YALWAL

Yalwal was a mining town that grew with the discovery of silver in the area in 1849 and gold in 1852. During the 1890s the township had three stores, a cemetery, a bank, a hotel and a School of Arts. Commercial mining at Yalwal effectively ended during the First World War when major pieces of equipment were dismantled and sold off. Some of the homes were also dismantled then, at a time when building materials were in short supply. During the Depression of the 1930s some of the old mines were reopened. However, in 1939 bushfires destroyed most of the village. What remained was flooded by the damming of Danjera Creek in 1964.

The town’s graveyard was restored as a Bicentennial project in 1988. Its oldest grave dates back to 1854.

Image: Yalwal, 1902