Dunolly is a town in
Victoria,
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
, located on the Dunolly - Maryborough Road, in the
Shire of Central Goldfields. At the
2016 census
Sixteen or 16 may refer to:
*16 (number), the natural number following 15 and preceding 17
*one of the years 16 BC, AD 16, 1916, 2016
Films
* ''Pathinaaru'' or ''Sixteen'', a 2010 Tamil film
* ''Sixteen'' (1943 film), a 1943 Argentine film dir ...
, Dunolly had a population of 893, down from 969 in 2006.
History
The town began during the
Victorian Gold Rush. It is located on the traditional lands of the
Dja Dja Wurrung people, who called the area ''Lea Kuribur''.
One of the first accounts of the Dunolly Gold Rush was recorded by the Bendigo Advertiser on 3 July 1857 that estimated the population at 12,000. Confirmation of a rush followed on 10 July.
The exact date that Dunolly was founded is unknown. The location of the township itself moved four times before the 1856 rush, further adding to the confusion of its early history. The modern town is the 5th location, and was founded in July 1856 with the previous resettlements driven by further discoveries of gold leads. Technically, even at this time Dunolly was not a town. It was held as a Municipality from 1858 to 1863, and wasn't officially declared a borough until 1 October 1863.
Goldborough Post Office opened on 1 March 1856 and was renamed Dunolly in 1859.
One of the largest natural gold nuggets ever found, the legendary "
Welcome Stranger", was discovered in nearby
Moliagul
Moliagul is a small township in Victoria, Australia, northwest of Melbourne and west of Bendigo. The town's name is believed to be a derivation of the aboriginal word "moliagulk", meaning "wooded hill". The area is notable for the discovery of ...
township.
Rail came to Dunolly with the opening of the
Mildura railway line in 1875. Another branch line that connected to
Inglewood Inglewood may refer to:
Places
Australia
*Inglewood, Queensland
* Shire of Inglewood, Queensland, a former local government area
*Inglewood, South Australia
*Inglewood, Victoria
* Inglewood, Western Australia
Canada
* Inglewood, Ontario
*Inglewo ...
in 1888.
The Dunolly Magistrates' Court closed on 1 August 1981.
Attractions
Centred on the main street, Broadway, Dunolly features a rural transaction centre,
SES,
CFA, a pre-school and a primary school, and many businesses. Dunolly is known for its amazing bakery, providing the best sweets in the district. Dunolly hosts a monthly market for vendors from all over Victoria and other states.
Although Dunolly is located on a major rail line, no passenger services are available, but regular bus services offer travel to and from Dunolly.
There is a local museum on Broadway which has a large collection of historic photographs, goldfields implements, replicas of gold nuggets, ladies fashions, needlework, and guns. It also offers a
family research facility and regular history tours.
Dunolly has become a favorite location for gold
fossicking using metal detectors. In 2016–2017, gold nuggets of and
were found near Dunolly. The nuggets have been valued at around $300,000.
The town's
Australian Rules
Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...
football team, the Dunolly Eagles, competes in the
Maryborough Castlemaine District Football League. Star recruits,
Shannon Motlop and
Robbie Ahmat, have played on the team.
Gallery
File:Dunnoly New Birthday Mine.jpg, Dunnoly New Birthday Mine, Goldsborough, Lode at the 500 ft level
File:Dunolly Court House.JPG, Dunolly Court House
File:Dunolly post office.jpg, The central Post Office
References
External links
Dunolly, Victoria Official website
Dunolly Historic Precinct
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Mining towns in Victoria (Australia)
Towns in Victoria (Australia)