{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2019}} {{Use Australian English|date=August 2019}} {{Infobox Australian place | type = town | name = Woods Point | state = vic | image = Woods Point Bridge Street 005.jpg | caption = Bridge Street, the main street of Woods Point | image_alt = | use_lga_map = yes | relief = | coordinates = {{coord|37|34|11|S|146|15|15|E|display=inline,title}} | pushpin_label_position = | map_alt = | pop = 33 | pop_year = {{CensusAU|2021}} | pop_footnotes = <ref name="abs">{{Census 2021 AUS | id = SAL22840 | name = Woods Point (Suburbs and Localities) | accessdate = 6 June 2023 | quick = on}}</ref> | poprank = | density = | density_footnotes = | established = | established_footnotes = | abolished = | gazetted = | postcode = 3723 | elevation = 680 | elevation_footnotes = | area = | area_footnotes = | timezone = | utc = | timezone-dst = | utc-dst = | dist1 = 179 | dir1 = NE | location1 = Melbourne | dist2 = 72 | dir2 = S | location2 = Mansfield | lga = Shire of Mansfield | region = | county = | stategov = Eildon | fedgov = Indi | url = | maxtemp = 17.0 | maxtemp_footnotes = | mintemp = 3.5 | mintemp_footnotes = | rainfall = 1463.6 | rainfall_footnotes = | near-n = Mount Buller | near-ne = Mount Buller | near-e = Licola | near-se = Glenmaggie | near-s = Erica | near-sw = McMahons Creek | near-w = Eildon | near-nw = Jamieson | near = | footnotes = }} '''Woods Point''' is a town in south-central Victoria, Australia and is located on the banks of the Goulburn River. At the {{CensusAU|2021}}, Woods Point and the surrounding area had a population of 33, down from 37 in {{CensusAU|2016}}.
==History== {{more citations needed section|date=July 2014}} The town began as a general store built by Henry Wood, to service the gold diggings around the recently discovered Morning Star Reef. Wood's Point Post Office opened on 1 December 1862.<ref name = "a">{{Citation |last = Phoenix Auctions History |title = Post Office List |url = http://www.phoenixauctions.com.au/cgi-bin/wsPhoenix.sh/Viewpocdwrapper.p?SortBy=VIC&filter=*Wood's*Point* |access-date = 24 March 2021}}</ref> By 1864, only three years after the discovery of the gold reef, the area had become a thriving town with 36 hotels. The town was subdivided into numerous suburbs, such as Waverly, Piccadilly, Killarney, Richmond, and Morning Star Hill. Communication was established via a telegraph line to Jamieson, and two local papers were in circulation.
From the 1870s to 1890s, mining activity declined, and the population dropped to between 100 and 200. The mining industry was revived in the 1890s, and the population grew once again, with four hotels servicing the town. Much of the town had to be rebuilt following devastating bushfires in 1939. The Morning Star Mine continued operations until its closure in 1963.
Woods Point, due in part to its terrain, has on many occasions been threatened by bush fires. Most notably in 1939 when the town was completely decimated. In 2006 it was severely threatened but remained unharmed, whilst neighbouring town Gaffney's Creek lost a number of houses. In 2009 the town was threatened again by the "Black Saturday" fires, although the town emerged unscathed. The neighbouring town of Marysville wasn't as fortunate.
The Woods Point Magistrates' Court closed on 1 November 1981, not having been visited by a Magistrate since 1970.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.audit.vic.gov.au/sites/default/files/19860901-Special-Report-4-Court-Closures-in-Victoria.pdf | title=Special Report No. 4 - Court Closures in Victoria | publisher=Auditor-General of Victoria | date=1986 |pages=78 | accessdate=12 April 2020}}</ref> Woods Point Primary School closed on 31 December 1998.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.vic.gov.au/150-years-woods-point-primary-school | title=150 years: Woods Point Primary School | publisher=Public Record Office Victoria | accessdate=12 November 2022}}</ref>
The general store in Woods Point closed its doors in late 2010 and a smaller version opened down the main street, just over the bridge. This store facilitates small grocery sales while the Commercial Hotel covers the unleaded fuel sales for motorbikes.
On 22 September 2021 at just after 9:15am, an earthquake with magnitude 5.9 struck near Woods Point, approximately {{cvt|10|km}} below the surface. The earthquake was felt across the nation, including in Adelaide, Canberra and Launceston.<ref>{{Cite news|last1=Royall|first1=Ian|last2=Buttler|first2=Mark|last3=Simonis|first3=Aneeka|last4=Rooney|first4=Kieran|last5=Ikonomou|first5=Tess|last6=Epstein|first6=Jackie|last7=Egging|first7=Kiel|last8=Middleton|first8=Alexandra|date=2021-09-22|title=Aftershocks continue in wake of big quake|work=Herald Sun|url=https://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/earthquake-tremor-felt-across-melbourne-and-regional-victoria/news-story/f8dca1048e48a500e3308dabedfdb1c1|access-date=2021-09-24}}</ref> Although this was the largest earthquake ever recorded in Victoria,<ref>{{Cite web|last=Australia|first=c\=AU\;o\=Australia Government\;ou\=Geoscience|date=2021-09-23|title=Recent earthquake in Victoria|url=https://www.ga.gov.au/news-events/news/latest-news/recent-earthquake-in-victoria|access-date=2021-09-24|website=www.ga.gov.au|language=EN}}</ref> it did not cause any significant damage in Woods Point
==Location and features== {{more citations needed section|date=July 2014}} The town now serves as a hub for recreational trail-bike and off-road four-wheel drive activities and contains one hotel and one general store/petrol station (which has closed down), Mini Golf course, tennis court and many camping areas, the most popular being J. H. Scott Reserve. There are two gold mines still active in the area surrounding the town. The town is still only accessible by dirt roads but has recently gained Telstra mobile service due to the government's "black spot" program.<ref>{{Cite news |archive-date=9 Jul 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230709082226/https://www.pressreader.com/australia/mansfield-courier/20190821/281711206298443 |url=https://www.pressreader.com/australia/mansfield-courier/20190821/281711206298443 |title=Woods Point mobile tower up and running, but it’s not access for all |date=21 Aug 2019 |publisher=Mansfield Courier |language=en |access-date=7 August 2023 |via=PressReader |url-status=live}}</ref> Two bus services service the town: a once daily private mail bus and a weekly return Public Transport Victoria bus running to Mansfield. The PTV service is covered under the fare cap scheme.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Victoria |first=Public Transport |title=Mansfield - Woods Point via Jamieson |url=https://www.ptv.vic.gov.au/route/ |access-date=2023-07-08 |website=Public Transport Victoria |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Victoria |first=Public Transport |title=Introducing fairer fares for regional Victorians |url=https://www.ptv.vic.gov.au/more/introducing-fairer-fares-for-regional-victorians/ |access-date=2023-07-08 |website=Public Transport Victoria |language=en-GB}}</ref> These routes allow access to Mansfield services and connecting V/Line buses to Melbourne and Mount Buller.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Victoria |first=Public Transport |title=Mt Buller-Mansfield - Melbourne via Yea |url=https://www.ptv.vic.gov.au/route/ |access-date=2023-07-08 |website=Public Transport Victoria |language=en-GB}}</ref>
Morning Star, a publicly listed company, was operating the Morning Star mine, as well as other nearby projects, until it was placed into receivership in 2015. As at 2020, it was owned by AuStar Gold Ltd.
A.1 Mine, just 20 mins out of town is also currently in operation by Kaiser Reef Ltd (2020).
==Climate==
At an elevation of {{cvt|680|m}} and latitude of 37.6 °S, Woods Point is one of the coldest localites in Australia. Summer daytime temperatures are generally mild to warm, but with very cold mornings; winters are cold and very wet, with regular snowfalls that are often heavy.
{{Weather box |location = Woods Point (1950–1969, rainfall 1991–2020); 680 m AMSL; 37.57° S, 146.25° E |metric first = yes |single line = yes |precipitation colour = green |Jan record high C = 37.2 |Feb record high C = 39.4 |Mar record high C = 36.1 |Apr record high C = 29.4 |May record high C = 23.9 |Jun record high C = 17.8 |Jul record high C = 17.8 |Aug record high C = 21.1 |Sep record high C = 27.8 |Oct record high C = 29.4 |Nov record high C = 33.3 |Dec record high C = 35.6 |year record high C = 39.4 |Jan high C = 25.6 |Feb high C = 25.1 |Mar high C = 23.0 |Apr high C = 17.5 |May high C = 12.5 |Jun high C = 10.2 |Jul high C = 8.8 |Aug high C = 10.3 |Sep high C = 13.4 |Oct high C = 16.3 |Nov high C = 19.2 |Dec high C = 22.2 |year high C = 17.0 |Jan low C = 7.1 |Feb low C = 7.6 |Mar low C = 5.8 |Apr low C = 3.2 |May low C = 1.8 |Jun low C = 0.6 |Jul low C = -0.1 |Aug low C = 0.2 |Sep low C = 1.3 |Oct low C = 3.5 |Nov low C = 4.4 |Dec low C = 6.1 |year low C = 3.5 |Jan record low C = -1.1 |Feb record low C = -1.7 |Mar record low C = -3.9 |Apr record low C = -6.7 |May record low C = -7.2 |Jun record low C = -10.0 |Jul record low C = -8.9 |Aug record low C = -7.2 |Sep record low C = -8.3 |Oct record low C = -3.9 |Nov record low C = -4.4 |Dec record low C = -1.7 |year record low C = -10.0 |Jan precipitation mm = 75.5 |Feb precipitation mm = 74.7 |Mar precipitation mm = 66.4 |Apr precipitation mm = 86.3 |May precipitation mm = 109.7 |Jun precipitation mm = 157.0 |Jul precipitation mm = 164.8 |Aug precipitation mm = 185.9 |Sep precipitation mm = 156.5 |Oct precipitation mm = 111.1 |Nov precipitation mm = 111.3 |Dec precipitation mm = 97.3 |year precipitation mm = 1396.3 |unit precipitation days = 1.0 mm |Jan precipitation days = 6.9 |Feb precipitation days = 5.6 |Mar precipitation days = 7.1 |Apr precipitation days = 8.5 |May precipitation days = 10.9 |Jun precipitation days = 13.2 |Jul precipitation days = 16.6 |Aug precipitation days = 16.3 |Sep precipitation days = 13.2 |Oct precipitation days = 10.5 |Nov precipitation days = 10.0 |Dec precipitation days = 8.2 |year precipitation days = 127.0 |humidity colour=green |Jan afthumidity = 46 |Feb afthumidity = 48 |Mar afthumidity = 51 |Apr afthumidity = 60 |May afthumidity = 73 |Jun afthumidity = 78 |Jul afthumidity = 75 |Aug afthumidity = 69 |Sep afthumidity = 60 |Oct afthumidity = 60 |Nov afthumidity = 56 |Dec afthumidity = 51 |year humidity = |source = [http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/averages/tables/cw_083033_All.shtml Australian Bureau of Meteorology; Woods Point] }}
==In popular culture== *Woods Point was the central location for the 1986 Australian action-adventure film Frog Dreaming (named ''The Go-Kids'' in the UK, ''The Quest'' in the US), starring Henry Thomas, Tony Barry, Rachel Friend and Tamsin West. *Woods Point makes an appearance in the video game Forza Horizon 3 as a locality.
==See also== *Yarra Track
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== {{Commons category-inline}} *[http://www.ga.gov.au/bin/gazd01?rec=258696 Geoscience Australia place names: Woods Point] *[https://web.archive.org/web/20040511091804/http://www.arts.monash.edu.au/ncas/multimedia/gazetteer/list/woodspoint.html Australian Places: Woods Point]
{{Towns in Mansfield Shire}} {{Mines in Victoria}}
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Category:Towns in Victoria (state) Category:Shire of Mansfield Category:Mining towns in Victoria (state)