Trawalla is a town in central Western

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

, located on the Western Highway, west of

Ballarat Ballarat ( ) () is a city in the Central Highlands of Victoria, Australia. At the 2021 census, Ballarat had a population of 111,973, making it the third-largest urban inland city in Australia and the third-largest city in Victoria. Within mo ...

and west of

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

, in the

Shire of Pyrenees The Shire of Pyrenees is a local government area (LGA) in Victoria, Australia, located in the western part of the state. It covers an area of and in June 2018 had a population of 7,353. It includes the towns of Avoca, Beaufort, Lexton and ...

. At the , Trawalla and the surrounding agricultural area had a population of 224. Trawalla sits at the headwaters of the

Mount Emu Creek The Mount Emu Creek (Aboriginal Australian:''Tarnpirr''), a perennial creek of the Glenelg Hopkins catchment, is located in the Western District of Victoria, Australia. Course and features The Mount Emu Creek is a waterway and is the longe ...

where it crosses the Western Highway. The Moner balug clan of the

Wathaurong The Wadawurrung nation, also called the Wathaurong, or Wathaurung, are an Aboriginal Australian people living in the area near Melbourne, Geelong, and the Bellarine Peninsula in the state of Victoria. They are part of the Kulin alliance. The ...

Aboriginal people called the area ''Trawalla'', which means 'wild water' or possibly 'much rain'. In 1836, the district was traversed and described by explorer Sir Thomas Mitchell after ascending Mount Cole. The first European settlers to arrive in the area were

squatters Squatting is the action of occupying an abandoned or unoccupied area of land or a building (usually residential) that the squatter does not own, rent or otherwise have lawful permission to use. The United Nations estimated in 2003 that there wer ...

, Kenneth William Kirkland, his wife

Katherine Kirkland Katherine Kirkland (23 February 1808 – 10 June 1892) was an Australian colonist, squatter and memoirist who was born in Glasgow. She is known for the accounts she wrote of her few years in Australia when she was the first European woman at T ...

(née Hamilton), their daughter Agnes Anna, and Katherine's brothers Robert and James McGregor Hamilton, and they established sheep and cattle grazing runs. ''Trawalla'' Station, was established by Hamilton in 1838 and acquired by

Adolphus Goldsmith Adolphus Goldsmith, also known as Adolphe Goldschmidt, (6 May 1798 – 1876) was a politician in colonial Victoria (Australia), a member of the first Victorian Legislative Council. Goldsmith was born in London, England, the son of Lion Abraham G ...

three years later. After passing through several owners, the property was taken over by Rear Admiral Bridges in 1887. It was under his ownership that Trawalla House was constructed. Trawalla Post Office opened on 3 December 1864 at the time of

closer settlement Closer or Closers may refer to: Film and television * Closer (2000 film), ''Closer'' (2000 film), a documentary by Tina Gharavi * Closer (2004 film), ''Closer'' (2004 film), a 2004 adaptation of Patrick Marber's play (see below), directed by Mi ...

and closed 13 July 1974. The

Ararat railway line The Ararat railway line (formerly known as the Serviceton and Western lines) is a railway line in Victoria, Australia. It links the state capital of Melbourne to the cities of Ballarat and Ararat via the Regional Rail Link. The line began co ...

passes through the town, and

Trawalla railway station Trawalla is a closed station located in the town of Trawalla, on the Ararat railway line in Victoria, Australia. A disused goods yard is located at the station. The station was one of 35 closed to passenger traffic on 4 October 1981 as part ...

opened with the line in August 1874. The station was closed on 4 October 1981. After Bridges' death in 1917, a large part of the Trawalla estate was acquired and subdivided by the

Commonwealth Government The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government or simply as the federal government, is the national executive government of Australia, a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. The executive consists of the prime ...

as part of the

soldier settlement scheme Soldier settlement was the settlement of land throughout parts of Australia by returning discharged soldiers under soldier settlement schemes administered by state governments after World War I and World War II. The post-World War II settlement ...

. Land was subdivided into 93 allotments, with sizes ranging from to . The land was deemed appropriate for grazing and farming. The Langi Kal Kal pastoral run was subdivided for the same purpose after

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

in 1948. A local

primary school A primary school (in Ireland, India, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, South Africa, and Singapore), elementary school, or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ...

, a roadhouse and the minimum-security prison farm

HM Prison Langi Kal Kal HM Prison Langi Kal Kal is an Australian prison located in Trawalla, near Beaufort, Victoria, Australia. The prison is a minimum security prison farm and all inmates A prisoner, also known as an inmate or detainee, is a person who is dep ...

, are the focal points of the area. Trawalla is the birthplace of Australia's ninth Prime Minister James Henry Scullin, commonly known as Jim. He was born on 18 September 1876, and was the fifth of the nine children of John Scullin and Ann Logan, both immigrants from Derry, Ireland. His father, John Scullin had been a miner and later a

platelayer A platelayer (British English), fettler (British English – UK, Australia, NZ) or trackman (American English) is a railway employee who inspects and maintains the permanent way of a railway, usually under the charge of a foreman called (in U ...

on the railways. James Scullin attended small state schools, first at Trawalla and later at

Mount Rowan Mount Rowan is a small extinct volcano on the edge of the city of Ballarat, Victoria, Australia. It was also known as Waldies Hill. It is 518 metres above sea level. The lava flows from the volcano are thought to be from 2.1 million to 2.9 milli ...

near Ballarat. He married Sarah McNamara in 1907, but had no children. He died in

on 28 January 1953. A memorial cairn is located close to where Scullin lived.

References

External links

{{authority control Towns in Victoria (state) Australian soldier settlements