Hawkesdale

History

British colonisation of the vicinity began in May 1841 when Robert Whitehead, an English squatter, established a sheep station which he named Spring Creek. Whitehead's overseer reported that there were a large number of Aboriginal huts on the banks of the creek when they first arrived and that they had driven the Aborigines away with gunfire. In 1842, Whitehead with two of his employees and several other settlers, shot dead four Aboriginal woman and a child in a gully in what became known as the Lubra Creek massacre. Whitehead temporarily fled the colony to escape punishment but he soon returned and continued to hold the Spring Creek property (which he renamed Goodwood) until his death in 1879. The Goodwood property of 24,000 acres was subdivided to allow for closer settlement, which included the creation of the towns of Woolsthorpe and Hawkesdale. The first town allotments in Hawkesdale were offered for sale in 1861. Hawkesdale Post Office opened 11 April 1866. The Hawkesdale Hotel was established in 1860.

Most-observed species

• Dianella callicarpa G.W.Carr & P.F.Horsfall

  Dianella callicarpa G.W.Carr & P.F.Horsfall · Liliopsida
  975
• blue flax-lily

  Dianella longifolia R.Br. · Liliopsida
  214
• Australian Magpie

  Gymnorhina tibicen (Latham, 1802) · Aves
  177
• Little Raven

  Corvus mellori Mathews, 1912 · Aves
  140
• Superb Fairywren

  Malurus cyaneus (Ellis, 1782) · Aves
  89
• Brown Thornbill

  Acanthiza pusilla (Shaw, 1790) · Aves
  71
• Gray Fantail

  Rhipidura albiscapa Gould, 1840 · Aves
  67
• Red Wattlebird

  Anthochaera carunculata (Shaw, 1790) · Aves
  64

Most recent

• M 3.8 — 2011-06-01
  45 km NE of Hamilton, Australia
• M 3.5 — 2005-06-30
  59 km S of Port Fairy, Australia