Greta, Victoria
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Greta Victoria |
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The ruin of Ned Kelly's home at Greta
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 Greta
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| Coordinates | 36°33′S 146°18′E / 36.550°S 146.300°ECoordinates: 36°33′S 146°18′E / 36.550°S 146.300°E |
| Population | 251 (2011 census) |
| Postcode(s) | 3675 |
| Location |
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| LGA(s) | Rural City of Wangaratta |
| State electorate(s) | Ovens Valley |
| Federal Division(s) | Indi |
Greta is a district in Victoria, Australia, located east of Benalla, in the Rural City of Wangaratta. At the 2011 census, Greta and Greta West had a population of 251.
The district had four villages, all of which were called Greta at some stage. The original township known as Greta, located on Fifteen Mile Creek, is now called Greta West, and was once home to the family of bushranger Ned Kelly. The name is thought to be derived from Greta River in Cumberland, England.
Following the discovery of gold near Beechworth in 1852, roads to the diggings passed through the Greta area. At that time, the area contained the Greta Swamp, which was later drained. The town site was surveyed at Fifteen Mile Creek in 1852. During the 1860s the land was subdivided into farming lots, used for cereals, cattle grazing, and dairying. At this time the township developed and the Post Office opened on September 4, 1863 (closed in 1971, though offices at Greta West and Greta South remained open until 1994).
In 1867 a Catholic school was established. By the 1880s there were five schools in the Greta area; Greta, Greta South, Greta West, Hansonville, and Fifteen Mile Creek. Today, only two of the five schools remain; Greta Valley and Fifteen Mile School Camp.
The nearby town of Benalla was connected to the railway network in 1873, which reduced traffic through the Greta district, and it became principally a farming community.
A Methodist church was established in 1878 and an Anglican church in 1890. A public hall was built in 1916. Ned Kelly's relatives granted his last wish to be buried at his birthplace on 20 January 2013 in Greta Cemetery near his mother in consecrated ground. The burial followed a requiem mass held at St. Patrick's Catholic Church, Wangaratta on 18 January 2013
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