Crowlands, Victoria
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Crowlands Victoria |
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 Crowlands
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| Coordinates | 37°9′1″S 143°6′33″E / 37.15028°S 143.10917°ECoordinates: 37°9′1″S 143°6′33″E / 37.15028°S 143.10917°E |
| Population | 89 (2016 census) |
| Postcode(s) | 3377 |
| Location | 24 km (15 mi) NE of Ararat |
| LGA(s) | Pyrenees Shire |
| State electorate(s) | Ripon |
| Federal Division(s) | Wannon |
Crowlands is a small agricultural community nestled on the Wimmera River and is located approximately 24 kilometres (15 mi) northeast of the town of Ararat, in the state of Victoria, Australia. It comprises a small village area of scattered houses and larger farms.
The traditional owners of the area are the Dja Dja Wurrung or Jaara people who are part of the larger Kulin nation. The Jaara people suffered badly when gold was discovered and their population dropped dramatically as the Europeans converted more land to mining.
In 1836 Major Thomas Mitchell passed through the area on his exploration of the Colony. During the 1840s European settlers began to move into the area to establish sheep runs and harvest the nearby timber. Around this time the historic Woodlands Estate was established by Mr W J Clarke who selected some 180,000 acres. The original building and outbuildings, although much extended, still exist today. The property passed through successive owners and was gradually diminished in the size of its land holdings to around 53,000 acres in 1889 when it was purchased by William McCulloch. It remained in that families hands until 1937. The brick and granite buildings are considered historically and aesthetically significant.
As more people arrived the need for community services increased and so the township was formally surveyed in 1849. A Post Office was constructed there two years later followed by a Police Depot in 1854.
Gold was being worked successfully at Craigoir, the name given to the Pyrenees gold diggings, in the early 1850s and it was not long before thousands of prospectors flocked to the area in search of fortune.
"The attention of the public has for these last six weeks been anxiously directed to this district in order to ascertain whether there was any truth in the rumours which since the discovery of the Bathurst gold field have been circulated as to the supposition of the presence of gold in the neighbourhood of the Pyrenees mountains. . . It is certain that as soon as this discovery is known, thousands will rush out to this country, and we may expect a constant and increasing stream of emigration."
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Wikipedia