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Gringegalgona, also known as Gringe, is a locality in Western
In 1925 a soldiers' memorial hall was built in Gringegalgona to honour the fallen in World War One. Built on land donated by soldier settler William Toleman, it was designed by fellow soldier settler Vine Yuill and cost £490 to build. The hall was proposed to be rebuilt in the late 2000s, however some public outcry meant that this did not occur. The hall was re-roofed however the interior was not renovated and the hall is no longer in use.
Gringegalgona State School (no. 4349) was opened near the hall in 1927. It was run part time with Brit Brit State School until 1928, after which it became a full time school. In 1948 the school closed and was moved to Balmoral to become one of the classrooms of Balmoral Consolidated School. Bil-Bil-Wyt SS no. 1936 and Gringe North no. 4234 State Schools were also located in Gringegalgona. Bil-Bil-Wyt closed in 1903 when the five families with the surname Brown who used the school all moved to Coleraine. Gringe North was closed in 1945 and the building was moved approximately five kilometres from its original location.
Gringegalgona once had a tennis club, football club and cricket club, however these have all folded.
Gringe Fire Brigade has been based at Gringegalgona since moving from Brit Brit in 1995.
Victoria
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada
* Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory
* Victoria, Seychelle ...
, Australia. At the 2021 Census Gringegalgona had a population of 44.
Etymology
The area is named for the homestead and station, squatted by Simon Cadden in 1843. The name is believed to be indigenous in origin, with locals believing it means "water like urine" or to "micturate
Urination, also known as micturition, is the release of urine from the urinary bladder through the urethra to the outside of the body. It is the urinary system's form of excretion. It is also known medically as micturition, voiding, uresis, ...
on a tussock".Victorian historical magazine 1927 Volume: 11 Issue: 44. (1927). Melbourne: Historical Society of Victoria.
History
The original size of Gringegalgona station was approximately 58,880 acres and could run approximately 16,000 sheep. Simon Cadden was killed by local indigenous people in and was buried in a lone grave on the station. The grave still exists nearby the ruins of Cadden's original homestead. The station was passed on to William Lewis in 1854. In 1860 the station was subdivided and was co-owned by William Lewis and John Lewis until 1861 when Duncan Robertson purchased Gringegalgona. Robertson was fromScotland
Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...
and spoke Scottish Gaelic
Scottish Gaelic ( gd, Gàidhlig ), also known as Scots Gaelic and Gaelic, is a Goidelic language (in the Celtic branch of the Indo-European language family) native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a Goidelic language, Scottish Gaelic, as well ...
as a first language. Robertson built the present homestead in 1873, utilising sandstone from nearby Mt Melville in the Dundas Ranges.
It was common for kangaroo
Kangaroos are four marsupials from the family Macropodidae (macropods, meaning "large foot"). In common use the term is used to describe the largest species from this family, the red kangaroo, as well as the antilopine kangaroo, eastern ...
drives to take place on Gringegalgona. Kangaroos were rounded up into yards and beaten to death.
Sheep on the station were washed in a large dam, known as a sheepwash, prior to shearing. A sawmill
A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes (dimensi ...
was nearby to the sheepwash.
In 1920 Gringegalgona was subdivided as part of the Soldier Settlement
Soldier settlement was the settlement of land throughout parts of Australia by returning discharged soldiers under soldier settlement schemes administered by state governments after World War I and World War II. The post-World War II settlemen ...
scheme for soldiers returning from the First World War. Blocks were subdivided into approximately 900 acre sections, and leased to soldiers on the proviso that they were improved, fenced and cleared appropriately. A monument to the original soldier settlers is on a plaque in Gringegalgona.
In 1925 a soldiers' memorial hall was built in Gringegalgona to honour the fallen in World War One. Built on land donated by soldier settler William Toleman, it was designed by fellow soldier settler Vine Yuill and cost £490 to build. The hall was proposed to be rebuilt in the late 2000s, however some public outcry meant that this did not occur. The hall was re-roofed however the interior was not renovated and the hall is no longer in use.
Gringegalgona State School (no. 4349) was opened near the hall in 1927. It was run part time with Brit Brit State School until 1928, after which it became a full time school. In 1948 the school closed and was moved to Balmoral to become one of the classrooms of Balmoral Consolidated School. Bil-Bil-Wyt SS no. 1936 and Gringe North no. 4234 State Schools were also located in Gringegalgona. Bil-Bil-Wyt closed in 1903 when the five families with the surname Brown who used the school all moved to Coleraine. Gringe North was closed in 1945 and the building was moved approximately five kilometres from its original location.
Gringegalgona once had a tennis club, football club and cricket club, however these have all folded.
Gringe Fire Brigade has been based at Gringegalgona since moving from Brit Brit in 1995.
References
{{Towns in Southern Grampians Shire, state=expanded