Bung Bong Explained

Type:town
Bung Bong
State:vic
Use Lga Map:yes
Coordinates:-37.1034°N 176.679°W
Pushpin Label Position:right
Lga2:Pyrenees Shire
Lga:Shire of Central Goldfields
Postcode:3465
Pop:63
Stategov:Ripon
Fedgov:Mallee
Dist1:185
Dir1:NW
Location1:Melbourne
Dist2:70
Dir2:N
Location2:Ballarat
Dist3:19
Dir3:W
Location3:Maryborough
Dist4:10
Dir4:E
Location4:Avoca

Bung Bong is a locality in Victoria between the towns of Avoca and Maryborough. The locality is divided, with the Western section in the Pyrenees Shire and the Eastern section in Shire of Central Goldfields. The Bet Bet Creek (which separates the two Shires) runs towards the north through the middle of the locality and then into the Loddon River. Bung Bong is located on the Pyrenees Highway.

Bung Bong is also a region.

Etymology

The name Bung Bong may derive from the Aboriginal words for "swamp"[1] or for "swamp grass".[2]

History

Bung Bong Post Office opened on 1 February 1864 and closed in 1961.[3]

The old Glenmona Bridge was built over the Bet Bet Creek in 1871 and is the third oldest of its type in Victoria, (after the Hawthorn Bridge and the Redesdale Bridge). Its location is directly south of the new bridge over the Bet Bet on the Pyrenees Highway.

In 1878 the Bung Bong Farmers' Club held their first "ploughing match". There were 18 entries in the competition to plough, "virgin soil, of a rich chocolate colour". It was reported, "that although the ploughmen were new to competitive trials, they showed by the excellence of their work their fitness for their calling."[4] For the 1886 (and ninth) ploughing match there were 22 entries. It was held on the Abbott property, half a mile from the Bung Bong railway station and "the attendance was large". This time, 10 entrants used double furrow ploughs with one entrant, "exhibiting Gilsman's patent rotary harrows, which attracted great attention, and were pronounced excellent implements".[5]

Local volunteers[6] have fought major bushfires in the region in December 1880,[7] January 1881,[8] January 1985 and the Black Saturday bushfires in 2009.[9]

Bung Bong horse Richmond Lass won 31 races and went on to win the 1969 Inter Dominion Pacing Championship.[10] The horse was owned by Fred Miller of Richmond House.[11]

Gold has been extracted in the Bung Bong region[12] and along the Bet Bet Creek. In 2018, commercial gold exploration has resumed.[13]

Railway

Bung Bong is on the Avoca railway line, to the north of the locality, where ballast was loaded from nearby basalt quarries. There was a Post Office at the Bung Bong station which opened in October 1877 and closed in June 1940.[3]

In 2017, there was a proposal to link Mildura to Portland with standard gauge track to carry grain and mineral sands. This upgrade would include the Maryborough to Ararat section of the line, past the site of the disused Bung Bong station.[14] [15] [16] Community action has been successful in keeping a railway level crossing on a key arterial road open, after commencement of the new rail link.[17]

The Avoca line was reopened in 2018 after being rebuilt as part of the Murray Basin Rail Project, which also extended the reach of the standard gauge network in Victoria.[18]

Schools

There was a Primary School (No. 1056) at Bung Bong which operated on the same block as the Church of England between 1872 and 1921.[19] [20]

Approximately 5 km south of Bung Bong, on the Moore's Flat Road, is the now abandoned locality of Moore's Flat. There was a Moore's Flat Primary School (No. 1575).[21] [22]

Heritage buildings

The Pyrenees Shire Council has documented a number of significant properties in the Bung Bong - Homebush region in the Avoca Heritage Study: 1864 - 1994 - Volume 3.[23]

Region

Bung Bong is also a region, which has a large range of native flora and fauna.[24] [25] South-East of the locality is the Bung Bong Nature Conservation Reserve which is used by bush walkers and bird watchers.[26] [27]

Facilities

Bung Bong, Wareek Cemetery

The cemetery is located on 413 Bung Bong-Rathscar Rd, Wareek. In 2017, it is being upgraded by the community with new fences and facilities.

Information on the interments,[28] with more details and images of the headstones - here.[29]

Hall

The Bung Bong Temperance Hall was established by the Independent Order of Rechabites as 'Tent' 138.[30] [31] It is located on the Pyrenees Highway.

It was built in 1876 on land donated by Mr Miller and was used for community activities including meetings of the 'Farmers Club'.[32]

The building was subsequently used as the Bung Bong Church of England.[33] While the building is now unused, the site has become a popular stopping place for caravans.[34]

At the Wareek Hall there is an honour roll of those from the Bung Bong district who fought in World War I. It contains 19 names.[35]

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Book: Saxton, John George. Victoria Place-Names and their origins . 1907 . Saxton and Buckie . Cliffton Hills. https://web.archive.org/web/20190426150725/http://dro.deakin.edu.au/eserv/DU:30111533/saxton1907victoriaplacenames-text.htm . 26 April 2019 . live.
  2. Book: From the Ruins of Colonialism: History as Social Memory . Cambridge University Press . Melbourne, Victoria. 9780521562782 . Healy . Chris . 27 March 1997 .
  3. Web site: Phoenix Auctions History . Post Office List . 20 January 2021.
  4. News: Ploughing Matches: Bung Bong . 13 July 1878. The Australasian - cited from the Maryborough Standard . 22 June 2017.
  5. News: Ploughing Matches: The Bung Bong Match. 7 August 1886. . 22 June 2017.
  6. News: Faces of CFA: Ken Calder . 3 May 2017 . 15 June 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170824104256/http://news.cfa.vic.gov.au/news/faces-of-cfa-ken-calder.html . 24 August 2017 . dead .
  7. News: A disastrous bush fire. 20 December 1880 .
  8. News: News scraps. Kyneton Guardian . 1 January 1881 .
  9. News: Generous donation for Wareek & Bung Bong Fire Brigade . 3 October 2016 . 15 June 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170824015233/http://news.cfa.vic.gov.au/news/wareek-bung-bong-tanker-handover.html . 24 August 2017 . dead .
  10. 22 August 2014 . Harness Racing,Wayville (S.A) 01/03/1969 Inter-Dominion Grand Final (Richmond Lass-K.Brook) . https://web.archive.org/web/20200429051537/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FC7P5AZrpRw&gl=US&hl=en . 2020-04-29 . dead. 14 June 2017.
  11. News: Can Girl match the feats of Lass? . Harness News. 11 June 2016 . 14 June 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170730223739/http://harnessnews.com.au/2016/06/can-girl-match-the-feats-of-lass/ . 30 July 2017.
  12. Web site: Mystic Peak Reef. The Argus. 30 July 2018.
  13. Web site: 3 May 2018. ECR Minerals completes Bung Bong gold drilling. Proactive Investors. 30 July 2018.
  14. Web site: Murray Basin Rail Project. 2013. Public Transport Victoria. 22 June 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170804053404/https://www.ptv.vic.gov.au/projects/rail-projects/murray-basin-rail-project/. 4 August 2017. dead.
  15. News: Rail freight Victoria: Works to cause more delays for grain . Hunt, Peter. 26 May 2017. The Weekly Times. 22 June 2017.
  16. Web site: Murray Basin rail project . 22 June 2017 . 8 March 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190308032052/https://corporate.vline.com.au/murraybasinrail . dead.
  17. News: Relief at decision to keep key road open . Steed, Lachy. 14 July 2017. Maryborough Advertiser. 18 September 2017.
  18. News: Martinich. Rex . Ararat rail freight is back after 13 years sitting idle. 10 March 2018. The Courier. 30 January 2018. en.
  19. Web site: Bung Bong Primary School. Public Records Office Victoria. 26 July 2018.
  20. Web site: 20 March 1914. Bung Bong People's Liberal Party. Maryborough and Dunolly Advertiser. 26 July 2018.
  21. Web site: Moore's Flat Primary School. Public Record Office. 26 July 2018.
  22. Web site: 29 June 1914. Moore's Flat Primary School. Maryborough and Dunolly Advertiser. 26 July 2018.
  23. Web site: Avoca Heritage Study: 1864 - 1994, Volume 3 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190318191733/https://www.pyrenees.vic.gov.au/Plan-Build/Planning/Overlays-Heritage-Native-Vegetation/Heritage-Information#section-4 . live . 18 March 2019 . Pyrenees Shire Council. February 1995 . 148–171 . 20 June 2017.
  24. Web site: Flora. May 2005. Data From: Atlas of Victorian Wildlife, Biodiversity and Natural Resources. 22 June 2017. bot: unknown. https://web.archive.org/web/20091019125729/http://www.dse.vic.gov.au/CA256F310024B628/0/63834F72BD684164CA25725F000542E8/%24File/BungBong%2Bflora.pdf. 19 October 2009.
  25. News: Fauna. May 2005. Data From: Atlas of Victorian Wildlife, Biodiversity and Natural Resources. 22 June 2017. bot: unknown. https://web.archive.org/web/20091019125703/http://www.dse.vic.gov.au/CA256F310024B628/0/FDC4DF05A963C8D8CA25725F0004FD21/%24File/BBLilicur%2Bfauna.pdf. 19 October 2009.
  26. Web site: Bung Bong Nature Conservation Reserve . 2017. Parks Victoria. 22 June 2017.
  27. Web site: Bung Bong Nature Conservation Reserve., Victoria, AU . 13 November 2014. Cornell Lab of Ornithology. 22 June 2017.
  28. Web site: Wareek Bung Bong Cemetery . February 2009 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180415010326/http://www.ozgenonline.com/~Carols_Headstones/Wareek_Bung_Bong.htm. 15 April 2018. live.
  29. Web site: Bung Bong & Wareek Cemetery . 2006. https://web.archive.org/web/20221101230332/http://www.australiancemeteries.com.au/vic/centgoldfields/bungbongdata.htm . 1 November 2022 . live.
  30. News: The opening of the "On to Victory (138)" tent of I. O. R. . The Avoca Mail. 25 November 1870 .
  31. Web site: Victorian Tent Register . New Zealand Electronic text collection. Stout, Robert. 70. https://web.archive.org/web/20160925104718/http://nzetc.victoria.ac.nz/tm/scholarly/tei-Stout45-t12-body-d50.html . 25 September 2016.
  32. News: The Bung Bong Farmers Club . Avoca Mail . 16 August 1878 .
  33. Web site: 30 July 2018. Bung Bong Anglican Church - Former. Churches Australia. 30 July 2018.
  34. Web site: Bung Bong Rest Area . Caravan on Tour. 15 June 2017.
  35. Web site: Bung Bong District roll of honour . Monument Australia.

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