Waterloo is a locality consisting of a collection of farms and houses approximately north of the town of
Beaufort, Victoria
Beaufort is a town in Victoria, Australia. It is located on the Western Highway midway between Ararat and Ballarat, in the Pyrenees Shire local government area. It is above sea level. At the 2016 census, Beaufort had a population of 1,539 ...
and west north west of the state capital of
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
.
It was originally settled during the
Victorian gold rush
The Victorian gold rush was a period in the history of Victoria, Australia approximately between 1851 and the late 1860s. It led to a period of extreme prosperity for the Australian colony, and an influx of population growth and financial capita ...
as part of the Baxter lead alluvial Gold Mining Precinct, Waterloo Post Office opening on 1 November 1860 and closing in 1965.
Following the gold rush, Waterloo became a settled defined township with stores, a primary school, hotels and a public hall. All have now closed/disappeared leaving behind a collection of houses and farms where a bigger town once stood. There are 110 people in the area.
The locality is the birthplace of
Ernest Chinnery
Ernest William Pearson Chinnery (5 November 1887 – 17 December 1972) was an Australian anthropologist and public servant. He worked extensively in Papua New Guinea and visited communities along the Sepik
The Sepik () is the longest river o ...
(5 November 1887- 17 December 1972), an
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 ...
n anthropologist and public servant who worked extensively in
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...
and visited communities along the
Sepik
The Sepik () is the longest river on the island of New Guinea, and the second largest in Oceania by discharge volume after the Fly River. The majority of the river flows through the Papua New Guinea (PNG) provinces of Sandaun (formerly West Sepi ...
river.
During World War I many men from Waterloo served in the 57th Battalion, 2nd Reinforcement of the Australian Army.
The Waterloo Community Cup is a series of equestrian endurance rides based at the Waterloo Recreation Grounds.
References
Towns in Victoria (Australia)
Mining towns in Victoria (Australia)
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