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From diggings to township
By late 1863 there had been more finds made nearby at Happy-Go-Lucky, three kilometers from Stringer's Creek, and at Cooper's Creek, where copper was later to be discovered in even greater abundance. By March 1864, Walhalla had a weekly mail service from Toongabbie, and the Walhalla Post Office opened its doors for the first time on August 22, 1864. As early as September, 1863, Matilda Field opened the Reefer's Arms Hotel. In time, there were more than a dozen hotels, breweries and an aerated waters factory. A branch of the Bank of Victoria was opened in September, 1865, and a branch of the Bank of Australasia was opened in February, 1866. Shopkeepers, publicans and other traders built the town up quickly in support of the rush, and by May of 1866, the township of Stringer's Creek had been surveyed and renamed Walhalla, after one of the most prosperous mines then working. Most of the first lots of township land were sold to the already-resident householders. In 1866, a church building was erected for the Wesleyan Church, although Walhalla was not to have a permanent resident minister of any denomination until September, 1868.
St John's Church of England, Walhalla
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A Police reserve was established, and Walhalla had a Court of Petty Sessions from February of 1866. One of the more colourful police activities was providing a mounted escort for the monthly shipments of gold from Walhalla. |
Pioneer families
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© 2003 Walhalla Heritage & Development League Inc. |
