| Walhalla recreations |
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Life in a boom town
Frontier life, as this was, was every bit as harsh as legend depicts it. The limited availability of medical assistance meant that many people died young, in timber felling accidents, or were killed by explosions and falls and cave-ins in the mines, as can be seen today on headstones at the cemetery. Mothers died in childbirth, often together with their newborn infants. Horses kicked, or fell, or threw their riders against trees or rocks, or down mountains. Heavy logs slipped unexpectedly. There were accidents on the timber tramways. And when these misfortunes overtook the early residents of Walhalla, the lives of their destitute dependents were of course also diminished. Infant mortality was often an unfortunate consequence, despite the community's strong reputation for charitable generosity. One example of this reputation was the establishment in 1893 of an accident hospital on Church Hill to the east of the town, but it only dealt with some 58 patients before it closed in 1900, when government funding was withdrawn. (Today it operates as a bed and breakfast lodging house with panoramic views over the town.)
The "Federation" (formerly "Old Hospital") B and B overlooks the Store and Post Office |
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The Long Tunnel Company introduced both electricity (1884) and the telephone (1891) into the mine. Although Walhalla briefly led the world in having two electric street lights in 1884, this service was never extended further into the town. But the community continued to grow, with houses and gardens lining the hillsides along the valley, to a peak population of more than 2,000 with more than that many again living in the surrounding mountain-top "suburbs" of Maiden Town, Mormon Town and Happy Go Lucky. Stringer's Creek State School No. 957, Walhalla, which had been established in 1868, had a peak daily attendance of 567 students, until it too burnt down in April of 1891, and was rebuilt to open again in February of 1892. Secondary education was provided by a number of private schools in the town that came and went over time. |
Walhalla recreations
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© 2003 Walhalla Heritage & Development League Inc. |
