Yackandandah, Victoria
Encyclopedia
Yackandandah is a small tourist town in northeast Victoria, Australia. It is near the regional cities of Wodonga
and Albury
, and is close to the tourist town of Beechworth
. At the 2006 census
, Yackandandah had a population of 663.
centre known for its alluvial wet mining techniques. Yackandandah Post Office opened on 13 June 1856. Another office nearby, Yackandandah Junction, opened in 1872 but closed in 1885.
In his local book, O'Brien (p. 22) quotes an old poem published in the Melbourne Punch
, 11 June 1857, titled, "The Lass of Yackandandah".
and forestry
region, and has numerous bed and breakfast lodges which allow its many visitors to enjoy the peace and tranquillity of the district's forest and mountains.
The town is affectionately known as 'Yack', though in more recent times it has increasingly been referred to as "the 'dandah" by its younger residents.
The commercial centre of the town, known as the Yackandandah Conservation Area, is recorded on the Register of the National Estate
.
The town has an Australian rules football
team competing in the Tallangatta & District Football League
.
Golfers play at the course of the Yackandandah Golf Club on Racecourse Road.
, (starring Michael Caton
and Paul Hogan
), Yackandandah is also home to the annual Yackandandah Folk Festival attracting local, Australian and international artists. Like its larger neighbour, Yackandandah promotes itself as a tourist destination on the basis of its gold mining history, and features a period street scape and an increasing number of antique shops.
Two historic buildings, the 146-year-old museum (formerly the Bank of Victoria) and an adjacent timber store ("Rainbow Crystal"), were destroyed by a fire in the early morning of 21 December 2006. A real estate agency was also severely damaged.
Wodonga, Victoria
Wodonga is a small city on the Victorian side of the border with New South Wales, north-east of Melbourne, Australia. Adjacent to Wodonga across the border is the New South Wales city of Albury. Wodonga is located wholly within the boundaries of the City of Wodonga LGA...
and Albury
Albury, New South Wales
Albury is a major regional city in New South Wales, Australia, located on the Hume Highway on the northern side of the Murray River. It is located wholly within the boundaries of the City of Albury Local Government Area...
, and is close to the tourist town of Beechworth
Beechworth, Victoria
Beechworth is a well-preserved historical town located in the north-east of Victoria, Australia, famous for its major growth during the gold rush days of the mid-1850s...
. 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,...
, Yackandandah had a population of 663.
History
It is a former gold miningGold mining
Gold mining is the removal of gold from the ground. There are several techniques and processes by which gold may be extracted from the earth.-History:...
centre known for its alluvial wet mining techniques. Yackandandah Post Office opened on 13 June 1856. Another office nearby, Yackandandah Junction, opened in 1872 but closed in 1885.
In his local book, O'Brien (p. 22) quotes an old poem published in the Melbourne Punch
Melbourne Punch
Melbourne Punch was an Australian illustrated magazine founded by Edgar Ray and Frederick Sinnett, modelled closely on Punch of London which was founded just fifteen years earlier....
, 11 June 1857, titled, "The Lass of Yackandandah".
Today
The area is now predominantly a dairy farmingDairy farming
Dairy farming is a class of agricultural, or an animal husbandry, enterprise, for long-term production of milk, usually from dairy cows but also from goats and sheep, which may be either processed on-site or transported to a dairy factory for processing and eventual retail sale.Most dairy farms...
and forestry
Forestry
Forestry is the interdisciplinary profession embracing the science, art, and craft of creating, managing, using, and conserving forests and associated resources in a sustainable manner to meet desired goals, needs, and values for human benefit. Forestry is practiced in plantations and natural stands...
region, and has numerous bed and breakfast lodges which allow its many visitors to enjoy the peace and tranquillity of the district's forest and mountains.
The town is affectionately known as 'Yack', though in more recent times it has increasingly been referred to as "the 'dandah" by its younger residents.
The commercial centre of the town, known as the Yackandandah Conservation Area, is recorded on the Register of the National Estate
Register of the National Estate
The Register of the National Estate is a listing of natural and cultural heritage places in Australia. The listing was initially compiled between 1976 and 2003 by the Australian Heritage Commission. The register is now maintained by the Australian Heritage Council...
.
The town has an Australian rules football
Australian rules football
Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...
team competing in the Tallangatta & District Football League
Tallangatta & District Football League
The Tallangatta and District Football League is an Australian rules football competition in north-east Victoria and the southern/border region of the New South Wales Riverina...
.
Golfers play at the course of the Yackandandah Golf Club on Racecourse Road.
Rail
The Yackandandah railway line once linked Yackandandah to Beechworth, and opened in 1891. The route to Woorragee and from there to Yackandandah was steep; trains descending the last gradient into Yackandandah would halt (near the now Yackandandah turnoff, from the Beechworth-Wodonga Road) so the guard could apply hand-brakes to carriages and wagons. The last train on the Yackandandah-Beechworth line was in July 1954. Though the line was torn up, many sections of the original right of way are visible from the roadway between Beechworth and Yackandandah.Culture
Used for the filming of the 2003 film, Strange BedfellowsStrange Bedfellows (2004 film)
Strange Bedfellows is a 2004 Australian film starring Paul Hogan and Michael Caton as heterosexual men who pass themselves off as a homosexual couple in order to get financial benefits from the government...
, (starring Michael Caton
Michael Caton
Michael Caton is an Australian television, film and stage actor, and television host, best known for playing Uncle Harry in the Australian television series, The Sullivans, playing Darryl Kerrigan from 1997's low budget hit film The Castle and playing in the popular Packed to the Rafters. He is...
and Paul Hogan
Paul Hogan
Paul Hogan, AM is an Australian actor best known for his role as Michael "Crocodile" Dundee from the Crocodile Dundee film series, for which he won a Golden Globe award.-Early life and career:...
), Yackandandah is also home to the annual Yackandandah Folk Festival attracting local, Australian and international artists. Like its larger neighbour, Yackandandah promotes itself as a tourist destination on the basis of its gold mining history, and features a period street scape and an increasing number of antique shops.
Two historic buildings, the 146-year-old museum (formerly the Bank of Victoria) and an adjacent timber store ("Rainbow Crystal"), were destroyed by a fire in the early morning of 21 December 2006. A real estate agency was also severely damaged.
Further reading
History Books on the area:- O'Brien, Antony. Shenanigans on the Ovens goldfields: The 1859 election, Artillery Publishing, Hartwell, 2005.
- Larsen, Wal. The Mayday Hills Railway, Wal Larsen, Bright, 1976.
External links
- http://www.uniqueyackandandah.com.au — The Official Yackandandah & District Tourism Association Web Site
- Tourism information
- Yackandandah Folk Festival home page.
- yackandandah.com
- http://www.springmigration.com.au — Festival for Yackandandah website
- http://www.yackandandah.au.com — Informative website for Yackandandah and includes all public facilities also accommodation
- "Historic buildings razed in blaze", The Age, 21 December 2006.