Moliagul is a small township in
Victoria, Australia
Victoria is a state in southeastern Australia. It is the second-smallest state with a land area of , the second most populated state (after New South Wales) with a population of over 6.5 million, and the most densely populated state in Au ...
, northwest 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 ...
and west of
Bendigo
Bendigo ( ) is a city in Victoria, Australia, located in the Bendigo Valley near the geographical centre of the state and approximately north-west of Melbourne, the state capital.
As of 2019, Bendigo had an urban population of 100,991, makin ...
. The town's name is believed to be a derivation of the aboriginal word "moliagulk", meaning "wooded hill". The area is notable for the discovery of a number of
gold nugget
:''"Gold nugget" may also refer to the catfish Baryancistrus xanthellus or the mango cultivar Gold Nugget.''
A gold nugget is a naturally occurring piece of native gold. Watercourses often concentrate nuggets and finer gold in placers. Nuggets a ...
s. These finds include the world's largest, the
Welcome Stranger
The Welcome Stranger is the biggest alluvial gold nugget that has ever been found, which had a calculated refined weight of .Potter, Terry F. (1999) ''The Welcome Stranger: a definitive account of the worlds largest alluvial gold nugget''. I ...
, which was discovered in 1869 by John Deason and Richard Oates.
From what was once a thriving goldfields town, Moliagul today is a virtual ghost town and consists of a number of scattered houses.
In 1855 it is estimated there were 16,000 people living in the immediate area during the peak of 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 ...
period. Moliagul Post Office opened on 15 November 1858 and closed in 1971.
The town is composed of scattered rural dwellings and small farms, a hotel (now closed), museum, the old school (now a hall) and former church. There are a number of historical sites including a stone monument to the Reverend
John Flynn, founder of the
Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia
The Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS), commonly known as the Flying Doctor, is an air medical service in Australia. It is a non-profit organisation that provides emergency and primary health care services for those living in rural, remote an ...
, who was born in Moliagul in 1880.
The nearby Moliagul Cemetery contains the headstones of many families, such as the Deason's, which date back to the gold rush times. Within a few kilometers of the town can be found various gold mining areas including the site of the Welcome Stranger.
Mount Moliagul itself is visible from the town.
Early history
In late 1852, gold was discovered in Queen's Gully and the settlement of Moliagul sprang up almost immediately. By January of the next year, a store, a butcher's shop and a blacksmith's forge had opened but almost immediately the new settlement was abandoned as people departed for the Sandy Creek gold rush. In July 1855, gold was found at Little Hill and a second gold rush occurred in the Moliagul area. In 1856 the Mount Moliagul Hotel opened for business.
Moliagul Tiny and historically significant gold mining town
Sydney Morning Herald 7 February 2004
References
Notes
* The travelers guide to the Goldfields: History and natural heritage trails through Central and Western Victoria. Torquay, Bestshot, 2006.
External links
Towns in Victoria (Australia)
Ghost towns in Victoria (Australia)
Mining towns in Victoria (Australia)
Populated places established in the 1850s
{{Australia-ghost-town-stub