Omeo ( ) is a town in
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
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...
on the
Great Alpine Road
}
The Great Alpine Road (B500) is a country tourist road in Victoria, Australia, running from Wangaratta in the north to Bairnsdale in the east, and passing through the Victorian Alps. The road was given its current name because it was consid ...
, east of
Mount Hotham
Mount Hotham is a mountain located in the Victorian Alps of the Great Dividing Range, in the Australian state of Victoria. The mountain is located approximately north east of Melbourne, from Sydney, and from Adelaide by road. The nearest ...
, in the
Shire of East Gippsland. At the
2016 census, Omeo had a population of 406. The name is derived from an
Aboriginal word for 'mountains' or 'hills'. Omeo is affectionately known as the City of the Alps with many historic buildings remaining in the town. The town is still the commercial hub for the Omeo Region and is a service centre for outlying communities such as
Benambra
Benambra is a small town 28 kilometres (17 mi) north-east of Omeo and 430 kilometres (267 mi) east of the state capital Melbourne, in the Australian Alps of East Gippsland, Victoria, Australia. Nearby towns includ ...
,
Cobungra,
Cassilis,
Swifts Creek, and
Ensay.
History
The first reported sighting by Europeans of the wide plain that the Aborigines called 'Omeo' was by the naturalist
John Lhotsky
John Lhotsky (1795–1866) was a Galicia-born Austrian naturalist, lecturer, artist and author. He wrote and published on the topics of zoology, botany, geology, geography and politics. Lhotsky was active in the early colonies of New South Wales ...
from the southern Alps in 1834. The area was first visited by
stockmen who drove stock through the region as early as 1835. In 1845 gold was found in the Livingstone Creek which runs through Omeo, this caused the population to boom and by 1901, Omeo was at its peak with a population of 9400. They were prosperous times. The main street, Day Avenue, was packed every night with people out strolling, shopping and enjoying the evening air. Hotels and cafes were doing a roaring trade with free-spending miners, and businesses were booming. Businesses began to establish themselves. Banks arrived. In 1889, the Colonial Bank of Australia. In 1892, the Commercial Bank. A.J. McDonald, one of the colony's leading architects designed the post and telegraph office and new courthouse. They were completed in 1891 and 1892 and remain unique for their architecture to this day.
The Post Office near its present location opened on 1 January 1858. However, two earlier offices in different locations named Omeo were open in 1851 and 1856 to 1857.
Earthquakes in 1885 and 1892, and the
Black Friday bushfires of 1939, destroyed many buildings; many remain including the historical Omeo Bank House as well as the Omeo Coffee House which was built in 1879 and was a temperance boarding house as well as a restaurant, it is a timber building which was condemned in 1990, restored in 1990 and completed in 1995 when it housed its first guests after 25 years. It is now known as Snug
as a Bug Motel.
Gold
In 1851 Reverend W B Clark, a noted geologist reported that he had found evidence of gold in quantities that would make the mining of it economically feasible. Alluvial deposits of gold were found in tributaries of the Livingstone Creek, and by the end of 1854, over 200 men were camped along its banks digging for gold, most of it was found within a metre or so of the surface. The Oriental Claims area alone produced an estimated 58,000 ounces of gold. By 1855, most of the shallow alluvial gold had been mined and the process of hydro-sluicing was introduced to the Omeo goldfields. In an operation that took nine months to complete a water race was constructed along the mountain slopes for a distance of almost nineteen kilometres. Giant flumes crossed gullies and ravines with the water arriving at about 190 feet above the creek and the alluvial deposits. Races were cut from almost every stream that could supply water. In the process, water blasted away the alluvial gold-containing gravel and the gravel slush was channelled into rows of wooden sluice boxes and the gold ore collected.
The first venture into quartz mining was at the Dry Gully field with the first battery being established at Mountain Creek. People came from all over the district to see a local identity, Miss Rogers, smash a large bottle of champagne over the wheel as it started up, and christen it the Mountain Maid. Bullock teams hauled multi-headed batteries up the mountains and across the alps to work the new-found reefs. Smile of Fortune, Rip Van Winkel, Happy Go Lucky, The Joker, and Inexhaustible were some of the names given to the many reef mines that opened up.
The town today
![Omeo from old omeo hway](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0a/Omeo_from_old_omeo_hway.jpg)
The town hosts a range of events including the Mountain Calf Sales and Hinnomunjie Picnic Races in March, an Easter Saturday Rodeo with a town market held at the courthouse gardens prior to the event, Easter Sunday Polo Match at Cobungra Station (20 minutes), Caravan & RV Muster and an Agricultural Show in November.
The town has a range of services including a Hospital, Chemist, Transport Services, Supermarket, Post Office, Shire Services, Banking, Engineering & Mechanical, and a range of Food & Accommodation outlets.
Attractions include the Justice Precinct which includes a working Court House built in 1893, the
Oriental Claims, the Cuckoo Clock shop, and
white water rafting on the
Mitta Mitta River
Mitta Mitta River, a perennial river and a direct tributary of the Murray River within the Murray–Darling basin, is located in the alpine district of Victoria, Australia.
The name Mitta Mitta derives from the Aboriginal word ''mida-modoenga ...
. The
Cobungra River
The Cobungra River, a perennial river of the North-East Murray catchment of the Murray-Darling basin, is located in the East Gippsland and Alpine regions of Victoria, Australia.
Location and features
The Cobungra River rises below the slopes ...
,
Bundara River,
Big River and
Mitta Mitta River
Mitta Mitta River, a perennial river and a direct tributary of the Murray River within the Murray–Darling basin, is located in the alpine district of Victoria, Australia.
The name Mitta Mitta derives from the Aboriginal word ''mida-modoenga ...
around nearby
Anglers Rest,
as well as the
Tambo River, all provide good
trout
Trout are species of freshwater fish belonging to the genera '' Oncorhynchus'', '' Salmo'' and '' Salvelinus'', all of the subfamily Salmoninae of the family Salmonidae. The word ''trout'' is also used as part of the name of some non-salm ...
fishing
Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from fish stocking, stocked bodies of water such as fish pond, ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. ...
.
The Australian thriller ''
Red Hill'' was filmed in and around the town.
"Red Hill" tells the story of a fictional town, Red Hill and an escaped convict returning to the town to seek revenge on those who helped convict him.
Transport
There are no scheduled public transport routes to Omeo. The town sits at the junction of the
Omeo Highway
The Omeo Highway is a 163 kilometre road in eastern Victoria, Australia, connecting north-east Victoria to Gippsland over parts of the Victorian Alps.
There are no substantial settlements between Mitta Mitta and Omeo, and therefore fuel i ...
and the
Great Alpine Road
}
The Great Alpine Road (B500) is a country tourist road in Victoria, Australia, running from Wangaratta in the north to Bairnsdale in the east, and passing through the Victorian Alps. The road was given its current name because it was consid ...
.
Climate
Due to its inland, valley location at a southern latitude, Omeo has a cool
oceanic climate
An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate, is the humid temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring cool summers and mild winters ...
(''Cfb'') with four distinct seasons and a
high diurnal range much of the year. It commonly records frost in summer—something which is unheard of in the northern hemisphere at such a low elevation and modest latitude.
The town is exceptionally dry by eastern Victorian standards, being encompassed by great mountains on all sides.
Education
Omeo Primary School (No 831) is the oldest school in the region and was established in 1866 and celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2016. Until 1977 the school was once a Primary and Higher Elementary School, with enrolments around 100 students. The town also previously had a Catholic School with an enrolment of 80 students.
Today the school has approximately 50 students and provides quality education for the district, the school grounds are beautiful and vast with plenty of space for students to enjoy the outdoors. The school also offers an annual Ski Program for its students which is unique to places located close to the snowfields.
Sports and recreation
The town has an
Australian rules football
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 ...
team competing in the
Omeo & District Football League
The Omeo and District Football League (ODFL) is an Australian rules football League based on the Omeo
Region of East Gippsland, Victoria, Australia. The ODFL has existed in some form since 1893, and operates under the auspices of the Victoria ...
(ODFL), as well as an affiliated
netball
Netball is a ball sport played on a court by two teams of seven players. It is among a rare number of sports which have been created exclusively for female competitors. The sport is played on indoor and outdoor netball courts and is specifical ...
team competing in the associated netball competition. They fielded senior and junior football teams, and senior, junior and midget netball teams, and had the club colours of Maroon and White. In 2007 the football and netball clubs merged with neighbouring town
Benambra
Benambra is a small town 28 kilometres (17 mi) north-east of Omeo and 430 kilometres (267 mi) east of the state capital Melbourne, in the Australian Alps of East Gippsland, Victoria, Australia. Nearby towns includ ...
, to form the Omeo-Benambra (Alpine Ranges) Club. The new club colours are blue,
teal
alt=American teal duck (male), Green-winged teal (male)
Teal is a greenish-blue colour. Its name comes from that of a bird — the Eurasian teal (''Anas crecca'') — which presents a similarly coloured stripe on its head. The word is ofte ...
and white, with the logo and jumpers showing teal snow-peaked mountains separated by a blue river under a blue sky.
Omeo has a
horse racing club, the Omeo District Racing Club, whose one
picnic
A picnic is a meal taken outdoors ( ''al fresco'') as part of an excursion, especially in scenic surroundings, such as a park, lakeside, or other place affording an interesting view, or else in conjunction with a public event such as preceding ...
meeting a year is the Hinnomunjie Cup meeting held at nearby Hinnomunjie in March.
Omeo has an attractive 9 Hole Grassed Green golf course located on Stanley Drive, just 5 minutes from the town centre.
Omeo boasts new and updated sporting facilities including tennis & netball courts, a football oval and a recreation reserve complete with a function room and commercial kitchen.
On weekends the town is often visited by motorcyclists taking advantage of the fine weather to ride the
Great Alpine Road
}
The Great Alpine Road (B500) is a country tourist road in Victoria, Australia, running from Wangaratta in the north to Bairnsdale in the east, and passing through the Victorian Alps. The road was given its current name because it was consid ...
.
Plans are currently underway by the labour government to install 121km of mountain biking trails to transform Omeo into a world-class mountain biking destination. Works are due to be completed in March 2023.
See also
*
Griffith Tunnel
Griffith Tunnel is a Victorian gold rush diversion tunnel on Livingston Creek in Omeo, Victoria, Australia. The diversion consists of a long cutting and a long tunnel. The large pool at the tunnel entrance is used as a swimming hole.
The tu ...
References
External links
Official Omeo Region Homepage
{{authority control
Victoria (Australia) gold rushes
Mining towns in Victoria (Australia)
Towns in Victoria (Australia)
Towns in East Gippsland
Shire of East Gippsland