Bethanga, Victoria
| Bethanga Victoria |
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 General store |
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 Bethanga
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| Population: | 589[1] |
| Postcode: | 3691 |
| Coordinates: | 36°07′S 147°06′E / 36.117°S 147.1°ECoordinates: 36°07′S 147°06′E / 36.117°S 147.1°E |
| Location: |
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| LGA: | Shire of Towong |
| State electorate: | Benambra |
| Federal Division: | Indi |
Bethanga is a town in north eastern Victoria, Australia. The town is located in the Shire of Towong Local Government Area, 390 kilometres (242 mi) from the state capital, Melbourne. At the 2006 census, Bethanga had a population of 589.[1]
[edit] History
Bethanga was established as a result of the discovery of gold. Gold was first reported in the Bethanga area in 1852, but it was not until 1876 that the discovery of a reef led to the development of the Bethanga goldfields. The Post Office opened on 22 July 1876, was renamed Granya in 1879 when a new office named Bethanga opened nearby which closed in 1952. The Bethanga Lower office was renamed Bethanga in 1984. [2]
Due to the nature of the gold bearing quartz reef, the gold was difficult to extract and the discovery of copper led to a change in focus. It was not until the early 1890s that an efficient technique for extracting the gold from the ore was discovered, and once again gold became the primary focus, with copper a by-product. Bethanga was removed from the list of goldfields in 1912, however some mining activity has taken place since.[3]
[edit] The Town today
The town is located close to Lake Hume, attracting both retired people and commuters to nearby Albury-Wodonga. Facilities in Bethanga include a general store, primary school and three churches.[4]
Golfers play at the Bethanga and District Golf Club on Bethanga-Tallangatta Road. [5]
[edit] References
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Bethanga, Victoria |
- ^ a b Australian Bureau of Statistics (25 October 2007). "Bethanga (State Suburb)". 2006 Census QuickStats. http://www.censusdata.abs.gov.au/ABSNavigation/prenav/LocationSearch?collection=Census&period=2006&areacode=SSC25153&producttype=QuickStats&breadcrumb=PL&action=401. Retrieved 24 March 2010.
- ^ Premier Postal History. "Post Office List". https://www.premierpostal.com/cgi-bin/wsProd.sh/Viewpocdwrapper.p?SortBy=VIC&country=. Retrieved 2008-04-11
- ^ "Bethanga Goldfield" (PDF). Heritage Victoria. Archived from the original on 2007-09-04. http://web.archive.org/web/20070904022541/http://heritage.vic.gov.au/pages/pdfs/Bethanga.pdf. Retrieved 2007-06-17.
- ^ "Bethanga". Towong Shire Council. http://www.towong.vic.gov.au/Page/Page.asp?Page_Id=104&h=1. Retrieved 2007-06-17.
- ^ Golf Select. "Bethanga and District". http://www.golfselect.com.au/armchair/courseView.aspx?course_id=931. Retrieved 2009-05-11
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