123-661: Bairnsdale (locally / ˈ b ɛər n z d eɪ l / ) ( Ganai : Wy-yung ) is a city in East Gippsland , Victoria , Australia , situated in a region traditionally inhabited by the Tatungalung clan of the Gunaikurnai people. The estimated population of the Bairnsdale urban area was 17,666 at June 2023. The city serves as a major regional centre of eastern Victoria, alongside Traralgon and Sale , acting as
246-444: A temperate climate with mild to warm summers and cool, damp winters. The highest recorded temperature in the town was 46.2 degrees Celsius on 7 February 2009, during the early 2009 Australian summer heatwave . The lowest, −5.4 degrees, was recorded on 2 July 2017. Winter days are slightly warmer than Melbourne's due to a minor foehn effect . The town features 59.6 clear days annually, also higher than Melbourne's 48.6 days. Some of
369-699: A / , / i / , and / u / . Since the early 1990s, the Victorian Aboriginal Corporation for Languages (VACL) organisation, established the Yirruk-Tinnor Gunnai/Kŭrnai language program which focused on reviving and reclaiming the Gunnai language of Gippsland . Doris Paton, Coordinator of the Program and Lynnette Solomon-Dent, Language worker and consultant are involved in the program. They have been responsible for developing
492-419: A complex evolution, reflecting the dynamic forces that have shaped south-eastern Australia's geological history. The area comprises Devonian granitic formations, indicating its ancient origins from significant geological processes. The geological narrative of eastern Victoria, where Mount Taylor resides, unfolds across an expanse of over 500 million years, tracing back to a primordial era when vast stretches of
615-417: A few species of the order Proetida . The subsequent end-Devonian extinction , which occurred at around 359 Ma, further impacted the ecosystems and completed the extinction of all calcite sponge reefs and placoderms. Devonian palaeogeography was dominated by the supercontinent Gondwana to the south, the small continent of Siberia to the north, and the medium-sized continent of Laurussia to
738-506: A fine gate and cypress hedge, well kept lawns and white headstones, with a central memorial Cross of Sacrifice to the memory of the RAAF personnel who died in the Bairnsdale district during the war. Sir Dallas Brooks unveiled the Cross on a visit to the town on 7 September 1950. The lawn section was planned in 1964 and completed in 1970. Frederick Jones was the earliest of the squatters in
861-639: A large crowd of citizens. The Bairnsdale cemetery is now located off Forge Creek road opposite the race course. Its original location was situated at punt flat, now the site of the Mitchell Gardens Holiday Park beside the river. A plaque in acknowledgement of the site is located at the south-east corner of the Caravan Park. As a result of the major flooding in 1870 the site experienced erosion and reports were made that remains were washed downstream. Peter Moroney, Shire Secretary at
984-763: A low-latitude archipelago to the north of Gondwana. They were separated from the southern continent by an oceanic basin: the Paleo-Tethys . Although the western Paleo-Tethys Ocean had existed since the Cambrian, the eastern part only began to rift apart as late as the Silurian. This process accelerated in the Devonian. The eastern branch of the Paleo-Tethys was fully opened when South China and Annamia (a terrane equivalent to most of Indochina ), together as
1107-529: A massive extinction event . ( See Late Devonian extinction ). Primitive arthropods co-evolved with this diversified terrestrial vegetation structure. The evolving co-dependence of insects and seed plants that characterized a recognizably modern world had its genesis in the Late Devonian Epoch. The development of soils and plant root systems probably led to changes in the speed and pattern of erosion and sediment deposition. The rapid evolution of
1230-617: A number of primary schools including the well established and historical Bairnsdale Primary School , Bairnsdale West Primary School , East Gippsland Specialist School which has accommodates students from prep to year 12. Bairnsdale also has Lucknow Primary School located in Eastwood . Lucknow Primary School has a kindergarten extension for children aged 3 to 5. As well there are many kindergartens including Bairnsdale Childcare and Kinder [1] , and Eastwood Early Learning Centre [2] , but limited tertiary education facilities mainly consisting of
1353-785: A number of resource materials to support and educate further knowledge of the Gunnai language and Culture. Lynnette Solomon-Dent co-wrote with Christina Eira the VACL Linguist, the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority (VCAA) Aboriginal Languages, cultures and reclamation in Victorian schools: standards P-10 and protocols and were involved in the VCE Revival and Reclamation Study. These teaching documents and resources are collectively used to educate school aged children P-10, VCE, higher learning institutions and
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#17327823498031476-420: A range of evidence, such as plant distribution, points to a Late Devonian warming. The climate would have affected the dominant organisms in reefs ; microbes would have been the main reef-forming organisms in warm periods, with corals and stromatoporoid sponges taking the dominant role in cooler times. The warming at the end of the Devonian may even have contributed to the extinction of the stromatoporoids. At
1599-559: A restored historic band rotunda . The rotunda was constructed in 1910 and restored to its present condition in 1993. In 1943 the erection of a monument at the eastern end of the gardens to the district centenary led to that section being called the Centenary Garden. The Country Women's Association (CWA) Younger set took over the beautification of the Centenary Garden in 1947 and planted a tree there in May of that year to commemorate
1722-664: A terrestrial ecosystem that contained copious animals opened the way for the first vertebrates to seek terrestrial living. By the end of the Devonian, arthropods were solidly established on the land. The Late Devonian extinction is not a single event, but rather is a series of pulsed extinctions at the Givetian-Frasnian boundary, the Frasnian-Famennian boundary, and the Devonian-Carboniferous boundary. Together, these are considered one of
1845-541: A unified continent, detached from the northeastern sector of Gondwana. Nevertheless, they remained close enough to Gondwana that their Devonian fossils were more closely related to Australian species than to north Asian species. Other Asian terranes remained attached to Gondwana, including Sibumasu (western Indochina), Tibet, and the rest of the Cimmerian blocks. While the South China-Annamia continent
1968-602: A volcanically active region during the Devonian, as it continued to assimilate smaller island arcs. The island arcs of the region, such as the Balkhash-West Junggar Arc, exhibited biological endemism as a consequence of their location. Siberia was located just north of the equator as the largest landmass in the Northern Hemisphere. At the beginning of the Devonian, Siberia was inverted (upside down) relative to its modern orientation. Later in
2091-622: A warm temperate climate . In the Late Devonian, by contrast, arid conditions were less prevalent across the world and temperate climates were more common. The Devonian Period is formally broken into Early, Middle and Late subdivisions. The rocks corresponding to those epochs are referred to as belonging to the Lower, Middle and Upper parts of the Devonian System. The Early Devonian lasted from 419.2 to 393.3 Ma. It began with
2214-899: Is an Australian Aboriginal dialect cluster of the Gunaikurnai people in Gippsland in south-east Victoria . Bidawal was either a divergent dialect or a closely related language. Gunai means 'man'. The language had no traditional name, but each of its dialects was referred to separately. In a 1996 report to the Victorian Aboriginal Corporation for Languages , Clark refers to five Gunaikurnai dialects: Brabralung , Braiakalung , Brataualung , Krauatungalung and Tatungalung . Gunaikurnai dialects have been confused with Muk-thang/ Bidawal ; there appear to be two distinct languages here, but it's not clear which variety belongs to which. Like other Victorian languages , Gunaikurnai allowed initial ⟨l⟩ in its words. However, it also allowed initial ⟨rr⟩ , and well as
2337-578: Is good evidence that Rheic oceanic crust experienced intense subduction and metamorphism under Mexico and Central America. The closure of the eastern part of the Rheic Ocean is associated with the assemblage of central and southern Europe. In the early Paleozoic, much of Europe was still attached to Gondwana, including the terranes of Iberia , Armorica (France), Palaeo-Adria (the western Mediterranean area), Bohemia , Franconia , and Saxothuringia . These continental blocks, collectively known as
2460-570: Is known as Kauan, meaning echidna . Name Origin The origin of the city's name is uncertain. It was possibly Bernisdale, with "Bernis-dale" originating from "Bjorn's dale, or glen", which indicates the Viking origins of the Skye Village. Legend has it that Macleod was so impressed by the large number of children on the run, the children of his stockmen, that he called it Bairns-dale, or "valley of
2583-499: Is located near the western shoreline of Lake King at Eagle Point Bluff, extending into the lake as silt jetties formed by alluvial deposition of sediment. The Mitchell Delta represents one of the finest examples of this type of landform in the world and is a site deemed of international geomorphological significance and is one of the finest examples of a classic digitate delta in the world. A colony of nationally Threatened Grey-headed flying foxes (pteropus poliocephalus ) roosts along
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#17327823498032706-504: Is not on the original burial position, several house blocks to the west, and has been moved down the street as houses have been built. It is thought that this headstone is the only remaining evidence that there was indeed a cemetery in this general area in the 1800s. The inscription on the headstone reads 'Sown in weakness, to be raised in power'. Educational facilities in Bairnsdale include two high schools. The government funded Bairnsdale Secondary College , with approximately 1,600 students,
2829-430: Is observed in many of those plants. Some of the early land plants such as Drepanophycus likely spread by vegetative growth and spores. The earliest land plants such as Cooksonia consisted of leafless, dichotomous axes with terminal sporangia and were generally very short-statured, and grew hardly more than a few centimetres tall. Fossils of Armoricaphyton chateaupannense , about 400 million years old, represent
2952-641: The Antler orogeny , which extended into the Carboniferous. Mountain building could also be found in the far northeastern extent of the continent, as minor tropical island arcs and detached Baltic terranes re-join the continent. Deformed remnants of these mountains can still be found on Ellesmere Island and Svalbard . Many of the Devonian collisions in Laurussia produce both mountain chains and foreland basins , which are frequently fossiliferous. Gondwana
3075-484: The East Gippsland Institute of TAFE and Federation Training . Bairnsdale established a reputation as a marketing and trading centre for the large rural area of East Gippsland and this has been helped by the development of excellent road systems, a good railway service and to some extent steamer and air services. The 1880s were seen as the 'Golden Age' for steamer traffic on the rivers and Bairnsdale
3198-565: The Frasnian , 382.7 to 372.2 Ma, during which the first forests took shape on land. The first tetrapods appeared in the fossil record in the ensuing Famennian subdivision, the beginning and end of which are marked with extinction events. This lasted until the end of the Devonian, 358.9 Ma. The Devonian was a relatively warm period, although significant glaciers may have existed during the Early and Middle Devonian. The temperature gradient from
3321-473: The Great Depression and remains a fascination to this day. St Mary's Roman Catholic Church was well established when a new church building was opened on 29 April 1883. The Reverend Fr Patrick O'Donohue was priest from 1883 to 1888. Early in the 1880s a school was opened and developed quickly so that extensions to the building were added in 1888. There were about 120 pupils in 1890. Fr Cremin oversaw
3444-483: The Late Carboniferous . The first ammonites , a subclass of cephalopod molluscs , appeared. Trilobites , brachiopods and the great coral reefs were still common during the Devonian. The Late Devonian extinction , which started about 375 Ma, severely affected marine life, killing off most of the reef systems, most of the jawless fish, half of all placoderms, and nearly all trilobites save for
3567-582: The Latrobe River , Thomson River and Mitchell River flow into the Gippsland Lakes and have extensive floodplains in which there are large wetlands, often separated by natural levees from the main river channels. The Mitchell river flats were always prone to flooding and 1891 bore witness to the flood that was only second in extent to the great floods of 1870. The biggest floods recorded were in 1893–94 with them being 76 mm higher than
3690-640: The Lochkovian Stage 419.2 to 410.8 Ma, which was followed by the Pragian from 410.8 to 407.6 Ma and then by the Emsian , which lasted until the Middle Devonian began, 393.3 Ma. During this time, the first ammonoids appeared, descending from bactritoid nautiloids . Ammonoids during this time period were simple and differed little from their nautiloid counterparts. These ammonoids belong to
3813-548: The Murrumbidgee River . Archer had been a master on the Letitia which operated between Sydney and Hobart and, later, traded cattle between Port Albert and Hobart. In 1845 Archer married a young girl named Eliza and brought her to Gippsland, settling at Lucknow in 1847. Eliza died in childbirth and her grave's headstone can still be seen to this day by the roadside on Crooke Street, East Bairnsdale. The monument
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3936-475: The cladoxylopsids and progymnosperm Archaeopteris . These tracheophytes were able to grow to large size on dry land because they had evolved the ability to biosynthesize lignin , which gave them physical rigidity and improved the effectiveness of their vascular system while giving them resistance to pathogens and herbivores. In Eifelian age, cladoxylopsid trees formed the first forests in Earth history. By
4059-499: The white-bellied sea eagle ( Haliaeetus leucogaster ), green and golden bell frog , warty bell frog , black-winged stilt , Australian white ibis and the straw-necked ibis . A diverse range of 141 fauna species has been identified near the reserves, including 23 fauna species listed as threatened in Victoria and three nationally vulnerable. At the 2021 census , there were 15,684 people in Bairnsdale. Bairnsdale experiences
4182-452: The " Big Five " mass extinctions in Earth's history. The Devonian extinction crisis primarily affected the marine community, and selectively affected shallow warm-water organisms rather than cool-water organisms. The most important group to be affected by this extinction event were the reef-builders of the great Devonian reef systems. Amongst the severely affected marine groups were the brachiopods, trilobites, ammonites, and acritarchs , and
4305-466: The 1839 Murdering Gully massacre in Western Victoria, meticulously chronicled, firmly casts him as a symbol of the most egregious aspects of our state's frontier era. Mount Taylor stands as a prominent geological feature in the Bairnsdale area and within the expansive Great Dividing Range . Over countless millennia, the geological formation of Mount Taylor and its surroundings has undergone
4428-407: The 1870 water levels. All floods caused the township great suffering with loss of life, infrastructure and crops. The flooding that occurred in the 1893–94 was notable for the gallantry of Patrick Piggott and George Brooks who both worked to rescue people. However, on their last trip their boat tipped as they moored it and both men were swept into the river and drowned. A witness remonstrated that; "…to
4551-473: The 1880s, many of them frequently recording packed congregations, particularly on special occasions. St Johns Church of England often had congregations of over 200 at the morning and evening services. The congregations of that church were headed by the Reverend E. W. S. Hartmann who later died crossing the flooded Mitchell River. He was succeeded by W. G. Hindley, under whom a new brick church was built (still on
4674-423: The 21st birthday of Princess Elizabeth . Extensive tree planting with Australian native trees was carried out in the post-war years, providing a colourful display, particularly in spring and early summer. From 1964 under the care of the town's head gardeners, E. A. Cottrell and C. T. Harrison, the gardens had been extended westward with the planting of hardy trees, in particular desert ash and flowering gum. By 1959
4797-603: The Aboriginal community members, to further their knowledge and allow community members to continue to educate future generations. Gunaikurnai was featured in a stage performance for the first known time in 2021, when Veronica Gorrie 's play "Nullung" ("paternal grandmother") was presented as a play reading by the Melbourne Theatre Company . A number of placenames in Gunaikurnai country feature
4920-710: The Armorican Terrane Assemblage, split away from Gondwana in the Silurian and drifted towards Laurussia through the Devonian. Their collision with Laurussia leads to the beginning of the Variscan Orogeny , a major mountain-building event which would escalate further in the Late Paleozoic. Franconia and Saxothuringia collided with Laurussia near the end of the Early Devonian, pinching out the easternmost Rheic Ocean. The rest of
5043-536: The Armorican terranes followed, and by the end of the Devonian they were fully connected with Laurussia. This sequence of rifting and collision events led to the successive creation and destruction of several small seaways, including the Rheno-Hercynian, Saxo-Thuringian, and Galicia-Moldanubian oceans. Their sediments were eventually compressed and completely buried as Gondwana fully collided with Laurussia in
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5166-602: The Bairnsdale Hospital. During this period, Bairnsdale's Main Street was fashioned, though it remained unsealed, leading to issues with dust in the summer and mud in the winter. Asphalting didn't take place until 1883. Nicholson Street was formed in 1877, followed by MacLeod Street in 1879. Bairnsdale is sited on a bend of the Mitchell River , with the river flowing from the west along the northern edge of
5289-864: The Bairnsdale Shire. Jones had previously been a school teacher in Castlereagh Street , Sydney . In the early 1840s Jones joined one of the early pastoralists in the Gippsland area, William Odell Raymond, at Omeo —he was traveling south from the Wellington area where he owned land on the Macquarie River across the border in New South Wales . They arrived at the Mitchell River crossing on 20 June 1842. Once in
5412-511: The Carboniferous. Sea levels in the Devonian were generally high. Marine faunas continued to be dominated by conodonts, bryozoans , diverse and abundant brachiopods , the enigmatic hederellids , microconchids , and corals . Lily-like crinoids (animals, their resemblance to flowers notwithstanding) were abundant, and trilobites were still fairly common. Bivalves became commonplace in deep water and outer shelf environments. The first ammonites also appeared during or slightly before
5535-533: The Devonian Period. The newly evolved forests drew carbon out of the atmosphere, which were then buried into sediments. This may be reflected by a Mid-Devonian cooling of around 5 °C (9 °F). The Late Devonian warmed to levels equivalent to the Early Devonian; while there is no corresponding increase in CO 2 concentrations, continental weathering increases (as predicted by warmer temperatures); further,
5658-408: The Devonian seas. The first abundant genus of cartilaginous fish, Cladoselache , appeared in the oceans during the Devonian Period. The great diversity of fish around at the time has led to the Devonian being given the name "The Age of Fishes" in popular culture. The Devonian saw significant expansion in the diversity of nektonic marine life driven by the abundance of planktonic microorganisms in
5781-645: The Devonian to often be dubbed the Age of Fishes . The armored placoderms began dominating almost every known aquatic environment. In the oceans, cartilaginous fishes such as primitive sharks became more numerous than in the Silurian and Late Ordovician . Tetrapodomorphs , which include the ancestors of all four- limbed vertebrates (i.e. tetrapods ), began diverging from freshwater lobe-finned fish as their more robust and muscled pectoral and pelvic fins gradually evolved into forelimbs and hindlimbs , though they were not fully established for life on land until
5904-434: The Devonian, as free- sporing land plants ( pteridophytes ) began to spread across dry land , forming extensive coal forests which covered the continents. By the middle of the Devonian, several groups of vascular plants had evolved leaves and true roots , and by the end of the period the first seed -bearing plants ( pteridospermatophytes ) appeared. This rapid evolution and colonization process, which had begun during
6027-506: The Early Devonian and the existence of fossils such as Protichnites suggest that amphibious arthropods may have appeared as early as the Cambrian ). By far the largest land organism at the beginning of this period was the enigmatic Prototaxites , which was possibly the fruiting body of an enormous fungus, rolled liverwort mat, or another organism of uncertain affinities that stood more than 8 metres (26 ft) tall, and towered over
6150-471: The Early and Middle Devonian, the west coast of Laurussia was a passive margin with broad coastal waters, deep silty embayments, river deltas and estuaries, found today in Idaho and Nevada . In the Late Devonian, an approaching volcanic island arc reached the steep slope of the continental shelf and began to uplift deep water deposits. This minor collision sparked the start of a mountain-building episode called
6273-618: The Gippsland Lakes each year from the catchments of the Mitchell, Tambo and Nicholson rivers alone. Sediment loads from the western catchments (discharging to Lake Wellington ) deliver two to three times the nutrient and sediment loads than from the eastern catchments (Mitchell, Nicholson and Tambo rivers). Comparison of aerial photographs spanning 1935 to 1997 demonstrate that the vast majority of shorelines are eroding at an average of less than 10 cm per year. The lower reaches of
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#17327823498036396-637: The Late Devonian the tectonic situation had relaxed and much of South America was covered by shallow seas. These south polar seas hosted a distinctive brachiopod fauna, the Malvinokaffric Realm, which extended eastward to marginal areas now equivalent to South Africa and Antarctica. Malvinokaffric faunas even managed to approach the South Pole via a tongue of Panthalassa which extended into the Paraná Basin . The northern rim of Gondwana
6519-682: The Late Devonian. The Altai-Sayan region was shaken by volcanism in the Early and Middle Devonian, while Late Devonian magmatism was magnified further to produce the Vilyuy Traps , flood basalts which may have contributed to the Late Devonian Mass Extinction. The last major round of volcanism, the Yakutsk Large Igneous Province, continued into the Carboniferous to produce extensive kimberlite deposits. Similar volcanic activity also affected
6642-607: The Mitchell River silt jetties. The marginal bluff marks the former shoreline position of Lake King and the relict gravel beaches and spits were formed by wave action. The area contains geological features and sites of state geological and geomorphological significance. The extensive 'backswamp' forming Macleod Morass, the escarpment ('marginal bluff') along its western boundary, and relict gravel beaches and spits (e.g. Brownlow's Point) are important features providing evidence of once higher sea levels in Bass Strait . Macleod Morass
6765-703: The Preservation of Wildlife under the Land Act. Macleod Morass and Jones Bay Wildlife Reserves occur within the Gippsland Lakes Ramsar Site, listed under the Convention on Wetlands or The Ramsar Convention . The reserves contain a range of threatened vegetation types that provide habitat for a diverse array of wildlife including 23 threatened fauna species. Over 100 bird species, including 53 waterbird species, have been recorded within
6888-640: The Silurian and Devonian, it decreased across the span of the Devonian, particularly during the Pragian, and that the overall diversity of nektonic taxa did not increase significantly during the Devonian compared to during other geologic periods, and was in fact higher during the intervals spanning from the Wenlock to the Lochkovian and from the Carboniferous to the Permian. The study's authors instead attribute
7011-404: The Silurian, is known as the Silurian-Devonian Terrestrial Revolution . The earliest land animals , predominantly arthropods such as myriapods , arachnids and hexapods , also became well-established early in this period, after beginning their colonization of land at least from the Ordovician period. Fishes , especially jawed fish , reached substantial diversity during this time, leading
7134-421: The Technical School and financed by the Rotary was erected in the Centre Gardens adjacent to the Coles supermarket. In 1984 a plaque was added to commemorate Victoria's 150th anniversary. To commemorate those locals who did not return from the Boer War in 1899, a monument was unveiled in the Main Street Gardens on 12 June 1903 in the presence of Lord and Lady Forrest , a number of returned men, school cadets and
7257-401: The Victorian culture-clash frontier , John Davidson Smith and his son John Dudley Smith engaged in a legal dispute with John Loughnan and Frederick Taylor, the latter being the namesake of Mount Taylor. Frederick Taylor's name holds significance for those intrigued by pre-Separation Victorian history, owing to his involvement in several racial conflicts during the late 1830s. His prominent role in
7380-440: The average reliability and punctuality are both down just 0.5%. Currently, Bairnsdale Cabs provides a local taxi service around the city. Bus service is facilitated by Gillicks Bus Lines, Dysons (V/Line contractor) and Goodalls Bus Lines as well as a number of others in Bairnsdale and surrounding areas. One of the major recreational transport infrastructure systems in the city is the East Gippsland Rail Trail which begins in at
7503-415: The beginning of the Mississippian subperiod of the Carboniferous. In 19th-century texts the Devonian has been called the "Old Red Age", after the red and brown terrestrial deposits known in the United Kingdom as the Old Red Sandstone in which early fossil discoveries were found. Another common term is "Age of the Fishes", referring to the evolution of several major groups of fish that took place during
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#17327823498037626-404: The cemetery was transferred to a community based trust. The lawn section of the cemetery was commenced in 1969. Initially, wooden pegs were used to indicate grave numbers; later, cloverleaf-shaped cast-iron pegs were used. In 1946 a memorial garden was established for Bairnsdale's war dead. The Imperial War Graves Commission took over this section in 1946 and the area was attractively laid out with
7749-453: The children". Development and Growth In 1876, the Bairnsdale Shire, which grew to become one of the largest in Victoria in the 1880s, was led out of administrative chaos by former shire auditor and shipping agent Herman Bredt. He had also acted as a mine manager for the nearby Sons of Freedom mine. German-born Bredt was the father of Bertha Bredt, who married the famous Australian poet and writer Henry Lawson . Prior to this, she had worked at
7872-456: The clusters ⟨gr⟩ ( ⟨kr⟩ ) and ⟨br⟩ ( ⟨pr⟩ ). This is quite unusual for an Australian language, and the same pattern was found in the Tasmanian languages across Bass Strait . Hercus (1969), states that plosives are conditionally voiced. Fesl also excludes / n̪ / in her thesis but notes that its absence may be due to a lack of data. / e / and / o / are said to occur less than /
7995-500: The commercial hub for the East Gippsland region and the seat of local government for the Shire of East Gippsland . Bairnsdale was first proclaimed as a shire on 16 July 1868 and later elevated to city status on 14 July 1990. Gunaikurnai People The Gunaikurnai people are the traditional owners of Gippsland , including the region where Bairnsdale is located. There are approximately 3,000 Gunaikurnai people, whose traditional territory encompasses both coastal and inland areas extending to
8118-461: The congregation from 1909 and in this period plans were drawn up to erect a magnificent brick church at an estimated £10,000. The architects were A. A. Fritsch and Harry French. Work started in August 1913 with the a stone being laid by Bishop Phelan of Sale on 19 October. The new church with its tower, described by a witness as, "a free treatment of Romanesque style, built of brick with a slate roof". Bairnsdale experienced growth in church numbers in
8241-528: The continent (such as Greenland and Ellesmere Island ) established tropical conditions, most of the continent was located within the natural dry zone along the Tropic of Capricorn , which (as nowadays) is a result of the convergence of two great air-masses, the Hadley cell and the Ferrel cell . In these near-deserts, the Old Red Sandstone sedimentary beds formed, made red by the oxidised iron ( hematite ) characteristic of drought conditions. The abundance of red sandstone on continental land also lends Laurussia
8364-412: The continents Laurentia (modern day North America) and Baltica (modern day northern and eastern Europe). The tectonic effects of this collision continued into the Devonian, producing a string of mountain ranges along the southeastern coast of the continent. In present-day eastern North America, the Acadian Orogeny continued to raise the Appalachian Mountains . Further east, the collision also extended
8487-454: The corner of Francis and Service Streets) and opened by Bishop Moorhouse on 24 June 1884. Bairnsdale's centre gardens stretch from the Mitchell River to the western edge of town, a distance of about 4 kilometres (2 mi). The main garden section runs for over 500 metres (550 yd) through the central commercial district and features beds of flowering annuals and perennials , numerous mature deciduous and evergreen trees, war memorials and
8610-517: The earlier buildings in the town are perhaps a memorial to William J. Yates, who was a prominent architect, builder and monumental mason . He built the school, the old Shire Hall (1860), the Wesleyan Church and parsonage (1876), St. John's Church, the old Bairnsdale Hospital (corner of McKean and Ross Streets) and the Mechanic's Hall. One of the most notable landmarks of Bairnsdale is the St Mary's Roman Catholic Church in Main Street known for its distinctively tall tower. Construction of St Mary's Church
8733-405: The early Devonian Period around 400 Ma. Bactritoids make their first appearance in the Early Devonian as well; their radiation, along with that of ammonoids, has been attributed by some authors to increased environmental stress resulting from decreasing oxygen levels in the deeper parts of the water column. Among vertebrates, jawless armored fish ( ostracoderms ) declined in diversity, while
8856-726: The east. Major tectonic events include the closure of the Rheic Ocean , the separation of South China from Gondwana, and the resulting expansion of the Paleo-Tethys Ocean . The Devonian experienced several major mountain-building events as Laurussia and Gondwana approached; these include the Acadian Orogeny in North America and the beginning of the Variscan Orogeny in Europe. These early collisions preceded
8979-569: The end of the Devonian, the first seed-forming plants had appeared. This rapid appearance of many plant groups and growth forms has been referred to as the Devonian Explosion or the Silurian-Devonian Terrestrial Revolution. The 'greening' of the continents acted as a carbon sink , and atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide may have dropped. This may have cooled the climate and led to
9102-516: The end of the preceding Silurian period at 419.2 million years ago ( Ma ), to the beginning of the succeeding Carboniferous period at 358.9 Ma. It is the fourth period of both the Paleozoic and the Phanerozoic. It is named after Devon , South West England , where rocks from this period were first studied. The first significant evolutionary radiation of life on land occurred during
9225-514: The ending -munjie , meaning "place". This Australian Aboriginal languages -related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Devonian The Devonian ( / d ə ˈ v oʊ n i . ən , d ɛ -/ də- VOH -nee-ən, deh- ) is a geologic period and system of the Paleozoic era during the Phanerozoic eon , spanning 60.3 million years from
9348-482: The entire wetland system. Since 1939, wastewater that has been treated to varying levels has been discharged to Macleod Morass, resulting in elevated nutrient levels, reductions in water quality and changes in the distribution and abundance of vegetation. Macleod Morass Wildlife Reserve was first reserved on 16 August 1961 under the Land Act 1958 (Vic.). Jones Bay Wildlife Reserve was first reserved on 7 April 1961 for
9471-408: The entrance to East Bairnsdale adjacent to Howitt Park. The track consists of asphalt that extends to Nicholson where it then becomes a track made from hard base gravel that forms a solid surface. Almost 100 kilometres (62 miles) in length, the multi-use trail permits running, walking, cycling and horse-riding as it follows the alignment of the former railway line to Orbost. The Bairnsdale section of
9594-412: The equator to the poles was not as large as it is today. The weather was also very arid, mostly along the equator where it was the driest. Reconstruction of tropical sea surface temperature from conodont apatite implies an average value of 30 °C (86 °F) in the Early Devonian. Early Devonian mean annual surface temperatures were approximately 16 °C. CO 2 levels dropped steeply throughout
9717-459: The formation of the single supercontinent Pangaea in the Late Paleozoic. The period is named after Devon , a county in southwestern England, where a controversial argument in the 1830s over the age and structure of the rocks found throughout the county was resolved by adding the Devonian Period to the geological timescale. The Great Devonian Controversy was a lengthy debate between Roderick Murchison , Adam Sedgwick and Henry De la Beche over
9840-492: The free water column as well as high ecological competition in benthic habitats, which were extremely saturated; this diversification has been labeled the Devonian Nekton Revolution by many researchers. However, other researchers have questioned whether this revolution existed at all; a 2018 study found that although the proportion of biodiversity constituted by nekton increased across the boundary between
9963-522: The head of Lake King and on either side of the Mitchell River. According to tradition, the Tatungoloong clan of the Gunai /Kurnai peoples were the custodians of land and waters and used the aquatic and terrestrial habitats of the area as sources of food and the surrounding open forest for shelter. Macleod Morass formed with and was eventually isolated from Lake King and Jones Bay with the development of
10086-524: The highway had been extended to the foot of the hospital hill, and tree planting and lawns had provided two kilometres of gardens on the centre reserves. Garden beds were extended westward to the West End Store in 1975 with the help of people employed under the Whitlam government Regional Employment Development Scheme (REDS) for the unemployed. In 1969 a wishing well that was carved by Bruce Duffy of
10209-744: The increased overall diversity of nekton in the Devonian to a broader, gradual trend of nektonic diversification across the entire Palaeozoic. A now-dry barrier reef, located in present-day Kimberley Basin of northwest Australia , once extended 350 km (220 mi), fringing a Devonian continent. Reefs are generally built by various carbonate -secreting organisms that can erect wave-resistant structures near sea level. Although modern reefs are constructed mainly by corals and calcareous algae , Devonian reefs were either microbial reefs built up mostly by autotrophic cyanobacteria or coral-stromatoporoid reefs built up by coral-like stromatoporoids and tabulate and rugose corals . Microbial reefs dominated under
10332-425: The increasing competition, predation, and diversity of jawed fishes . The shallow, warm, oxygen-depleted waters of Devonian inland lakes, surrounded by primitive plants, provided the environment necessary for certain early fish to develop such essential characteristics as well developed lungs and the ability to crawl out of the water and onto the land for short periods of time. Finally, the Late Devonian started with
10455-403: The jawed fish (gnathostomes) simultaneously increased in both the sea and fresh water . Armored placoderms were numerous during the early ages of the Devonian Period and became extinct in the Late Devonian, perhaps because of competition for food against the other fish species. Early cartilaginous ( Chondrichthyes ) and bony fishes ( Osteichthyes ) also become diverse and played a large role within
10578-481: The land lay under shallow seas, where tropical reef organisms lived. The enormous "world ocean", Panthalassa , occupied much of the Northern Hemisphere as well as wide swathes east of Gondwana and west of Laurussia. Other minor oceans were the Paleo-Tethys Ocean and Rheic Ocean . By the early Devonian, the continent Laurussia (also known as Euramerica ) was fully formed through the collision of
10701-656: The line and the daily train from Melbourne to Bairnsdale was named The Gippslander . Victorian Railways established the Bairnsdale station as a regional freight centre in 1977. The contemporary rail transport system is still facilitated by the major railway station in Bairnsdale railway station which is the terminus of the Bairnsdale railway line . V/Line provides rail services. Performance figures for 2014 for services to Bairnsdale (long-distance service) ran at 98.9% and 86.7% for reliability and punctuality, respectively. In comparison with figures from May to December 2013,
10824-575: The low, carpet-like vegetation during the early part of the Devonian. Also, the first possible fossils of insects appeared around 416 Ma, in the Early Devonian. Evidence for the earliest tetrapods takes the form of trace fossils in shallow lagoon environments within a marine carbonate platform/shelf during the Middle Devonian, although these traces have been questioned and an interpretation as fish feeding traces ( Piscichnus ) has been advanced. Many Early Devonian plants did not have true roots or leaves like extant plants, although vascular tissue
10947-490: The majestic Australian Alps. The soils in the Mount Taylor area are primarily red and brown gradational and duplex soils . These soils support diverse native vegetation, including species of Eucalyptus such as E. albens , E. polyanthemos , E. globoidea , E. muellerana , E. baxteri , and E. macrorhyncha . The vegetation types range from Dry Sclerophyll Forests to Wet Sclerophyll Forests in moister areas, reflecting
11070-467: The markets in the major centre of Melbourne . As a consequence of the more frequent use of rail and the advent of refrigerated carts in 1890 which allowed dairy farmers and fishermen to appropriately transport their produce, the last coach service between Sale and Bairnsdale ran in 1889. In World War II rail services were reduced with only three trains per week direct to Bairnsdale but services were restored in 1948. In 1952 diesel trains were first used on
11193-562: The name "the Old Red Continent". For much of the Devonian, the majority of western Laurussia (North America) was covered by subtropical inland seas which hosted a diverse ecosystem of reefs and marine life. Devonian marine deposits are particularly prevalent in the midwestern and northeastern United States. Devonian reefs also extended along the southeast edge of Laurussia, a coastline now corresponding to southern England , Belgium , and other mid-latitude areas of Europe. In
11316-625: The naming of the period. Murchison and Sedgwick won the debate and named it the Devonian System. While the rock beds that define the start and end of the Devonian Period are well identified, the exact dates are uncertain. According to the International Commission on Stratigraphy , the Devonian extends from the end of the Silurian 419.2 Ma, to the beginning of the Carboniferous 358.9 Ma – in North America , at
11439-411: The nearby microcontinent of Amuria (now Manchuria , Mongolia and their vicinities). Though certainly close to Siberia in the Devonian, the precise location of Amuria is uncertain due to contradictory paleomagnetic data. The Rheic Ocean, which separated Laurussia from Gondwana, was wide at the start of the Devonian, having formed after the drift of Avalonia away from Gondwana. It steadily shrunk as
11562-401: The oldest known plants with woody tissue. By the Middle Devonian, shrub-like forests of primitive plants existed: lycophytes , horsetails , ferns , and progymnosperms evolved. Most of these plants had true roots and leaves, and many were quite tall. The earliest-known trees appeared in the Middle Devonian. These included a lineage of lycopods and another arborescent, woody vascular plant,
11685-703: The order Agoniatitida , which in later epochs evolved to new ammonoid orders, for example Goniatitida and Clymeniida . This class of cephalopod molluscs would dominate the marine fauna until the beginning of the Mesozoic Era. The Middle Devonian comprised two subdivisions: first the Eifelian , which then gave way to the Givetian 387.7 Ma. During this time the jawless agnathan fishes began to decline in diversity in freshwater and marine environments partly due to drastic environmental changes and partly due to
11808-403: The period continued, as the two major continents approached near the equator in the early stages of the assembly of Pangaea . The closure of the Rheic Ocean began in the Devonian and continued into the Carboniferous. As the ocean narrowed, endemic marine faunas of Gondwana and Laurussia combined into a single tropical fauna. The history of the western Rheic Ocean is a subject of debate, but there
11931-472: The period it moved northwards and began to twist clockwise, though it was not near its modern location. Siberia approached the eastern edge of Laurussia as the Devonian progressed, but it was still separated by a seaway, the Ural Ocean . Although Siberia's margins were generally tectonically stable and ecologically productive, rifting and deep mantle plumes impacted the continent with flood basalts during
12054-529: The period. Older literature on the Anglo-Welsh basin divides it into the Downtonian, Dittonian, Breconian, and Farlovian stages, the latter three of which are placed in the Devonian. The Devonian has also erroneously been characterised as a "greenhouse age", due to sampling bias : most of the early Devonian-age discoveries came from the strata of western Europe and eastern North America , which at
12177-471: The region Jones decided to take up the area of Lucknow. He named it such, in contrast to the other settlers Frederick Taylor and John M. Loughnan who had taken up Lindenow—the reason being that Jones had left Sydney a poor man and he felt auspicious about his new life and hence felt his 'luck' was on the ascendancy. In 1848 John Archer who was a retired sea-captain was appointed manager of Lucknow Station. Jones traveled back to New South Wales to visit his run on
12300-405: The region lay submerged beneath ancient oceanic waters. A comprehensive geological survey of Victoria's Great Dividing Range reveals a distinct north-south alignment in its bedrock, a vestige of the bygone epochs of plate tectonics. This enduring geological framework, coupled with ongoing tectonic activity, contributes to the dynamic topography witnessed in the eastern Victorian landscape, including
12423-613: The rise of the Caledonian Mountains of Great Britain and Scandinavia . As the Caledonian Orogeny wound down in the later part of the period, orogenic collapse facilitated a cluster of granite intrusions in Scotland. Most of Laurussia was located south of the equator, but in the Devonian it moved northwards and began to rotate counterclockwise towards its modern position. While the most northern parts of
12546-574: The river in poplars adjacent to Riverine St. The native bats pollinate over 100 species of native trees and plants and have declined across their range by over 95% since 1900. Their long-distance movement of floral genetic material reduces the in-breeding of trees and help produce strong timber. With a high mortality rate and low reproduction considerable efforts are being devoted to the bats' conservation. Macleod Morass and Jones Bay Wildlife Reserves cover an area of 557 hectares and 123 hectares, respectively. The Reserves lie immediately south of Bairnsdale at
12669-413: The soil profiles and the types of vegetation that thrive in the area. The Mitchell River flows into Lake King and Jones Bay at Eagle Point Bluff. The Mitchell, Tambo and Nicholson rivers deliver a combined discharge of 1.1 gigalitres per year into the lakes system. The Strategic Management Plan quotes that about 100,000 tonnes of suspended solids (excluding bottom sediments) are estimated to enter
12792-749: The southern slopes of the Victorian Alps. The Gunaikurnai consist of five major clans, including the Tatungalung, who are recognized as the Traditional Custodians of the Bairnsdale area. Cultural Significance The Ganai (or Kurnai) word "Wy-yung" refers to a type of duck, specifically the Black Swan, which is often associated with waterfowl in Indigenous Australian languages, while the Bairnsdale backwater area
12915-628: The terminus of the Devonian, Earth rapidly cooled into an icehouse , marking the beginning of the Late Paleozoic icehouse . The Devonian world involved many continents and ocean basins of various sizes. The largest continent, Gondwana , was located entirely within the Southern Hemisphere . It corresponds to modern day South America , Africa , Australia , Antarctica , and India , as well as minor components of North America and Asia . The second-largest continent, Laurussia,
13038-535: The time straddled the Equator as part of the supercontinent of Euramerica where fossil signatures of widespread reefs indicate tropical climates that were warm and moderately humid. In fact the climate in the Devonian differed greatly during its epochs and between geographic regions. For example, during the Early Devonian, arid conditions were prevalent through much of the world including Siberia, Australia, North America, and China, but Africa and South America had
13161-402: The time, instructed William Jefferson to retrieve the remains and they were re-interred at the present cemetery. As far back as the 1920s the cemetery was frequently criticised for its untidy appearance. It was proposed around this time that the cemetery be removed from the overseer of the council and transferred to the care of the different denominations. This was not adopted. In 1990 control of
13284-431: The town, before turning south to flow along the eastern edge, although suburbs are now found across the river to both north and east, e.g. Wy Yung, Eastwood and Lucknow . Mount Taylor is a mountain located just north of Bairnsdale and is a well-known landmark in the region, visible from many miles away, and holds historical significance dating back to the mid-19th century gold rush era. The area surrounding Mount Taylor
13407-690: The track is relatively straight, long and flat and takes users over two small bridges and crosses Phillips Lane and Morrisson Road before it intersects with the Princes Highway, which was given that name in 1920 when the Country Roads Board assumed control of the whole length of highway between Melbourne and Eden . Gunai language The Gunaikurnai or Gunai/Kurnai ( / ˈ ɡ ʌ n aɪ k ɜːr n aɪ / GUN -eye-kur-nye ) language, also spelt Gunnai , Kurnai , Ganai, Gaanay, or Kurnay / ˈ k ɜːr n aɪ / KUR -nye )
13530-554: The varied climatic conditions across the terrain. The primary land use around Mount Taylor includes conservation, forestry, recreation, and water supply. The area is managed for both its ecological value and its resources. However, the region is susceptible to various forms of land deterioration, including sheet, rill, and gully erosion, as well as mass movement, particularly in disturbed areas such as roads and cleared lands. The region around Mount Taylor experiences significant rainfall, ranging between 700-1200 mm per annum, influencing both
13653-551: The very last, they fought bravely for their lives against fearful odds". Both men are remembered upon a marble tablet installed at the Mechanics' Hall (The Bairnsdale Library). The Mitchell Delta is represented as a type-L under the Ramsar wetland type classification framework, which means that it is a permanent inland delta . The Mitchell Delta is a classic form of digitate delta (from Latin digitātus , having finger or toes) and
13776-770: The vicinity. Eight migratory bird species found in the reserves are listed under the international Japan–Australia Migratory Bird Agreement 1974 (JAMBA), China–Australia Migratory Bird Agreement 1987 (CAMBA) and the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals . Macleod Morass is an important breeding site for Australian white ibis ( Threskiornis moluccus ), straw-necked ibis ( Threskiornis spinicollis ) and black-winged stilt ( Himantopus himantopus ). Management strategies are in place to protect known sites of significant fauna and colonial breeding waterbirds from unnecessary disturbance, particularly
13899-521: The warmer conditions of the early and late Devonian, while coral-stromatoporoid reefs dominated during the cooler middle Devonian. By the Devonian Period, life was well underway in its colonization of the land. The moss forests and bacterial and algal mats of the Silurian were joined early in the period by primitive rooted plants that created the first stable soils and harbored arthropods like mites , scorpions , trigonotarbids and myriapods (although arthropods appeared on land much earlier than in
14022-555: The world saw the disappearance of an estimated 96% of vertebrates like conodonts and bony fishes , and all of the ostracoderms and placoderms. Land plants as well as freshwater species, such as our tetrapod ancestors, were relatively unaffected by the Late Devonian extinction event (there is a counterargument that the Devonian extinctions nearly wiped out the tetrapods ). The reasons for the Late Devonian extinctions are still unknown, and all explanations remain speculative. Canadian paleontologist Digby McLaren suggested in 1969 that
14145-680: Was by far the largest continent on the planet. It was completely south of the equator, although the northeastern sector (now Australia) did reach tropical latitudes. The southwestern sector (now South America) was located to the far south, with Brazil situated near the South Pole . The northwestern edge of Gondwana was an active margin for much of the Devonian, and saw the accretion of many smaller land masses and island arcs. These include Chilenia , Cuyania , and Chaitenia , which now form much of Chile and Patagonia . These collisions were associated with volcanic activity and plutons , but by
14268-484: Was commenced in 1913, replacing an earlier brick church which had been built thirty years earlier in 1883. Murals rivaling those of many European churches cover the walls and ceiling of St Mary's in Bairnsdale depicting saints , the trinity and scenes of hell , purgatory, heaven and the crucifixion . Every year the church receives up to 80,000 visitors from all over Australia and the world. The murals were painted by out of work Italian artist Francesco Floreani during
14391-802: Was formed in 1993 as a merger of two separate high schools: the Bairnsdale Technical School (earlier known as the Bairnsdale School of Mines and Industries) and Bairnsdale High School. Nagle College , which has about 1,000 students, was founded in 1958 by the Presentation Sisters holds to a Catholic tradition. It later adopted the Salesian traditions of St John Bosco , with the arrival of the Salesian Society to Bairnsdale in 1990. The city also has
14514-511: Was heavily impacted by the discovery of gold in local creeks and rivers in 1857, leading to extensive prospecting activities. This resulted in the establishment of the township of Bullumwaal, formerly known as Allanvale and later renamed in 1870. The name "Bullumwaal" is derived from an Aboriginal word believed to mean 'two spears,' symbolizing the nearby mountains of Mount Lookout and Mount Taylor. According to Hal Porter's account found in Echoes of
14637-442: Was mostly a passive margin, hosting extensive marine deposits in areas such as northwest Africa and Tibet . The eastern margin, though warmer than the west, was equally active. Numerous mountain building events and granite and kimberlite intrusions affected areas equivalent to modern day eastern Australia , Tasmania , and Antarctica. Several island microcontinents (which would later coalesce into modern day Asia) stretched over
14760-438: Was northwest of Gondwana, and corresponds to much of modern-day North America and Europe . Various smaller continents, microcontinents , and terranes were present east of Laurussia and north of Gondwana, corresponding to parts of Europe and Asia. The Devonian Period was a time of great tectonic activity, as the major continents of Laurussia and Gondwana drew closer together. Sea levels were high worldwide, and much of
14883-449: Was originally classified as a 'deep freshwater marsh ' but currently only approximately 30% of the morass is still representative of the original classification. Water inflows to the morass are dominated by catchment run-off from Cobblers Creek and several smaller intermittent streams, urban stormwater from McGees Gully, and direct rainfall. Major floods in the Mitchell River result in complete inundation of Macleod Morass and serve to 'flush'
15006-419: Was seen as one of the major colonial ports. The brick Bairnsdale railway station opened in 1890 with other platforms and railway infrastructure being completed at the same time. The contractor R. Kreokel won the contract for the work to be carried out for the amount of £2,322. Shipping services from Bairnsdale to metropolitan areas linked with the railway so local primary producers could send their goods off to
15129-577: Was the newest addition to the Asian microcontinents, it was not the first. North China and the Tarim Block (now northwesternmost China) were located westward and continued to drift northwards, powering over older oceanic crust in the process. Further west was a small ocean (the Turkestan Ocean), followed by the larger microcontinents of Kazakhstania , Siberia , and Amuria . Kazakhstania was
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