Buchan

History

European settlement first entered the area in October 1838 and Buchan station was established in January 1839. Free selection after 1868, and a township was proclaimed in 1873 taking its name from the station. The Buchan Post Office opened around October 1878 and at Buchan South in 1901 (closed 1980). It is thought that the name Buchan was taken from an Aboriginal word Bukkan-mungie to which various meanings have been ascribed, one interpretation of its meaning is place of grass bag and another is a 'place of rocks with holes in them'; however, it is more likely to be named after Buchan, Scotland, given how many of Australia's locations are named after places in the United Kingdom. Farming included cattle, sheep and crops. Wheat, oats, barley, maize, hops, arrowroot and beans were grown on the river flats at various times. Dairying operations, initially for local consumption, commenced prior to the turn of the century. This expanded into several cheese factories and a butter factory which operated for many years. Sheep and cattle grazing increased as settlement spread and cattle sales began in Buchan in 1901. The township grew as closer settlement of the farming land meant more demand for services. A number of mines were opened as early as 1869 including silver, gold and lead. Some of the bigger mines were profitable but most were short-lived. Some commercial quarries operated in the early 1900s and marble from the quarries was used to build the Shrine and State Library in Melbourne and buildings in London and throughout the state. From the 1950s a quarry also produced crushed lime for agriculture, paper manufacture and other uses. Wattle bark stripping was an important industry and small spot mills worked in the surrounding bush. Following World War 2, two large…

Most-observed species

• sambar

  Rusa unicolor (Kerr, 1792) · Mammalia
  1,248
• swamp wallaby

  Wallabia bicolor (Desmarest, 1804) · Mammalia
  145
• Australian Magpie

  Gymnorhina tibicen (Latham, 1802) · Aves
  144
• Gray Fantail

  Rhipidura albiscapa Gould, 1840 · Aves
  141
• Superb Fairywren

  Malurus cyaneus (Ellis, 1782) · Aves
  140
• Superb Lyrebird

  Menura novaehollandiae Latham, 1802 · Aves
  138
• Laughing Kookaburra

  Dacelo novaeguineae (Hermann, 1783) · Aves
  121
• Gray Shrikethrush

  Colluricincla harmonica (Latham, 1802) · Aves
  106

Most recent

• M 3 — 2003-09-26
  53 km SSE of Corryong, Australia
• M 3.2 — 2003-07-07
  28 km SSE of Lakes Entrance, Australia