Whitfield, Victoria

Whitfield, (Post code 3733) is an agricultural township in the King Valley in north-eastern Victoria, is 47 kilometres south of Wangaratta and 170 kilometres from Melbourne. The township is immediately west of the flood-prone King River and has State Forest to its west and east. Agriculture extends along several stream valleys which are tributaries of the King River. [1]

Close to the township of Cheshunt and the localities of Rose River and Dandongadale. Local places of interest include Paradise Falls, Mount Cobbler, Lake William Hovell and Wabonga Plateau. Cascading waterfalls, clear mountain streams, wildflowers and spectacular views of the Alps are all features of the Wabonga Plateau-Mount Cobbler area of the Alpine National Park. There is a variety of tours and places of interest for day visitors as well as those staying longer. Bushwalking, 4WD touring and camping are all popular pastimes.

Mount Cobbler and the Wabonga Plateau area of the Alpine National Park are best approached from Whitfield. From Melbourne, Whitfield can be reached via the Hume Highway to Wangaratta or via the Maroondah Highway to Mansfield and then via Tolmie. Roads from Benalla, Mansfield and Myrtleford also provide interesting scenic routes to the area. The distance between Melbourne and Whitfield is 260 km. [2]

There is a link between Whitfield and Melbourne's famous Puffing Billy In 1897 the Victorian Railways accepted the tender from the Baldwin Locomotive Works, Philadelphia, U.S.A. for narrow-gauge locomotives of the ‘A' Class , (two 2 foot 6 inch-gauge locomotives) and the first two to be received were placed on the Whitfield/Wangaratta line construction project. Thus the line has the distinction of being the first narrow-gauge line to be built in Victoria. [3] Some of the whistle stop name-boards such as Angleside, Claremont, Dwyer, Pieper and Jarrott can still be seen.