Yea, Victoria
Encyclopedia
Yea is a town in Victoria
, Australia
. It is in the Shire of Murrindindi local government area. Located 109 kilometres (67.7 mi) north-east of Melbourne via the Melba Highway
, Yea sits at the junction with the Goulburn Valley Highway
, and 172 metres (564.3 ft) above sea-level. At the 2006 Census, Yea had a population of 1,052.
people. The first Europeans in the area were a party of explorers led by William Hovell
and Hamilton Hume
, who crossed the Goulburn River at a point near the locality in 1824. Their favourable report of the grazing land they had observed contributed to the formation of a new settlement that is now known as the state of Victoria.
The first settlers in the district were overlanders
from New South Wales
, who arrived in 1837. By 1839, settlements and farms dotted the area along the Goulburn River.
The town was surveyed and laid out in 1855 and named
after Colonel Lacy Walter Yea
— a British Army colonel killed that year in the Crimean War
. Town lots went on sale at Kilmore
the following year. Settlement followed and the Post Office opened on 15 January 1858.
The town site was initially known to pioneer settlers as the Muddy Creek settlement for the Yea River
, called Muddy Creek until 1878.
When gold was discovered in the area in 1859 a number of smaller mining settlements came into existence, including Molesworth
. Yea expanded into a township under the influx of hopeful prospectors, with the addition of several housing areas, an Anglican church (erected in 1869) and a population of 250 when it formally became a shire
in 1873.
saw production greatly reducing as demand fell. In these times of huge production, there was in excess of 2500000 board feet (5,899.3 m³) of timber sent out each year over the tramlines to Cheviot
.
What later became the railway to Mansfield arrived in 1883, with an extension to Molesworth in 1889, chiefly for timber transport to Melbourne
. Running steam trains, the train service cut through steep hills and undulating country to connect the shire with the main city. The line was closed on 18 November 1978, with the last passenger service running on 28 May 1977. Although much of the railway property has been appropriated by nearby farmland, the original tracks and crossings may be still be discerned across the countryside. The railway station, built in 1889, is now managed by a Committee of Management. The rooms have served a variety of tenants, including an Information centre. A short section of the former railway line adjacent to the Yea railway station have been converted, along with two other sections, to a rail trail
named the Goulburn River High Country Rail Trail
. Work is under way to extend the rail trail to include the full length of the former Mansfield railway line. This is scheduled to open in December 2011..
Yea was promoted as something of a tourist centre in the 1890s with trout being released into King Parrot Creek to attract recreational anglers. A post office was built in 1890, followed by a grandstand and a butter factory (now cheese factory) in 1891. There was a proposal in 1908 to submerge the town under the Trawool Water Scheme but it never went ahead.
By 1911 the town's population had increased to 1126 and has remained relatively stable, despite two severe floods in 1934 and 1973 and a major conflagration in 1969. The Limestone Road Baragwanathia fossil site has been registered in the National Estate due to the discovery of the most ancient leafy foliage so far found on earth.
is Yea High School. The school also runs the Access Yea Community Education Program
(AYCE), a state-wide educational program that is designed to help school leavers and other students who do not fit into the regular school system.
is an Australian rules football
team competing in the Yarra Valley Mountain District Football League
.
Yea has a horse racing club, the Yea Racing Club, which schedules two race meetings a year including the Yea Cup meeting in March. Yea St Patrick's Racing Club also hold two picnic race
meetings each year at the Yea racecourse.
Golfers play at the course of the Yea Golf Club on Racecourse Road.
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...
. It is in the Shire of Murrindindi local government area. Located 109 kilometres (67.7 mi) north-east of Melbourne via the Melba Highway
Melba Highway
The Melba Highway connects the outer eastern suburb of Coldstream, near Lilydale, and the town of Yea, in Victoria's Central Highlands on the Goulburn Valley Highway.-Route:...
, Yea sits at the junction with the Goulburn Valley Highway
Goulburn Valley Highway
The Goulburn Valley Highway / is a highway located in Victoria, Australia. The section north beyond the Hume Freeway is part of the Melbourne to Brisbane National Highway and is the main link between these two cities as well as a major link between Victoria and inland New South Wales...
, and 172 metres (564.3 ft) above sea-level. At the 2006 Census, Yea had a population of 1,052.
History
The area was historically inhabited by the TaungurungWurundjeri
The Wurundjeri are a people of the Indigenous Australian nation of the Woiwurrung language group, in the Kulin alliance, who occupy the Birrarung Valley, its tributaries and the present location of Melbourne, Australia...
people. The first Europeans in the area were a party of explorers led by William Hovell
William Hovell
William Hilton Hovell was an English explorer of Australia.-Early life:Hovell was born in Yarmouth, Norfolk, England and went to sea as a boy, becoming a Royal Navy captain before settling in New South Wales, arriving in October 1813 aboard the Earl Spencer with his wife Esther née Arndell...
and Hamilton Hume
Hamilton Hume
Hamilton Hume was the first Australian born explorer. Along with Hovell in 1824, Hume was part of an expedition that first took an overland route from Sydney to Port Phillip near the site of present day Melbourne...
, who crossed the Goulburn River at a point near the locality in 1824. Their favourable report of the grazing land they had observed contributed to the formation of a new settlement that is now known as the state of Victoria.
The first settlers in the district were overlanders
Drover (Australian)
A drover in Australia is a person, typically an experienced stockman, who moves livestock, usually sheep or cattle, "on the hoof" over long distances. Reasons for droving may include: delivering animals to a new owner's property, taking animals to market, or moving animals during a drought in...
from New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
, who arrived in 1837. By 1839, settlements and farms dotted the area along the Goulburn River.
The town was surveyed and laid out in 1855 and named
after Colonel Lacy Walter Yea
— a British Army colonel killed that year in the Crimean War
Crimean War
The Crimean War was a conflict fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the French Empire, the British Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Sardinia. The war was part of a long-running contest between the major European powers for influence over territories of the declining...
. Town lots went on sale at Kilmore
Kilmore, Victoria
Kilmore is a town in the Australian state of Victoria. Located north of Melbourne, it is contentiously claimed as Victoria's oldest inland settled town...
the following year. Settlement followed and the Post Office opened on 15 January 1858.
The town site was initially known to pioneer settlers as the Muddy Creek settlement for the Yea River
Yea River
The Yea River is a river in central Victoria, Australia. It flows in a northerly direction through the town of Yea before entering the Goulburn River.The river, like the town, is named in honour of Colonel Lacy Walter Yea...
, called Muddy Creek until 1878.
When gold was discovered in the area in 1859 a number of smaller mining settlements came into existence, including Molesworth
Molesworth, Victoria
Molesworth is a town in the upper Goulburn Valley region of Victoria, Australia. The town is in the Shire of Murrindindi and on the Maroondah Highway, north east of the state capital, Melbourne....
. Yea expanded into a township under the influx of hopeful prospectors, with the addition of several housing areas, an Anglican church (erected in 1869) and a population of 250 when it formally became a shire
Shire of Yea
The Shire of Yea was a Local Government Area located about northeast of Melbourne, the state capital of Victoria, Australia. The shire covered an area of , and existed from 1869 until 1994...
in 1873.
Development
After the proceeds of the goldrush, the town of Yea survived on farming and timber getting (chiefly from the Murrindindi forests). The heyday of the Yea sawmilling industry was from 1907–1915, when the Great War saw many men enlist, and then another boom was between 1923 to 1930, after which the onset of the Great DepressionGreat Depression in Australia
Australia suffered badly during the period of the Great Depression of the 1930s. The Depression began with the Wall Street Crash of October, 1929 and rapidly spread worldwide. As in other nations, Australia suffered years of high unemployment, poverty, low profits, deflation, plunging incomes, and...
saw production greatly reducing as demand fell. In these times of huge production, there was in excess of 2500000 board feet (5,899.3 m³) of timber sent out each year over the tramlines to Cheviot
Cheviot, Victoria
Cheviot is a locality in Victoria, Australia in the Shire of Murrindindi local government area. The nearest town is Yea.-History:The locality was named after a nearby pastoral run called Cheviot Hills, which in turn was named after the locality on the English-Scottish border...
.
What later became the railway to Mansfield arrived in 1883, with an extension to Molesworth in 1889, chiefly for timber transport to 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...
. Running steam trains, the train service cut through steep hills and undulating country to connect the shire with the main city. The line was closed on 18 November 1978, with the last passenger service running on 28 May 1977. Although much of the railway property has been appropriated by nearby farmland, the original tracks and crossings may be still be discerned across the countryside. The railway station, built in 1889, is now managed by a Committee of Management. The rooms have served a variety of tenants, including an Information centre. A short section of the former railway line adjacent to the Yea railway station have been converted, along with two other sections, to a rail trail
Rail trail
A rail trail is the conversion of a disused railway easement into a multi-use path, typically for walking, cycling and sometimes horse riding. The characteristics of former tracks—flat, long, frequently running through historical areas—are appealing for various development. The term sometimes also...
named the Goulburn River High Country Rail Trail
Goulburn River High Country Rail Trail
The Goulburn River High Country Rail Trail is a partially developed rail trail that follows the route of the former Mansfield Railway in north central Victoria, Australia, about north-east of Melbourne...
. Work is under way to extend the rail trail to include the full length of the former Mansfield railway line. This is scheduled to open in December 2011..
Yea was promoted as something of a tourist centre in the 1890s with trout being released into King Parrot Creek to attract recreational anglers. A post office was built in 1890, followed by a grandstand and a butter factory (now cheese factory) in 1891. There was a proposal in 1908 to submerge the town under the Trawool Water Scheme but it never went ahead.
By 1911 the town's population had increased to 1126 and has remained relatively stable, despite two severe floods in 1934 and 1973 and a major conflagration in 1969. The Limestone Road Baragwanathia fossil site has been registered in the National Estate due to the discovery of the most ancient leafy foliage so far found on earth.
Education
The town's high schoolHigh school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
is Yea High School. The school also runs the Access Yea Community Education Program
Access Yea Community Education Program
The Access Yea Community Education Program is an innovative high school educational program in Victoria, Australia that is designed to help school leavers and other students who do not fit into the regular school system.-The program:...
(AYCE), a state-wide educational program that is designed to help school leavers and other students who do not fit into the regular school system.
Sport
Yea Football ClubYea Football Club
Yea Football Club is an Australian rules football club based based in the Victorian town of Yea. The club was established in 1893 and competed in the Alexandra & Yea Football Association. At the end of 2005 Central Goulburn Football League broke up and the teams went to other leagues. Yea FC went...
is 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 Yarra Valley Mountain District Football League
Yarra Valley Mountain District Football League
The Yarra Valley Mountain District Football League is an Australian rules football and netball competition based in Victoria to the east and northeast of Melbourne.-History:...
.
Yea has a horse racing club, the Yea Racing Club, which schedules two race meetings a year including the Yea Cup meeting in March. Yea St Patrick's Racing Club also hold two picnic race
Picnic horse racing
Picnic horse racing, or more usually picnic races or more colloquially "the picnics" refer to amateur Thoroughbred horse racing meetings, predominantly in Australia. The meetings are organized by amateur clubs, the jockeys are amateur riders, or sometimes former professional jockeys...
meetings each year at the Yea racecourse.
Golfers play at the course of the Yea Golf Club on Racecourse Road.