Gaffneys Creek, Victoria

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Gaffneys Creek Victoria
Postcode:	3723
LGA:	Shire of Mansfield
State District:	Benalla
Federal Division:	Indi

Gaffneys Creek is a former mining locality situated between Jamieson and Woods Point in Victoria, Australia. It is located at the junction of Gaffney and Raspberry Creeks in a steep valley in mountainous terrain. It is situated in the Shire of Mansfield.

A prospector from the Big River area to the east, Terence “Red” Gaffney, was the first to actively search the area for gold, followed by two others who discovered alluvial gold at Raspberry Creek. A string of small villages later appeared in the valley, and these were subsequently amalgamated and collectively named Lauraville by the Government Surveyor in honour of his wife, Laura. The name "Lauraville" was changed to Gaffneys Creek in 1900.

Alluvial mining was later replaced by reef mining, but none of these mines were to achieve the success of the nearby A1 Mine Settlement and by the turn of the century the population had dwindled.

In 1980 the area of the original valley settlements was placed on the Register of the National Estate as a Conservation Area including early miners' cottages, a hall, stone retaining walls and a hotel which succumbed to a fire in 1993.

The population within the locality has steadily declined over the years:

1865: 1000
1871: 502
1911: 274
1954: 91

[edit] Fire Problems

In 2006 Gaffneys Creek was threatened by bushfires. Not much of the town remains anymore except a couple of houses which survived. The whole area was burnt including A1 mine settlement and Ten Mile.