Yea Heritage Walk
The Yea township was surveyed and laid out in 1855 by Thomas Pinniger, Surveyor.
Beginning in 1852, Mr Pinniger, a government surveyor, spent the next 20 years completing the geodetic survey of central Victoria, including the design, layout and naming of Yea and a number of other regional townships. Seventeen of his survey points, marked by large stone cairns, have been located around the Yea district. A replica cairn and information board can be found in High Street opposite the Shire Hall.
Mr Pinniger's son later became Surveyor General of Victoria from 1925-1926.
The following buildings and heritage sites are numbered on the map and described below.
1 Yea Post Office -1890.
2 Horse Trough near the Hume & Hovell monument in the Yea Fountain Gardens.
3 Yea Fountain - built using a 200 pound "Ideal Town Competition" prize in 1928. Yea was described as close to perfect with the mingled requirements of town planning and civic beauty.
4 Carter's Cafe - 1877. Originally the Commercial Bank and used as the gold buying office during the local gold mining era. The original facade remains today.
5 Yea Shire Hall - Originally a single story Hall it was rebuilt by L.J. Bishop in 1894 & extended in 1923. The front rooms were the original Yea Shire Offices.
6 'Belvoir' - 1884. The residence and clinic of Yea's first Doctor. Now a private residence.
7 Police Residence - 1894. Initial building cost 98/10 pounds ($199). The three stall stable and forage store were added in 1900. The stable's interior remains in excellent condition today.
8 Country Club Hotel - 1856. Formerly the Commercial Hotel. Original stone walls in Lounge remain clearly visible.
9 Marmalades - 1897. Formerly Commercial Store also known as Purcell's after the family managed the store until sold in 1986. National Trust Classified.
10 Commercial Bank Building - Built 1901.
11 Commonwealth Bank - 1923. Built as State Bank of Victoria.
Yea
12 Recreation Reserve Grandstand - 1891. Few of these characteristic old style pavilions remain.
13 Grand Central Hotel - 1901. Formerly the Caledonian Hotel.
14 Private Residence (no longer applicable)
15 Beaufort Manor - 1876. Built of local handmade bricks for 3,000 pounds ($6,000). Yea Orchestral Society (20 members) practiced here in the 1890's. Served as the school and boarding house for Ivanhoe Grammar when they were evacuated during World War 2.
16 Aboriginal Scarred Tree -The bark from this tree was cut and used by Aborigines from the Taungurung Clan - most probably to make a shelter.
17 Pioneer Reserve - 1877. The first school in Yea built for 510 pounds ($1,020). Extended in 1885 and 1901.
18 'Rossmore' - cnr Pelissier and Raglan St, Yea Hospital until 1930, now a private residence.
19 Sacred Heart Catholic Church - 1902. Built at a cost of 2,369 pounds ($4,738) to replace the original timber Church building. The adjoining Presbytery was built in the 1890s.
20 St. Luke's Anglican Church - Built 1869. Cost 600 pounds ($1,200) with 200 pounds ($400) spent on furnishings. National Trust Building.
21 Lee Gow's Restaurant - 1889. Built by Mr Lee Gow, a well-known Chinese resident of the town, who advertised his store as "your dear old friend Lee Gow."
22 Presbyterian Church - named 'Scot's Church', officially opened with three services on July 12th 1923 at a total cost of 2600 pounds ($5,200) Builder L.J. Bishop.
23 'Halletta', Private residence, cnr Station and Mary St. A typical Edwardian Villa of the early 1900's.
24 Railway Station - 1889. One of the best remaining examples of Gothic style stations in Victoria. It has excellent tuck-pointed brickwork.
25 'Dunedin' - 24 Lyons St. Built 1892. Private residence.
26 Yea Butter Factory - First Incorporated in 1891. Produced 24 tons of "Sheoak Brand" butter a week by 1905. Closed in the 1980's but served as a Cheese Factory for several years, now a private residence.
27 Old Cemetery - at the end of Lyons St. The final resting place of many early settlers. Many of the original wooden headstones were destroyed by bushfire at the turn of the century.
Indigenous Heritage
The Aboriginal people who inhabited the Yea area for tens of thousands of years before Europeans arrived belonged to the Waring Illum Balluk part of the Taungurung clan. They held alliances with several other clans and language groups in Victoria who together are known as the Kulin Nation.
Their habitation was guided by a rich spirituality. In most parts of Victoria the great All - Father or Creator was known as Bunjil, the spirit eagle. Bunjil created the natural features of the land, the animals, the plants, and he created the people. During the creation or dreamtime, Bunjil lived first on earth and later ascended to the sky, Bunjil's spirit home. From there he looks down and sees all that happens. Bunjil showed people how to care for the land, and this is reflected in many traditional ceremonies and rituals. The Taungurung lived harmoniously according to the natural cycle and rhythms of the land.
Movements through their territory were based on an intimate knowledge of the local environment, food sources, race and kinship obligations, and were guided by seasonal influences. Food was plentiful around the river systems with emus, kangaroos, possums and goannas as well as freshwater fish, crays and abundant plant foods. During winter and spring tribes would camp along the tributaries of the Goulburn, returning upstream again in summer and autumn to the cooler mountainous areas.
John Franklin, a native of the Nira Illum Bulluk a neighbouring clan around Broadford, was somehow separated from his family and their culture at 4 years of age. John later worked in the Yea district as a farm labourer, horse-breaker, drover & farmer, contributing to the development of the area and is honoured by many proud descendants. The Franklin Track in the Yea Wetlands is named after him.
European Discovery
On Saturday, 2nd October, 1824, Hamilton Hume and William Novell began their historic expedition from the County of Cumberland, NSW. Their small party consisted of six men, two carts, three horses and numerous dogs.
The objective was to explore the land between Cumberland and Westernport.
After crossing the Goulburn at what is now Molesworth on Saturday, 4th December, 1824 Hovell recorded: "The soil produces an abundance of fine grass and both hills and lowlands are thinly covered with timber. It is our opinion that we have not seen a more agreeable and interesting country since leaving home."
Settlement of Yea did not begin until 1837, but it soon flourished. The first town was known as Muddy Creek, named by Hume and Hovell, but in 1855 the name was changed to Yea, to honour Colonel Lacey Walter Yea, Officer in Charge of the Regiment, who was killed in action during the Crimean War.
Location
11-13 The Semi Cir W, Yea 3717 Map
