Woods Point, Victoria

Infobox Australian Place | type = town
name = Woods Point
state = vic


caption =
lga = Shire of Mansfield
postcode = 3723
est =
pop = 94
elevation=
maxtemp =
mintemp =
rainfall =
stategov = Benalla
fedgov = Indi
dist1 = 179
dir1 =
location1= Melbourne
dist2 = 72
dir2 =
location2= Mansfield
near-nw = Jamieson
near-n = Mount Buller
near-ne = Mount Buller
near-w = Eildon
near-e = Licola
near-sw = McMahons Creek
near-s = Erica
near-se = Glenmaggie

Woods Point is a small town in Victoria, Australia. At the 2006 census, Woods Point and the surrounding area had a population of 94.Census 2006 AUS
id=SSC27027
name=Woods Point (State Suburb)
accessdate=2007-08-16
quick=on]

The town began as a general store built by Henry Wood, to service the gold diggings around the recently discovered Morning Star Reef. Wood's Point Post Office opened on 1 December 1862. Citation
last = Premier Postal History | title = Post Office List | url = https://www.premierpostal.com/cgi-bin/wsProd.sh/Viewpocdwrapper.p?SortBy=VIC&country= | accessdate = 2008-04-11 ] By 1864, only three years after the discovery of the gold reef, the area had become a thriving town with 36 hotels. The town was subdivided into numerous suburbs, such as Waverly, Piccadilly, Killarney, Richmond, and Morning Star Hill. Communication was established via a telegraph line to Jamieson, and two local papers were in circulation.

From the 1870s to 1890s, mining activity declined, and the population dropped to between 100 and 200. The mining industry was revived in the 1890s, and the population grew once again, with four hotels servicing the town. Much of the town had to be rebuilt following devastating bushfires in 1939. The Morning Star Mine continued operations until its closure in 1963.

The town now serves as a hub for recreational trail-bike and off-road four-wheel drive activities and contains one hotel and one general store/petrol station, Mini Golf course, tennis court and many camping areas, the most popular being J. H. Scott Reserve. There are three gold mines still active in the area surrounding the town. The town is still only accessible by dirt roads.

Woods Point was again severely threatened by bushfire in December 2006 and a 2008 bushfire calendar has been released with proceeds going to the town.

References

External links

* [http://www.ga.gov.au/bin/gazd01?rec=258696 Geoscience Australia place names: Woods Point]
* [http://web.archive.org/web/20040511091804/www.arts.monash.edu.au/ncas/multimedia/gazetteer/list/woodspoint.html Australian Places: Woods Point]
* [http://groups.myspace.com/woodspoint]