Briagolong is a town in the

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

, located 20 kilometres north of

Maffra Maffra is a town in Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, east of Melbourne. It is in the Shire of Wellington local government area and it is the second most populous city of the Shire. It relies mainly on dairy farming and other agricu ...

and some 238 kilometres east of

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

, in the

Shire of Wellington The Shire of Wellington is a local government area in Victoria, Australia, located in the eastern part of the state. It covers an area of and in June 2018 had a population of 44,019. It includes the towns of Heyfield, Rosedale, Maffra, S ...

region of

Gippsland Gippsland () is a rural region in the southeastern part of Victoria, Australia, mostly comprising the coastal plains south of the Victorian Alps (the southernmost section of the Great Dividing Range). It covers an elongated area of east of th ...

. At the 2016 census, Briagolong had a population of 1,081.

History

Briagolong Post Office opened on 1 May 1871. The Briagolong Hotel, which serves meals and drinks, dates to 1874. The town's principal industry has been timber, and it supplied red gum paving blocks for the streets of

, and

stringybark A stringybark can be any of the many ''Eucalyptus'' species which have thick, fibrous bark. Like all eucalypts, stringybarks belong to the family Myrtaceae. In exceptionally fertile locations some stringybark species (in particular messmate strin ...

for the flooring in

Australia House The High Commission of Australia in London is the diplomatic mission of Australia in the United Kingdom. It is located in Australia House, a Grade II listed building. It was Australia's first diplomatic mission and is the longest continuously ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. A railway branch line from Maffra opened in 1889 and was closed in 1952. Briagolong was the home town of Private Jake Kovco, Australia's first military casualty in the Iraq War. Private Kovco's funeral was held in Briagolong on 2 May 2006, and was attended by Prime Minister

John Howard John Winston Howard (born 26 July 1939) is an Australian former politician who served as the 25th prime minister of Australia from 1996 to 2007. He held office as leader of the Liberal Party of Australia. His eleven-year tenure as prime min ...

, Defence Minister

Brendan Nelson Brendan John Nelson (born 19 August 1958) is an Australian business leader, physician and former politician. He served as the federal Leader of the Opposition from 2007 to 2008, going on to serve as Australia's senior diplomat to the European ...

, Defence Force Chief

Angus Houston Air chief marshal (Australia), Air Chief Marshal Sir Allan Grant "Angus" Houston, (born 9 June 1947) is a retired senior officer of the Royal Australian Air Force. He served as Chief of Air Force (Australia), Chief of Air Force from 20 June 2 ...

and Army Chief Peter Leahy. The town's local cricket team (the Saints) were crowned Sale-Maffra Cricket Association 2018/19 season premiers.

Today

In conjunction with neighbouring township Boisdale, Briagolong has an

Australian Rules Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an Australian rules football playing field, oval field, often a modified ...

football team in the

East Gippsland Football League The East Gippsland Football League is an Australian rules football League in the East Gippsland region of Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. History The East Gippsland FL in its present incarnation began in 1974 with the merger of the G ...

. The town's water supply is taken from the Freestone Creek. Popular tourist areas nearby are the swimming areas on the Freestone Creek at Quarry Reserve (4.5 km north of Briagolong) and Blue Pool (10 km north), both on the Freestone Creek Road.

Notable people

* Jake Kovco, Australia's first military casualty in the

Iraq War The Iraq War (), also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a prolonged conflict in Iraq lasting from 2003 to 2011. It began with 2003 invasion of Iraq, the invasion by a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition, which ...

Len Maxwell Len Maxwell (8 August 1930 – 13 May 2008), born Lenny Maxwell, was an American voice actor and announcer. Career Prior to his career in voice-overs, Len was a stand-up comedian. Maxwell appeared on ''The Tonight Show'' several times, a CBS ...

, Australian rules footballer * Irving Mosquito, Australian rules footballer

References

Links

1923 - Briagolong FC team photo
Towns in Victoria (state) Shire of Wellington {{Gippsland-geo-stub