Erica 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, on Rawson Road, 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 ...

. The area was generally known as Upper Moondarra in the early 1900s, the township of Erica beginning to grow after construction of the railway line from Moe to Walhalla, which passed through the area. When the station opened in 1910 it was named Harris, but had been renamed Erica after a nearby mountain by 1914. As a consequence, the Post Office opened on 14 July 1910 as Upper Moondarra and was renamed Erica in 1914. The township of Erica lived mainly from

forestry Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests, woodlands, and associated resources for human and environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and natural stands. ...

and

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people t ...

, and owing to Walhalla's decline by the 1920s was the largest town on the Moe-Walhalla railway. The section of line past

Erica Erica or ERICA may refer to: * Erica (given name) * ''Erica'' (plant), a flowering plant genus * Erica (chatbot), a service of Bank of America * ''Erica'' (video game), a 2019 FMV video game * ''Erica'' (spider), a jumping spider genus * E ...

closed to traffic in 1944, save for occasional goods services to Platina station, and the line from Moe to Erica closed completely in 1954. The Erica Court of Petty Sessions closed in 1968. Erica still maintains agricultural and timber industry connections, as well as being a service town for local tourist destinations such as the

Thomson Dam The Thomson Dam is a major Clay core and rockfill embankment dam with a Uncontrolled, Ogee-shaped overflow weir and chute spillway across the Thomson River, located about east of Melbourne in the West Gippsland region of the Australian stat ...

, the

Walhalla Goldfields Railway The Walhalla Goldfields Railway is a narrow gauge tourist railway located in the Thomson River and Stringers Creek valleys in Gippsland, Victoria, Australia, near the former gold-mining town and tourist destination of Walhalla. History ...

Mount Baw Baw Mount Baw Baw is a mountain summit on the Baw-Baw Plateau of the Great Dividing Range, located in Victoria, Australia. The name is from the Woiwurrung language spoken by Eastern Kulin people. It is of uncertain meaning, but possibly signifie ...

and

Mount St Gwinear Mount St Gwinear is a mountain in Victoria, Australia, located at the north-east end of the Baw Baw National Park in the Gippsland high country. It is popular with families looking for a cheap and accessible snow-play/tobogganing destination a ...

. The history of the town and surrounding area is the focus of the Erica and District Historical Society, located in the old Rawson Police Station. At the 2011 census, Erica and the surrounding area had a population of 324. The newer town of Rawson is located a few kilometres away.

References

{{authority control Towns in Victoria (Australia) Towns in West Gippsland Towns in the Latrobe Valley Shire of Baw Baw