Clunes, Victoria
Encyclopedia
Clunes is a town in Victoria, Australia
, located 36 kilometres north of Ballarat
, in the Shire of Hepburn. At the 2006 census
it had a population of 1,026.
. His discovery, first published in the Geelong Advertiser
on 7 July 1851 triggered the first gold rush in Victoria
. The township was established a few years later and subsequent gold mining
, predominantly driven by the Port Phillip and Colonial Mining Company saw the town's population rising to well over 6,000 residents in the late 1880s.
Clunes post office opened as early as 1 October 1857 and in 1874 Clunes was connected to the Victorian railway network. Clunes station was opened in the same year.
In 1873 mine employers attempted to introduce Saturday afternoon and Sunday shifts. The miners refused to sign the new terms outlined in their contract renewals and went on strike
. Some days into the action the miners organised the Clunes Miners' Association and what were to become known as the Clunes Riots, successfully resisting the use of foreign labour as strikebreaker
s. The Clunes Miners' Association is one of the earliest antecedents of the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union
.
From the 1850s through to 1893, when gold mining eventually came to an end, Clunes was an important gold production location in Victoria. During this period gold in excess of 1.2 million ounces was produced at Clunes. Surrounded by grassland, meadows and pastures, the town has preserved many of its elegant historic buildings until today and is recognised as one of the architecturally most intact gold towns in Victoria.
. Clunes held its first 'Booktown for a Day' event on 20 May 2007. Over 50 booksellers from around Australia set up shop for the day in the town's heritage buildings.
Renamed to 'Back to Booktown' a year later, the township holds now the event each year on the first weekend in May. With more than 60 booksellers, millions of books and 15,000 visitors, it has become the largest collection of books in any regional centre of Australia and the major Victorian regional book event.
, Australia's largest co-educational private school, to establish a campus for Year 9 students in the town. Opened in 2000, about 80 students take up residency in the Wesley Clunes Residential Learning Village in the centre of town and become part of the local community for an eight-week period each term.
, starring Heath Ledger
, were shot in Clunes. The Old State Bank in Fraser Street was used for the internal scenes featuring the "Euroa" bank robbery.
Clunes also appears in the films Mad Max
starring Mel Gibson
and the remake of the 1950s classic On the Beach
. It also appears in the ABC television series' Queen Kat, Carmel & St Jude, Something in the Air and Halifax f.p.
.
Clunes was once closed off to the public for the TV show The Mole
in 2001. The mission in that episode was to direct one of the contestants to pick up another contestant in a blacked-out car.
The most recent film shot in Clunes is Julius Avery's 13-minute movie Jerrycan. Jerrycan won the 2008 Jury Prize at the 61st Cannes Film Festival
in France for short films, with its portrayal of restless teenagers in rural Victoria.
Golfers play at the Clunes Golf Club on Golf Course Road.
Clunes has a very successful Cricket Club playing in the Maryborough District Cricket Assoc.
Clunes has a Lawn Bowls Club that competes in the Ballarat Bowls Association.
Clunes has a very successful Basketball Club and League. Clunes has a local Badminton competition.
When the State Government announced the Victorian Transport Plan, along with V/Line services being extended to Maryborough, Clunes was not part of the plan (with the only stations being Creswick and Maryborough). However as a result of protest by the town, the Government announced on 17 June 2010 that Clunes would be reopened and included on the line.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, located 36 kilometres north of Ballarat
Ballarat, Victoria
Ballarat is a city in the state of Victoria, Australia, approximately west-north-west of the state capital Melbourne situated on the lower plains of the Great Dividing Range and the Yarrowee River catchment. It is the largest inland centre and third most populous city in the state and the fifth...
, in the Shire of Hepburn. At the 2006 census
Census in Australia
The Australian census is administered once every five years by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The most recent census was conducted on 9 August 2011; the next will be conducted in 2016. Prior to the introduction of regular censuses in 1961, they had also been run in 1901, 1911, 1921, 1933,...
it had a population of 1,026.
History
The town was home to Victoria's first registered gold discovery made by James EsmondJames Esmond
James William Esmond , was an Irish-Australian gold prospector and miner, and was one of the first people to discover gold in Australia.-Early life:...
. His discovery, first published in the Geelong Advertiser
Geelong Advertiser
The Geelong Advertiser is a daily newspaper servicing Geelong, Victoria, Australia, the Bellarine Peninsula and surrounding areas. The Geelong Advertiser is the oldest newspaper title in Victoria and the second oldest in Australia, and was first published on 21 November 1840. The newspaper is...
on 7 July 1851 triggered the first gold rush in Victoria
Victorian gold rush
The Victorian gold rush was a period in the history of Victoria, Australia approximately between 1851 and the late 1860s. In 10 years the Australian population nearly tripled.- Overview :During this era Victoria dominated the world's gold output...
. The township was established a few years later and subsequent gold mining
Gold mining
Gold mining is the removal of gold from the ground. There are several techniques and processes by which gold may be extracted from the earth.-History:...
, predominantly driven by the Port Phillip and Colonial Mining Company saw the town's population rising to well over 6,000 residents in the late 1880s.
Clunes post office opened as early as 1 October 1857 and in 1874 Clunes was connected to the Victorian railway network. Clunes station was opened in the same year.
In 1873 mine employers attempted to introduce Saturday afternoon and Sunday shifts. The miners refused to sign the new terms outlined in their contract renewals and went on strike
Strike action
Strike action, also called labour strike, on strike, greve , or simply strike, is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal of employees to work. A strike usually takes place in response to employee grievances. Strikes became important during the industrial revolution, when mass labour became...
. Some days into the action the miners organised the Clunes Miners' Association and what were to become known as the Clunes Riots, successfully resisting the use of foreign labour as strikebreaker
Strikebreaker
A strikebreaker is a person who works despite an ongoing strike. Strikebreakers are usually individuals who are not employed by the company prior to the trade union dispute, but rather hired prior to or during the strike to keep the organisation running...
s. The Clunes Miners' Association is one of the earliest antecedents of the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union
Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union
The Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union is Australia's main trade union in construction, forestry and furnishing products, mining and energy production....
.
From the 1850s through to 1893, when gold mining eventually came to an end, Clunes was an important gold production location in Victoria. During this period gold in excess of 1.2 million ounces was produced at Clunes. Surrounded by grassland, meadows and pastures, the town has preserved many of its elegant historic buildings until today and is recognised as one of the architecturally most intact gold towns in Victoria.
Concept
The idea of transforming Clunes into a European-style booktown was developed by Councillor Tim Hayes, Linda Newitt, Graeme Johnston and Tess BradyTess Brady
Tess Brady is a writer and interviewer/presenter. She is currently the Artistic Director for Clunes Back to Booktown.-Biography:Brady was born in Adelaide, South Australia. She studied at the University of Adelaide, Flinders University, Exeter University, and Deakin University...
. Clunes held its first 'Booktown for a Day' event on 20 May 2007. Over 50 booksellers from around Australia set up shop for the day in the town's heritage buildings.
Renamed to 'Back to Booktown' a year later, the township holds now the event each year on the first weekend in May. With more than 60 booksellers, millions of books and 15,000 visitors, it has become the largest collection of books in any regional centre of Australia and the major Victorian regional book event.
Awards and Recognition
- In 2008 'Back to Booktown' was awarded as Hepburn ShireHepburn ShireThe Shire of Hepburn is a Local Government Area in Victoria, Australia. It is located in the central part of the state. It includes the towns of Clunes, Creswick, Daylesford, Hepburn Springs and Trentham. It has an area of 1,463 square kilometres. In 2006 it had a population of 13,732...
's Community Event of the Year. - On 21 January 2010 the Hon John Brumby, Premier of Victoria, made the following statement during the Australia Day Luncheon: ‘In Victoria we even have our very own booktown. The regional community of Clunes in north-west Victoria sees its future as a cultural destination centred around literature. As well as their successful ‘Back to Booktown’ festival, just last month our Government helped launch the new Creative Clunes Community Bookshop.’
- On 23 November 2010 'Clunes - Back to Booktown' was awarded the Australian Civic Trust 'Award of Merit' in the Human Category for its use of heritage buildings in a 'respectful, as against destructive use.'
Wesley College campus (Wesley@Clunes)
In recent years Clunes has undergone a noticeable transformation and rejuvenation following the decision by Wesley CollegeWesley College, Melbourne
Wesley College, Melbourne is an independent, co-educational, Christian day school in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Established in 1866, the college is a school of the Uniting Church in Australia. Wesley is the largest school in Australia by enrolment, with 3,511 students and 564 full-time staff...
, Australia's largest co-educational private school, to establish a campus for Year 9 students in the town. Opened in 2000, about 80 students take up residency in the Wesley Clunes Residential Learning Village in the centre of town and become part of the local community for an eight-week period each term.
Film
Many of the external scenes and some internal scenes in the 2003 film Ned KellyNed Kelly (2003 film)
Ned Kelly is an Australian drama film directed by Gregor Jordan. The film portrays the life of Ned Kelly — a legendary bushranger in northeast Victoria. Ned Kelly, his brother Dan, and two other men — Steve Hart and Joe Byrne — formed a gang of Irish Australians in response to Irish and...
, starring Heath Ledger
Heath Ledger
Heath Andrew Ledger was an Australian television and film actor. After performing roles in Australian television and film during the 1990s, Ledger moved to the United States in 1998 to develop his film career...
, were shot in Clunes. The Old State Bank in Fraser Street was used for the internal scenes featuring the "Euroa" bank robbery.
Clunes also appears in the films Mad Max
Mad Max
Mad Max is a 1979 Australian dystopian action film directed by George Miller and revised by Miller and Byron Kennedy over the original script by James McCausland. The film stars Mel Gibson, who was unknown at the time. Its narrative based around the traditional western genre, Mad Max tells a story...
starring Mel Gibson
Mel Gibson
Mel Colm-Cille Gerard Gibson, AO is an American actor, film director, producer and screenwriter. Born in Peekskill, New York, Gibson moved with his parents to Sydney, Australia when he was 12 years old and later studied acting at the Australian National Institute of Dramatic Art.After appearing in...
and the remake of the 1950s classic On the Beach
On the Beach (2000 film)
On the Beach is an apocalyptic television movie released in 2000, airing originally on Showtime. It is a remake of the 1959 film, and is based on the 1957 novel by Nevil Shute. It starred Armand Assante, Bryan Brown, and Rachel Ward...
. It also appears in the ABC television series' Queen Kat, Carmel & St Jude, Something in the Air and Halifax f.p.
Halifax f.p.
Halifax f.p. is an Australian television drama series produced by Nine Network from 1994 to 2001. The series stars Rebecca Gibney as Doctor Jane Halifax, a forensic psychiatrist investigating cases involving the mental state of suspects or victims...
.
Clunes was once closed off to the public for the TV show The Mole
The Mole (Australian TV series)
The Mole was an Australian reality television series that aired on the Seven Network. It is based on The Mole franchise of programs that have aired in numerous countries. The sub-title for the Australian version of the show was a simple question: Who is the traitor?...
in 2001. The mission in that episode was to direct one of the contestants to pick up another contestant in a blacked-out car.
The most recent film shot in Clunes is Julius Avery's 13-minute movie Jerrycan. Jerrycan won the 2008 Jury Prize at the 61st Cannes Film Festival
Cannes Film Festival
The Cannes International Film Festival , is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films of all genres including documentaries from around the world. Founded in 1946, it is among the world's most prestigious and publicized film festivals...
in France for short films, with its portrayal of restless teenagers in rural Victoria.
Sport
The town's Australian Rules football/Netball team is the Clunes Magpies, competing in the Central Highlands Football/Netball League.Golfers play at the Clunes Golf Club on Golf Course Road.
Clunes has a very successful Cricket Club playing in the Maryborough District Cricket Assoc.
Clunes has a Lawn Bowls Club that competes in the Ballarat Bowls Association.
Clunes has a very successful Basketball Club and League. Clunes has a local Badminton competition.
Transport
Clunes railway station is located on the Maryborough railway line, Victoria. Services operate daily with one train in each direction.When the State Government announced the Victorian Transport Plan, along with V/Line services being extended to Maryborough, Clunes was not part of the plan (with the only stations being Creswick and Maryborough). However as a result of protest by the town, the Government announced on 17 June 2010 that Clunes would be reopened and included on the line.