitable.
Even at its peak, the township was home to only eighty people, mostly workers at the six lime kilns.
In 2005, all that remains of the limeburning operations is the stonework from ruined buildings and several of the limeburning kilns along with one wooden pile from the once imposing jetty at Walkerville South as well as Digger Island.
. Along this road there are a few houses, along with a picnic area and public toilets. Walkerville North provides beautiful views across Waratah Bay
to nearby Wilsons Promontory
, and at low tide provides access to spectacular rock pools. Approx. 100 metres beyond the end of the boat ramp marks the beginning of a walking trail up the cliff that separates the two Walkerville settlements. This trail leads you through spectacular forests and little creeks stained brown by the tea tree (melaleuca) plants. Along the trail are vantage points with information plaques about the brief mining and logging history of the settlement, and geographical information about the area. A short side-trail takes you to a hidden cemetery, with beautiful headstones of the settlers and workers that battled the rough terrain that is visibly different to that of today. The gravel road that leads to Walkerville South ends with a similar boat ramp to that of its northern sister settlement, and a sheltered bay frequented in the summer by families swimming, fishing and jet-skiing in the quiet pristine waters.
The town was the focus of the Weddings Parties Anything
song Walkerville from their 1996 album River'esque
.
The small town is now best known for its camping ground 'Walkerville North Foreshore Reserve', which consists of a one kilometre stretch of dirt road along the rocky beach with camping sites on either side. The camping ground is at its busiest during the Easter and New Year holidays, attracting many campers. Within the foreshore reserve is Walkerville Kiosk, the only shop in Walkerville.
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...
, is a tiny fishing village on Waratah Bay
Waratah Bay
Waratah Bay is located in south Gippsland, Victoria. The bay is an arc of almost 20 kilometres of flat sandy beach framed by Cape Liptrap to the west and Wilsons Promontory in the east.-Surrounding townships:...
in southwest Gippsland
Gippsland
Gippsland is a large rural region in Victoria, Australia. It begins immediately east of the suburbs of Melbourne and stretches to the New South Wales border, lying between the Great Dividing Range to the north and Bass Strait to the south...
, about 190 km southeast 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...
. The small town, originally known as Waratah, is separated into North Walkerville and South Walkerville. At the 2006 census
Census in Australia
The Australian census is administered once every five years by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The most recent census was conducted on 9 August 2011; the next will be conducted in 2016. Prior to the introduction of regular censuses in 1961, they had also been run in 1901, 1911, 1921, 1933,...
, Walkerville had a population of 262.
History
The Post Office opened on 10 August 1885 and was known as Waratah Bay until 1892. It closed in 1972.Its heyday was the early quarter of the 20th century, where commercial quantities of lime
Lime (mineral)
Lime is a general term for calcium-containing inorganic materials, in which carbonates, oxides and hydroxides predominate. Strictly speaking, lime is calcium oxide or calcium hydroxide. It is also the name for a single mineral of the CaO composition, occurring very rarely...
were bagged and exported to the booming capital city. Lime obtained from the site is said to have been used in the building of Melbourne's iconic Flinders Street Station
Flinders Street Station
Flinders Street Station is the central railway station of the suburban railway network of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is on the corner of Flinders and Swanston Streets next to the Yarra River in the heart of the city, stretching from Swanston Street to Queen Street and covering two city...
.
Raw material was mined from the surrounding limestone cliffs, loaded into horse-drawn trams and hauled along above the high-tide line to be burned in one of six kiln
Kiln
A kiln is a thermally insulated chamber, or oven, in which a controlled temperature regime is produced. Uses include the hardening, burning or drying of materials...
s. Much of the surrounding countryside was depleted from a combination of mining
Mining
Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, from an ore body, vein or seam. The term also includes the removal of soil. Materials recovered by mining include base metals, precious metals, iron, uranium, coal, diamonds, limestone, oil shale, rock...
and timber-harvesting
Timber
Timber may refer to:* Timber, a term common in the United Kingdom and Australia for wood materials * Timber, Oregon, an unincorporated community in the U.S...
to fuel the kilns. Burned lime was bagged, then stacked in sheds. Lime was transported to Melbourne aboard a series of ships that stopped at the 300-metre jetty
Jetty
A jetty is any of a variety of structures used in river, dock, and maritime works that are generally carried out in pairs from river banks, or in continuation of river channels at their outlets into deep water; or out into docks, and outside their entrances; or for forming basins along the...
nearby. Operations continued until 1926, when shipping expenses made the product unprofitable.
Even at its peak, the township was home to only eighty people, mostly workers at the six lime kilns.
In 2005, all that remains of the limeburning operations is the stonework from ruined buildings and several of the limeburning kilns along with one wooden pile from the once imposing jetty at Walkerville South as well as Digger Island.
The Town today
Extremely secluded, Walkerville South is only accessible by lonely gravel roads and the lack of people ensures that facilities are at a bare minimum. Walkerville North is accessed by a sealed winding road from the nearby hilltop through beautiful forest down to the shore. Once the road clears the forest at the shore a gravel road on the immediate left leads to a camping ground while the sealed road hugs the shore closely for about 500 metres before ending at a boat ramp, providing access to the shores of Waratah BayWaratah Bay
Waratah Bay is located in south Gippsland, Victoria. The bay is an arc of almost 20 kilometres of flat sandy beach framed by Cape Liptrap to the west and Wilsons Promontory in the east.-Surrounding townships:...
. Along this road there are a few houses, along with a picnic area and public toilets. Walkerville North provides beautiful views across Waratah Bay
Waratah Bay
Waratah Bay is located in south Gippsland, Victoria. The bay is an arc of almost 20 kilometres of flat sandy beach framed by Cape Liptrap to the west and Wilsons Promontory in the east.-Surrounding townships:...
to nearby Wilsons Promontory
Wilsons Promontory
Wilsons Promontory is a peninsula that forms the southernmost part of the Australian mainland and is located at . South Point at is the southernmost tip of Wilsons Promontory and hence of mainland Australia...
, and at low tide provides access to spectacular rock pools. Approx. 100 metres beyond the end of the boat ramp marks the beginning of a walking trail up the cliff that separates the two Walkerville settlements. This trail leads you through spectacular forests and little creeks stained brown by the tea tree (melaleuca) plants. Along the trail are vantage points with information plaques about the brief mining and logging history of the settlement, and geographical information about the area. A short side-trail takes you to a hidden cemetery, with beautiful headstones of the settlers and workers that battled the rough terrain that is visibly different to that of today. The gravel road that leads to Walkerville South ends with a similar boat ramp to that of its northern sister settlement, and a sheltered bay frequented in the summer by families swimming, fishing and jet-skiing in the quiet pristine waters.
The town was the focus of the Weddings Parties Anything
Weddings Parties Anything
Weddings Parties Anything were an Australian folk rock band formed in 1984 in Melbourne and continuing until 1998. Their name came from The Clash song and musicologist Billy Pinnell described their first album as the best Australian rock debut since Skyhooks' Living in the '70s.-Formation and...
song Walkerville from their 1996 album River'esque
Riveresque
River'esque is the ninth studio album by Weddings Parties Anything and the first on their new record label, Mushroom Records, it was released October 21, 1997...
.
The small town is now best known for its camping ground 'Walkerville North Foreshore Reserve', which consists of a one kilometre stretch of dirt road along the rocky beach with camping sites on either side. The camping ground is at its busiest during the Easter and New Year holidays, attracting many campers. Within the foreshore reserve is Walkerville Kiosk, the only shop in Walkerville.