Konongwootong

Konongwootong is a rural locality in western Victoria, 8 km north of Coleraine and 40 km north-west of Hamilton. It was named after the Koonong Wootong pastoral run of 57,000 acres formed in 1840 by the Whyte brothers. Nearby Wando Vale was the scene of the murder by the Whyte brothers of Aborigines of the Konongwootong gundidj clan on 8 March and 7 April 1840, the casualties being reckoned at between 55 and 60 people. It was an extreme example of pastoral occupation of the area, which persisted as large estates lasting into the 1900s until taken for closer and soldier settlement.

It is thought that the expression koonong wootong was derived from Aboriginal words describing a creek in grassy land.

In 1910 part of the Konongwootong estate was subdivided for closer settlement. After World War I the remainder of the estate and its neighbour, Wootong Vale, were subdivided for closer settlement. Schools were opened in 1923 and 1929 (Konongwootong North). Some of the settlers on the Wootong Vale subdivision were formerly from the Indian Army and most were unsuccessful farmers. In any event farm consolidations became necessary, sometimes after a long struggle to make the farms pay. Dairying and agricultural activity gave way to general grazing. One school closed in 1942 and the other one closed in the 1970s.

Konongwootong has a hall and a recreation reserve. The Koonongwootong Creek joins Bryans Creek just past the Konongwootong reservoir, Coleraine’s town water supply.

Konongwootong’s census populations have been: