Names
Australian Placenames of German Background
Rheola/Berlin, Victoria
The village of Rheola – approximately 60km west-northwest of Bendigo in Central Victoria, used to be called Berlin.
William Cleland from Scotland discovered the Berlin goldfield in 1868. He possibly wanted the area where he found the gold to be called Bervie (his birthplace in Scotland), but spelling errors by mining registrars resulted in different versions of the name such as Burrlyn, Byrr-lyn and Berleen. It soon became known as Berlin, and State School No. 1059 was started with the name Berlin in 1870, and a government list of post offices in Victoria for the year 1870 called the post office Berlin.[1] Even after its peak, in 1871, Berlin had the largest population of any settlement in the region.
William Cleland was disappointed that the place was called Berlin and welcomed the name change that happened in 1875, to the Welsh name Rheola.
Sign at the entrance to Rheola - it draws attention to the historic Berlin goldfields in the area.
The Rheola 150 gold monument.
This monument was unveiled in the year 2001 to commemmorate the 150th anniversary of the first gold find in Victoria. The information on the plaque highlights the fact that one third of all the alluvial gold nuggets (above 13 kilograms in weight) that were found in Victoria came from the Rheola (Berlin) area.
The Rheola gold monument (close-up view). The text on the plaque acknowledges that the place was called Berlin at the time of the gold finds.
♦ Notes:
1. Government of Victoria. (1871, March 31st). Report on the Post Office and Telegraph Department for the year 1870. General Post Office, Melbourne. p.33 (Available online at: <www.parliament.vic.gov.au/papers/govpub/VPARL1871No12.pdf>)
♦ References:
Watson, A. (2003). Lost & almost forgotten towns of colonial Victoria : A comprehensive analysis of census results for Victoria, 1841-1901. Blackburn (VIC): Angus B. Watson and Andrew McMillan Art & Design. p.40