Thorpdale is a town in the

Gippsland Gippsland is a rural region that makes up the southeastern part of Victoria, Australia, mostly comprising the coastal plains to the rainward (southern) side of the Victorian Alps (the southernmost section of the Great Dividing Range). It cove ...

area of eastern

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 ...

in the

Shire of Baw Baw The Shire of Baw Baw is a local government area in Victoria, Australia, in the eastern part of the state. It covers an area of and in June 2018 had a population of 52,015. It includes the towns of Drouin, Longwarry, Neerim South, Trafalga ...

. Famous for its

potato The potato is a starchy food, a tuber of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'' and is a root vegetable native to the Americas. The plant is a perennial in the nightshade family Solanaceae. Wild potato species can be found from the southern Unit ...

es, it is located amongst the rich farmland of the

Latrobe Valley The Latrobe Valley is an inland geographical district and urban area of the Gippsland region in the state of Victoria, Australia. The traditional owners are the Brayakaulung of the Gunai nation. The district lies east of Melbourne and nes ...

. Thorpdale spuds are eaten around the country and also exported overseas. The name "Thorpdale" means "village in a valley". The soil in the area is particularly rich as the town is located in a former volcanic crater. It is administered by the

. At the , Thorpdale and the surrounding area had a population of 447.

History

The Thorpdale district, known at first as the Narracan district, was settled by Europeans in the 1870s. The first European settlers arrived from the old Melbourne – Sale Road via McDonalds Track, a stock route that had been surveyed in 1862 through the hills from

Lang Lang Lang Lang (; born 14 June 1982) is a Chinese pianist who has performed with leading orchestras in China, North America, Europe, and elsewhere. Active since the 1990s, he was the first Chinese pianist to be engaged by the Berlin Philharmonic, ...

to Morwell Bridge, but which later became disused and very much overgrown. Land selection began at

Narracan The electoral district of Narracan is an electoral district of the Victorian Legislative Assembly in Australia. It was first proclaimed in 1967 and has usually been held by the Liberal Party. The electorate covers the provincial Warragul- Droui ...

(near the eastern end of the track) in 1873, and progressed steadily along the track, reaching Narracan West in 1876. A Post Office opened on 1 October 1879 as Narracan West. It was renamed Thorpdale in 1884, Thorpdale South in 1888, and closed in 1968. The present town of Thorpdale (situated about 2 km north of the old town) was founded in 1888, following the opening of a branch railway line from Moe. A new Thorpdale Post Office opened in 1888 near the railway station. The railway line closed in December 1958. At its height, Thorpdale was a business centre for all the farming activity that surrounded it. Much of the old town was destroyed during the large

Red Tuesday The Red Tuesday bushfires occurred on 1 February 1898 in South Gippsland, Victoria, Australia. The bushfires A wildfire, forest fire, bushfire, wildland fire or rural fire is an unplanned, uncontrolled and unpredictable fire in an area of ...

(20 January 1898) bushfire that ravaged Gippsland and the

Otway Ranges The Great Otway National Park is a national park located in the Barwon South West region of Victoria, Australia. The national park is situated approximately southwest of Melbourne, in the Otway Ranges, a low coastal mountain range. It conta ...

The Town today

Today, the Thorpdale township is becoming smaller and smaller as more farming families opt to live in larger townships such as

Trafalgar Trafalgar most often refers to: * Battle of Trafalgar (1805), fought near Cape Trafalgar, Spain * Trafalgar Square, a public space and tourist attraction in London, England It may also refer to: Music * ''Trafalgar'' (album), by the Bee Gees Pl ...

. The national decline in consumption of potatoes is making even farming difficult in the small town. The town has an Australian rules football team competing in the

Mid Gippsland Football League The Mid Gippsland Football League is an Australian rules football and netball league in the Latrobe Valley and South Gippsland regions of Victoria, Australia. History The Mid Gippsland Football League (MGFL) was founded in April, 1935. The MG ...

Potato farming

In late 2008, the town was hit by the news that a potato disease (''

potato cyst nematode Potato root nematodes or potato cyst nematodes (PCN) are 1-mm long roundworms belonging to the genus ''Globodera'', which comprises around 12 species. They live on the roots of plants of the family Solanaceae, such as potatoes and tomatoes. PCN c ...

'') had been found among its crops. The disease is not harmful to humans but can significantly reduce crop yields. Thorpdale farms were quarantined and banned from exporting potatoes interstate and overseas. Interstate trade has since resumed.

Attractions

The township holds the Thorpdale Potato Festival each year on the Victorian Labour Day holiday in March, although it was not held from 2002 to 2015, after the insurance cost became too great for the small community to bear. The festival features potato sack races, Historic machinery, eating contests, market stalls, and much more. The lush farming surrounds give the town a peaceful rural atmosphere and there are several scenic sights nearby, including the Narracan Falls, Trafalgar South Lookout and Henderson's Gully.

References

External links

The Spud ShedThorpdale growers in talks with supermarkets
{{authority control Towns in Victoria (Australia) Shire of Baw Baw