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The
first white man to come to the Mansfield Valley saw a remarkable
old Aborigine who was chief of the whole of the Upper Goulbourn
tribes. He was reputed to be a great warrior, his name was
Beolite, and the land around was also called Beolite. His
eldest son was Barwite and his lubra was Delatite.
Mansfield Guardian Newspaper, 1870.
Australia,
the lush green paradise
"The Squatters of those times, the 1840's, were a brave,
reckless band. Quick to love and quick to hate, full of pluck and
endurance, dauntless before danger, iron in physique and nerve,
and ready for any difficult or dare-devil feat." Mrs.
Campbell Praed, My Australian Girlhood
Fired
by the glowing reports of explorers, squatters came to Australia,
hungry for land. By 1839, Watson & Hunter took a major lease
in the district, raising of livestock on Wappan Run. Unfortunately
the enterprise failed and Watson & Hunter lost a fortune - $13
million in today's terms.
What
the Squatters began, settler families continued. Wappan Run,
originally stretching from Bonnie Doon to Merrijig, was broken up
into four properties - Wappan, Preston, Mt Battery and Loyola/Delatite.
They converged at the roundabout in Mansfield's centre, a landmark
that still stands today.
Gold,
bushrangers and the legend of Ned Kelly
In 1854 gold was discovered near Jamieson and again in 1861 at
Howqua Hills. Gold diggings erupted across the district, the
economy boomed, and the scene was set for the rise of the
bushranger.
Daniel
'Mad Dog' Morgan operated in the district as did Harry Power.
Romanticised as a gentleman bushranger, Harry was courteous to the
ladies and reputedly never fired a shot in anger.
In
1878 Ned Kelly became the most notorious outlaw in Australia when
he and his gang murdered three Mansfield policemen. A monument to
the troopers' memory still stands in Mansfield.
The
first alpine skiers
In the 1890s European miners bored by winter inactivity are said
to have crafted skis from fence palings and schussed down the
mountains, cutting a trail for recreational skiing. It became so
popular that the Victorian Government granted funds for improved
access to Mt Buller in 1913.
The
ski industry proper began in 1924, when members of the Melbourne
Walking Club transferred their activities from Mt Buffalo to Mt
Buller. Early skis can still be seen in Mt Buller's Ski Museum.
Helmut
Kofler, a pioneer of Victorian skiing, made Mt Buller his home in
1940. With his wife, Peggy Wylkes, he was responsible for the
resort's early development. Today Mt Buller is a well developed
skiers' mountain, on the world circuit for Aerial Ski Jumping, and
the home mountain of Kirsty Marshall, Jacqui Cooper & golden
girl, Alisia Camplin.
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High
Country Huts
The history of the High Country can be traced in our mountain
huts.
Originally built by families grazing cattle in the high plains,
huts like McMormack's, Ritchie's, Stoney's and Lovick's are a
reminder of a time when the shelter of corrugated iron could mean
the difference between life and death. Legend has it that Jim Fry,
who supported his family in remote Fry's Hut for 30 years, was the
inspiration for Neville Shute's A Far Country.
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