Wandong
Wandong is a town in Victoria, Australia. The town is about 50 km north of the state capital, Melbourne, on the Hume Highway. It adjoins the town of Heathcote Junction, and at the, the two towns had a population of 1,340. The main centre nearest Wandong is Kilmore.
The traditional owners of Wandong are the Taungurung people, a part of the Kulin nation that inhabited a large portion of central Victoria including Port Phillip Bay and its surrounds. Wandong itself is an Aboriginal word meaning "Spirit".
The first Europeans to reach Wandong were Hamilton Hume and Captain William Hilton Hovell who travelled through the centre of the future town of Wandong on the 13th December, 1824. The explorers proceeded 1260 metres South of Arkell’s Lane, Wandong and crossed the Dividing Range at the low peak there that they named Hume’s Pass. They then moved South along Eastern Ridge, Hidden Valley, and downhill to the Merri Creek, Wallan East near Kelby Lane.
That made Wandong the second township site in Victorian history to be traversed by European explorers. Broadford was the first: Hume and Hovell had passed through it on the same morning.
This exact route has been proven by decoding the map drawn by Hamilton Hume which conforms exactly to the original journal of William Hovell. Hamilton Hume in 1867 corrected his own earlier error that the party crossed the Dividing Range at Big Hill, Bylands.
Wandong was a pastoral region from at least 1843.
By 1876 a small settlement had arisen and a post office gazetted to Mr. F. G. Arkell.
From 1880 Wandong became a major sawmilling and processing town and region.
The town is now a major transport hub with the Hume Highway and the Albury-Wodonga and Shepparton railway lines passing through it. It has its own railway station.
The local school was originally situated to the south of Wandong/Heathcote Junction and was known as Lightwood Flat Common School when it opened in 1871. The school was transferred to its current site in Wandong in 1882, and is currently known as Wandong Primary School. The school was damaged slightly in the Black Saturday bushfires.
The traditional owners of Wandong are the Taungurung people, a part of the Kulin nation that inhabited a large portion of central Victoria including Port Phillip Bay and its surrounds. Wandong itself is an Aboriginal word meaning "Spirit".
The first Europeans to reach Wandong were Hamilton Hume and Captain William Hilton Hovell who travelled through the centre of the future town of Wandong on the 13th December, 1824. The explorers proceeded 1260 metres South of Arkell’s Lane, Wandong and crossed the Dividing Range at the low peak there that they named Hume’s Pass. They then moved South along Eastern Ridge, Hidden Valley, and downhill to the Merri Creek, Wallan East near Kelby Lane.
That made Wandong the second township site in Victorian history to be traversed by European explorers. Broadford was the first: Hume and Hovell had passed through it on the same morning.
This exact route has been proven by decoding the map drawn by Hamilton Hume which conforms exactly to the original journal of William Hovell. Hamilton Hume in 1867 corrected his own earlier error that the party crossed the Dividing Range at Big Hill, Bylands.
Wandong was a pastoral region from at least 1843.
By 1876 a small settlement had arisen and a post office gazetted to Mr. F. G. Arkell.
From 1880 Wandong became a major sawmilling and processing town and region.
The town is now a major transport hub with the Hume Highway and the Albury-Wodonga and Shepparton railway lines passing through it. It has its own railway station.
The local school was originally situated to the south of Wandong/Heathcote Junction and was known as Lightwood Flat Common School when it opened in 1871. The school was transferred to its current site in Wandong in 1882, and is currently known as Wandong Primary School. The school was damaged slightly in the Black Saturday bushfires.
Map - Wandong
Map
Country - Australia
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The ancestors of Aboriginal Australians began arriving from south east Asia approximately 65,000 years ago, during the last ice age. Arriving by sea, they settled the continent and had formed approximately 250 distinct language groups by the time of European settlement, maintaining some of the longest known continuing artistic and religious traditions in the world. Australia's written history commenced with the European maritime exploration of Australia. The Dutch navigator Willem Janszoon was the first known European to reach Australia, in 1606. In 1770, the British explorer James Cook mapped and claimed the east coast of Australia for Great Britain, and the First Fleet of British ships arrived at Sydney in 1788 to establish the penal colony of New South Wales. The European population grew in subsequent decades, and by the end of the 1850s gold rush, most of the continent had been explored by European settlers and an additional five self-governing British colonies established. Democratic parliaments were gradually established through the 19th century, culminating with a vote for the federation of the six colonies and foundation of the Commonwealth of Australia on 1 January 1901. Australia has since maintained a stable liberal democratic political system and wealthy market economy.
Currency / Language
| ISO | Currency | Symbol | Significant figures |
|---|---|---|---|
| AUD | Australian dollar | $ | 2 |
| ISO | Language |
|---|---|
| EN | English language |