Bairnsdale: Difference between revisions
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The [[Indigenous Australians|Aboriginal]] name for Bairnsdale was Wy Yung (or Wy-yung), meaning [[spoonbill]] (a type of wading bird). Wy Yung is now the name for a suburb of Bairnsdale, located north of the town across the Mitchell River. |
The [[Indigenous Australians|Aboriginal]] name for Bairnsdale was Wy Yung (or Wy-yung), meaning [[spoonbill]] (a type of wading bird). Wy Yung is now the name for a suburb of Bairnsdale, located north of the town across the Mitchell River. |
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The name "Bairnsdale" is Scottish |
The name "Bairnsdale" is Scottish and translates as "Valley of the Children" |
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The current name was taken from the name of the property owned by pioneer settler Archibald Macleod, who took up the run on the west bank of the Mitchell River in 1844. Bairnsdale is probably derived from the name of Macleod’s family home on the [[Isle of Skye]], [[Scotland]], which had the name ‘Bernisdale’. An alternative interpretation was that Macleod returned after a long absence to find a number of ‘bairns’ (a Scottish term for babies) at the station. The name may in fact be a conjunction of these two stories, accounting for the transformation of ‘Bernis’ to ‘Bairns’. |
The current name was taken from the name of the property owned by pioneer settler Archibald Macleod, who took up the run on the west bank of the Mitchell River in 1844. Bairnsdale is probably derived from the name of Macleod’s family home on the [[Isle of Skye]], [[Scotland]], which had the name ‘Bernisdale’. An alternative interpretation was that Macleod returned after a long absence to find a number of ‘bairns’ (a Scottish term for babies) at the station. The name may in fact be a conjunction of these two stories, accounting for the transformation of ‘Bernis’ to ‘Bairns’. |
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Revision as of 01:17, 6 November 2009
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (July 2007) |
| Bairnsdale Victoria | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Bridge over the Mitchell River in Bairnsdale | |||||||||
| Population | 11,282 (2006)[1] | ||||||||
| Postcode(s) | 3875 | ||||||||
| Elevation | 49 m (161 ft) | ||||||||
| Location | |||||||||
| LGA(s) | Shire of East Gippsland | ||||||||
| State electorate(s) | Gippsland East | ||||||||
| Federal division(s) | Gippsland | ||||||||
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Bairnsdale (Template:Pron-en, locally [ˈbeːnzdæɪl])[2] is a small city in Gippsland, Victoria, Australia. With a population at the 2006 census of 11,282, it is a major regional centre of eastern Victoria along with Traralgon and Sale.
Location and facilities
Bairnsdale is on the Princes Highway, a section of Australia's Highway 1. It is 285 kilometres (177 mi), or approximately three hours drive, east of the state capital Melbourne. Bairnsdale is close to the Gippsland Lakes and Bass Strait, and is the official starting point of the Great Alpine Road which winds across the Australian Alps.
Bairnsdale is located on the river flats of the Mitchell River, near where the Mitchell River empties into Lake King. It is sited on a bend in the river, with the river flowing in along the northern edge of the town, before turning south to flow along the eastern edge, although suburbs are now found across the river to both north and east. The river floods at infrequent intervals, affecting town areas close to the banks.
Nearby towns include Paynesville, Lakes Entrance, Bruthen and Metung. Along the Princes Highway to the west are Stratford and Sale, and to the east is Orbost. To the north along the Great Alpine Road are Ensay, Swifts Creek and Omeo, as well as Benambra.
Bairnsdale is the commercial centre for the East Gippsland region and the seat of local government for the Shire of East Gippsland.
Educational facilities in Bairnsdale include two high schools, Bairnsdale Secondary College which has approx 1200 students (Government) and Nagle College which has about 800 students (Catholic Private), a number of primary schools and kindergartens, and limited tertiary education facilities mainly consisting of the East Gippsland Institute of TAFE.
Bairnsdale has it own railway station, which is also the terminus of the Bairnsdale railway line.
History
The Aboriginal name for Bairnsdale was Wy Yung (or Wy-yung), meaning spoonbill (a type of wading bird). Wy Yung is now the name for a suburb of Bairnsdale, located north of the town across the Mitchell River.
The name "Bairnsdale" is Scottish and translates as "Valley of the Children"
The current name was taken from the name of the property owned by pioneer settler Archibald Macleod, who took up the run on the west bank of the Mitchell River in 1844. Bairnsdale is probably derived from the name of Macleod’s family home on the Isle of Skye, Scotland, which had the name ‘Bernisdale’. An alternative interpretation was that Macleod returned after a long absence to find a number of ‘bairns’ (a Scottish term for babies) at the station. The name may in fact be a conjunction of these two stories, accounting for the transformation of ‘Bernis’ to ‘Bairns’.
The town site was surveyed in 1859, with the first blocks of land sold in 1860. Lucknow on the east bank of the river (named for the Indian city of Lucknow to which horses bred in the Bairnsdale area were sent to aid the British Crown during the Indian uprising), was already a thriving village. The Post Office opened on 2 February 1858 at Lucknow and was relocated to the township and named Bairnsdale on 3 April 1862.[3] Lucknow remains as a suburb of Bairnsdale.
Attractions
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The Mitchell River empties into Lake King at Eagle Point Bluff. Between the town of Bairnsdale and Eagle Point Bluff are found enormous silt jetties, second only in length to those formed at the mouth of the Mississippi River in the United States.
One of the most notable landmarks of Bairnsdale are the murals on the ceiling and walls of St Mary’s Roman Catholic Church in Main St (Princes Highway). These murals were painted by out of work Italian artist Francesco Floreani during the Great Depression and remain a fascination to this day.
Also of note are the gardens maintained on the median strip of Main St. This very wide median strip stretches from the Mitchell River to the western edge of town, a distance of about 4 kilometres (2 mi). The main garden section runs for over 500 metres (550 yd) through the central commercial district and features beds of flowering annuals and perennials, numerous mature deciduous and evergreen trees, war memorials and a restored historic band rotunda. The rotunda was constructed in 1910 and restored to its present condition in 1993.
The East Gippsland Rail Trail begins in Bairnsdale. Almost 100 kilometres (60 mi) in length, the multi-use trail permits walking, cycling and horseriding as it follows the alignment of the former line to Orbost.
Sport
The town has three Australian rules football clubs competing in the East Gippsland Football League, these being Bairnsdale Football Club (the Redlegs), Lucknow and Wy Yung.[4]
Bairnsdale has a horse racing club, the Bairnsdale Racing Club, which schedules around eight race meetings a year including the Bairnsdale Cup meeting usually held on the first Sunday in January.[5]
The town has two field hockey clubs in the East Gippsland Hockey Association. The Bairnsdale Hockey Club is based at the WORLD fields, while the Nagle Hockey Club is based at Nagle College, just out of town to the west.
Golfers play at the Bairnsdale Golf Club on Paynesville Road, Eagle Point [6]or at the course of the Goose Gully Golf Greens on Balfours Road.[6]
See also
References
- ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (25 October 2007). "Bairnsdale (Urban Centre/Locality)". 2006 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 2007-10-25.
- ^ Australian pronunciations: Macquarie Dictionary, Fourth Edition (2005). Melbourne, The Macquarie Library Pty Ltd. ISBN 1-876429-14-3
- ^ Premier Postal History, Post Office List, retrieved 2008-04-11
- ^ Full Points Footy, Bairnsdale, retrieved 2008-07-25
- ^ Country Racing Victoria, Bairnsdale Racing Club, retrieved 2009-05-07
- ^ a b Golf Select, Bairnsdale, retrieved 2009-05-11 Cite error: The named reference "golf" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
- Gardner, P.D. (1997) Names of the Great Alpine Road Between Bairnsdale and Omeo. Ensay: Ngarak Press.
- Land.vic Vicnames
External links
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37°50′S 147°37′E / 37.833°S 147.617°E
