The Long and Winding Ride: Episode 1 – Harrietville to Bright: Winding down the Great Valley Trail

The Long and Winding Ride

 

 

 

Episode 1 Harrietville to Bright: Winding down the Great Valley Trail

 

Our long and winding ride begins on the edge of wilderness – the gateway to the Victorian Alps – at the village of Harrietville. But we will pedal in the opposite direction on the Great Valley Trail. Stage 1 is a gentle 25km downhill cycle to Bright following the course of the Ovens River allowing for stops beside the stream whenever we fancy a break. The sealed path, which is not a rail trail, weaves through natural bush where we pass several popular fishing spots. Let’s make a day of it and enjoy a picnic lunch on the banks of the Ovens near the oddly-named former gold mining hamlet of Smoko. 

 

Memories of football hereabouts are distant, but two of the old gold mining towns we visit in stage 1 on our way to Bright (Harrietville and Freeburgh) boomed in the 1860s, and thereafter the infant game of Australian Football became a popular local pastime. 

 

Stage 1 Harrietville to Bright 

(Google maps)

 

The source of the Ovens River is in the Victorian Alps near Harrietville. Its mouth is the confluence with the Murray River near Lake Mulwala, 190 km away. Over its north westwards course the Ovens descends 405 metres. Eighteen tributaries join the Ovens River, including Morses Creek at Bright, the Buckland River at Porepunkah, the Buffalo River at Myrtleford and the King River at Wangaratta.

 

The original inhabitants, the First Nations People of the upper Ovens Valley included members of the Ya-itma-thang, Dodhuroa and Waveroo tribal groups. They occupied the river plains where water and food sources were plentiful. In spring and summer, groups visited elevated areas, such as the Buffalo Plateau, the Bogong High Plains and Mount Hotham, to harvest migratory Bogong Moths. The moths travel seasonally from Queensland and western NSW to the Australian Alps to escape the summer heat. They shelter in the dark cool crevasses and the rocky caves found on the high plains. The Bogong Moths provide vital energy for a wide range of alpine fauna, including the Mountain Pygmy Possum, Antechinus, reptiles, fish and birds. Aboriginal people roasted and ate the moths in ceremonial feasts, taking advantage of their high fat content. Once plentiful, the Bogongs were listed as endangered in 2021. The concern is that the factors causing their decline, including droughts, temperature rises, habitat destruction and the use of new insecticides, are happening simultaneously.

 

Harrietville

 

The first Europeans to inhabit the Harrietville area were pastoralists William Buckland, who was granted a run of 25,000 acres extending to the top of Ovens Valley in 1845, and J.H. Matthews who took up 10,000 acres at what later became known as Germantown. Harrietville was named after Harriet Luke, who was reputed to be the first white woman in the district.

 

The Frontier Wars, a dire consequence of the European settlement of Aboriginal land, had a catastrophic impact on the indigenous people. Their populations rapidly plummeted as a result of gun massacres, poisoning, alcohol and disease. 

 

The next settlers to arrive in Harrietville were gold miners who followed the Ovens River up from Bright in 1852. Harrietville also served as a resting place for miners bound for the Omeo, Glen Wills and Dargo goldfields on the south eastern side of the ranges. The discovery of gold proved to be the final blow to the traditional way of life of the First Peoples, robbing them of their traditional hunting grounds and fishing spots throughout the valley. By the 1870s very few indigenous people remained in the Ovens Valley. Some survivors found refuge on pastoral stations and the remainder were taken to the mission station at Tangambalanga in the Kiewa Valley.

 

In the 1870s, when alluvial gold panning had become unprofitable the mining shifted to deep reefs and later to dredging along the river flats. The largest bucket dredge in the Southern Hemisphere, the Tronoh, operated at Harrietville from 1942 until 1954. Today the Tronoh Dredge hole is a popular swimming and fishing spot.

 

The press from near and far lamented the impact of dredging on fertile land:

 

“… it is a sad sight to see fertile fields turned over and ruined forever. Land which will produce ten or twelve tons of potatoes to the acre is now lying doomed to be eaten up by the dredges.” (The Ballarat Star 20 July 1911) 

 

Remnants of the booming gold mining settlements and the gold dredging operations remain to this day at Harrietville, Freeburgh and Smoko. 

 

Many of the gold miners who came to Harrietville were Chinese. Their relationship with European miners was a strained one – marked by racial tension, sparked by cultural differences, a lack of understanding, greed and fear. Matters came to a head in July 1857 when white gold diggers, chiefly Americans, forcefully removed the Chinese miners from the fields. A number of the oriental fossickers were killed and their possessions were destroyed. About a quarter of the 2000 Chinese miners expelled from the Buckland Valley, located south of Porepunkah, in the riot of 1857 found refuge at Harrietville where they continued their mining of alluvial gold deposits.

 

 

Harrietville after a snow storm

(source: Alpine Shire Historical Photos and Events on Facebook)

 

 

 

Lunch stop 

Today’s lunch is a simple streamside picnic featuring local smoked trout washed down with a cold ale from one of the Bright, Beechworth or King River breweries. What better location than Smoko at the Smoko Streamside Reserve!

 

Football at Harrietville

Competitive games of football between Myrtleford, Bright, Harrietville and Wandiligong began in the late 1880s. In 1900 the Bright Shire Football Association was founded with Bright, Wandiligong, Porepukah and Myrtleford the inaugural members. Harrietville joined the association later in the decade.

 

Harrietville had a reputation for tough and rugged football in the late 1940s. The extract below, from a letter to the Editor of the Ovens and Murray Advertiser (5 July 1947), describes a footy trip to Harrietville, some rough on field tactics and a humorous incident when a mountain bull entered the arena during a game. ‘Football Fan’ from Beechworth wrote:

 

Sir, – The few supporters who made the trip with the Beechworth Seconds to Harrietville on Saturday last had an enjoyable trip so far as travelling was concerned, the hills and mountains being snow-capped en route: but to watch a match as it turned out to be was disgraceful and no credit to the Harrietville team. In the first 10 minutes Beechworth had the better of it: then the Harrietville team allegedly on orders from the captain, with some nasty language, started the terribly rough play which continued for the rest of the match. 

 

There was one incident that quietened both teams and spectators about half-time. A large mountain bull made his appearance on the arena: men scattered in all directions, over fences, in trees, and one goal umpire climbed up a goal post! The bull had charge of the arena for several minutes, walking off as quietly as he walked on.

 

It was not only the rough and tough Harrietville style of play that concerned visitors. Myrtleford officials raised a complaint to the association concerning the small size of the Harrietville ground and the prevalence of gutters on the playing surface. During a match in 1949 visiting players were observed throwing pieces of wire, a horseshoe and stones off the ground. 

 

Harrietville was a force to be reckoned with after the war taking out three consecutive premierships between 1947 and 1949 in the Myrtleford-Bright FA. They did not lose a game in those three seasons.

 

Freeburgh also had a football team in the period 1912-1915 playing in the Bright District FA. In 1914 they made the play-off for the semi-final but were defeated by Porepunkah. At the time, Freeburgh residents had a big fight on their hands to stop dredging for gold on their recreation reserve. 

 

 

Bright

 

Wheeling into the township of Bright on a mid-autumn afternoon is an experience you won’t forget. The deciduous trees lining the streets of Bright are in a blaze of full colour with tints of orange, red, yellow, brown, gold and green. The leaf fall is well underway, carpeting the parks, roadsides and yards throughout the town. 

 

It was reported in the Melbourne press that Chinese gold miners tried their luck at football when a team from Bright played a team from Buckland in 1896. 

 

A novel football match took place at the Public park yesterday, when a team of 20 Chinese from Buckland played a team of local Chinese, the proceeds being donated to the Ovens Benevolent Asylum. Much interest was evinced by the spectators, who derived considerable amusement from the antics of the Chinese. The game resulted in a win for Buckland, who scored 4 goals to 1. (The Argus 13 July 1896)

 

To their credit, the proceeds of Chinese football matches in Victoria at the time were devoted to local charities. In other gold mining centres the Chinese were also taking to the game. In episode 8 we will read a colourful eye witness account of a match at Beechworth in 1896 between two Chinese teams representing Shanghai and Foochow.

 

We will catch up with the Bright (‘Mountain Men’) footballers in episode 4 when we cycle through the town again.

 

Next episode

 

Relax and gather your strength before we take on the serious ride over the Tawonga Gap in stage 2: Bright to Tawonga.

 

 

More from Peter Clark can be read Here.

 

 

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