Small town in the Upper Yarra Valley
of Victoria
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John & Jane Hort
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60 Photographs of Warburton
Views of Warburton
c.1910 & today 2006
Warburton is an quiet, attractive
and rather charming old goldmining town of some 2000 people set in a
fertile green valley by the Yarra River. It is located 76 km east of
Melbourne via the Warburton Highway and 159 m above sea-level. Prior to
European settlement the area was occupied by the Woiworung Aborigines.
When gold was discovered in 1863, a rush ensued and a new town was laid
out 2 km from the initial settlement and named after police magistrate
Charles Warburton Carr. It also functioned as a service centre to
goldfields further east.
With the arrival of the railway in 1901 the town
became a railway terminus and the salubrious mountain air and scenic
attractions began to draw Melburnians, resulting in the provision of
guesthouses.
Seventh Day Adventists moved here from Melbourne
in 1904. They set up a printing works in 1906, a sanatorium and hospital
in 1910 and a health food factory in 1923.
Floods struck the town in 1934 causing a degree
of permanent relocation .
The Seventh Day Adventists, and their industries,
are still a strong presence in the town. A huge timber-milling industry emerged on the back of the local forests
in very early years of the town and continues today in a smaller way.
Swimming, fishing, bushwalking, horseriding and
birdwatching are popular local pastimes and skiing is enjoyed on Mt Donna
Buang in winter.
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