Bogong

Bogong, a rural holiday resort in the alpine country of north-east Victoria, is in the upper Kiewa Valley about midway between Mount Beauty and Falls Creek. It was named after Mount Bogong (1986 m) which is 12 km north-east. Mount Bogong is one of several places of high elevation to which the bogong moth emigrates during the summer months. The moths were harvested and eaten for their high fat content by Aborigines. It is thought that the word bogong was derived from an Aboriginal word describing the moth.

Mount Bogong is one of several peaks on or adjacent to high plateau known as the Bogong High Plains, which are part of the Alpine National Park. It is Victoria's highest mountain.

In 1917 the Bright and District Progress Association proposed using the Kiewa River for generating hydroelectricity. The proposal was appropriated by the State Electricity Commission (SEC) and deferred until 1938 when field headquarters were established near the confluence of the Pretty Valley and Rocky Valley streams on a site named Bogong. About 30 houses were erected for SEC personnel, a post office was opened in 1940 and a school began in 1941. War time exigencies further delayed progress and when peace was restored it was realised that an alternative location for the works headquarters at Mount Beauty was preferable. Bogong was retained as a secondary site.

Bogong overlooks Lake Guy, the first of seven reservoirs constructed for the Kiewa Valley project. The reservoirs and three power stations were completed by 1961, and the SEC disposed of numerous buildings to the Education Department. A new 140 megawatt hydro power station at Bogong was switched on in 2009.

Bogong had a store and post office until the 1990s. There is now an outdoor education centre and the Bogong village resort which includes former workers' cottages converted for accommodation. Ropers Hut (1939), a shelter for cattlemen, skiers and hikers on the Bogong High Plains that had burnt down in 2003, was restored and reopened in 2009.

Bogong's census populations have been: