In the mountains where the tall trees grow.

Acknowledgment of Country

The Toolangi-Castella local history group would like to acknowledge the Taungurung and the Wurundjeri peoples, who are the traditional custodians of the lands on which the townships of Toolangi and Castella lie. We pay respect to their Elders past, present, and emerging.

We recognise and celebrate that the Taungurung and Wurundjeri peoples of these lands never ceded sovereignty, and they remain strongly connected to country through their culture.

The Toolangi and Castella Local History Project

Wumindjika – Welcome!

Welcome to the Toolangi and Castella Local History Project website! We hope you enjoy this journey through some of the stories that are held in both the historical record and living memory of the wonderful community of Toolangi and Castella, in the upper Yea River valley on the Great Dividing Range in Victoria, Australia.

The Origins of the Toolangi and Castella Local History Project

The driving force behind this project was the late Bernie Miller. In 2020 Bernie met with Jan Williams, Andrew Bagnell, and our Taungurung Land and Waters Council representative, Brett Letman, who was later joined by Aunty Angela ten Buuren of the Taungurung, and the Toolangi and Castella Local History Project was put in motion.

Stories Preserved for Future Generations

The stories collected here have come in many forms:

recorded interviews,
transcribed oral histories,
archival records,
newspaper articles,
written personal accounts,
segments of historical footage
and hundreds of images.

These narratives offer a comprehensive look into the region’s rich history and the lives of the people who have called Toolangi and Castella home.

About the Traditional Owners of Toolangi and Castella

In the ABOUT section you can learn about the living traditions of the Traditional Owners of the lands and waterways around Toolangi and Castella, the Taungurung and Wurundjeri peoples of the Kulin Nation. We invite you to click through into their individual websites and to view two magical animated versions of Taungurung creation stories. This section also includes a statement that explains how the project was conceived and funded.

Dive into the Stories of Toolangi and Castella

As you navigate to the STORIES section you can access the many accounts that have been put together to bring to life the diverse and often awe-inspiring history of the area. These are organised under the headings Art & Culture, Bushfires, Education, Environment, Horticulture, Natural Resources, Place Names, Reflections, Scientific History, Social History, and Sport & Recreation. This section recounts tales of tough life on the land, the different ways people responded to this landscape, how livings were made, friendships forged and hardships faced, and the different ways communities have come together for ceremony, recreation and commemoration over time.

Interviews with Long-Standing Toolangi and Castella Residents

The INTERVIEWS section features five interviews undertaken by Bernie in 2021 with members of some of the oldest Toolangi and Castella settler families, giving fascinating accounts of the people and events of the past. The interviewees are siblings Geoff Biggs and Heather Briggs, couple Cliff and Nance McLaine, cousins Dennis (Herb) Cherry and Heather McClements, couple Heather and Bruce McClements, and brothers Gary and Ross Denby.

Explore Our Historical Galleries

The GALLERIES section presents some fantastic historical footage as well as collections of photographic images relating to the stories on the site.

Reliving the 2022 Toolangi-Castella History Weekend

Finally, the wonderful buzz of the 2022 Toolangi-Castella History Weekend – that was part of the original brief of this project – is captured in a series of galleries under the HISTORY WEEKEND tab.

A Community Effort to Preserve Local History

Thank you to all the passionate and hardworking people who have given their energy and time to this project. We hope you feel proud of this resource, and that you will continue to find ways to allow it to keep growing into the future, as was always the intention.