St Just Point
Bendigo, Victoria
St Just Point is located in City of Bendigo
St Just Point
St Just Point
Map
Coordinates36°44′46.5″S 144°15′01.0″E / 36.746250°S 144.250278°E / -36.746250; 144.250278
Population
Established1870
Abolished1998
Postcode(s)3550
Location
LGA(s)City of Greater Bendigo
State electorate(s)Bendigo West
Federal division(s)Bendigo

St Just Point, officially St Just's Point, was a former satellite residential area located in the Bendigo suburb of Long Gully.[2] The area was located 0.2 km (0 mi) southwest from Long Gully and 3.2 km (2 mi) north west from the centre of Bendigo. St Just Point was recognised as a separate area within Bendigo until 1998, when it was incorporated into the boundaries of Long Gully.

Residents of the area were called "St Justers".[3]

Toponymy

The official name for the area was St Just's Point, with an apostrophe. However, common usage had altered the name to St Just Point or, in some cases, "the Point",[2][4] since the area's boundaries resembled an arrowhead, a "point".[3][4] It was named for the West Cornish town of St Just, since many of those who moved to the area in 1870 were former residents of that Cornish town.[3][4][5] In consequence, occasionally the area was referred to as Pastie's Point, named for Cornish pasties,[2][5] which were eaten regularly in the area until at least the 1930s.[6]

History

Formation

St Just Point was established in 1870, when a contingent of Cornish people arrived in the area and set up tents, although there were buildings present in the area pre-1870.[3] A majority of the arrivals were from the West Cornish town of St Just, and, since the area's boundaries resembled an arrowhead, the area was called St Just's Point.[3][4] The decline of Cornwall's mining industry in the early 1860s, and the discovery of alluvial tin in New South Wales in 1870, resulted in many Cornish families moving to Australia to settle.[3][4] In consequence, many residents of St Just Point were former miners from Cornwall,[1] and as such, a major place of employment for St Justers was the nearby Hercules and Energetic mine, established in 1860.[7]

St Just Point was first listed on rate records in 1872, when a population of 59 residents was recorded for that year. In 1882, 75 residents lived in the area.[1] When residents of the area were listed in official documents, their address was given as "St Just Point, Long Gully, Bendigo".[8][9]

Incorporation into Long Gully

In 1998, the boundaries of the local areas of Bendigo were redefined by the City of Greater Bendigo.[10] Originally, the new suburb of West Bendigo was to incorporate St Just Point, but following input from residents, the boundaries of St Just Point were instead incorporated into Long Gully.[10] In response to the input received from the St Just Point residents, a City of Greater Bendigo representative wrote that it was "more appropriate" that the area be incorporated into Long Gully, and proposed that the area could instead become a "heritage sub-set" of Long Gully.[10] However, no further action relating to this proposal has been taken, and St Just Point is not officially recognised as a separate area within Bendigo.[10]

Black Saturday bushfires

Many buildings in Long Gully were destroyed during the Black Saturday bushfires of 2009;[10] eighteen of these homes were located within St Just Point's former boundaries.[11] Michael Kane, who lived at the house built in 1871 by Richard Pope, located in St Just Point, was the only person in Bendigo to die in these bushfires.[12][13][14]

Legacy

Despite no longer being an official place in Bendigo, today there are two signs, originally installed in 1993, bearing the St Just Point name located in Long Gully.[15]

In 1988, the Bendigo Advertiser began printing fortnightly cartoon strips titled "St Just's Point". The cartoons, hand drawn by Ian Glanville, humorously explored how the Cornish of Bendigo (many of who were, historically, St Just Point residents) often misused the English language. Over 180 of these cartoons were published in total.[16]

In 2003, a poppet head monument was erected in Long Gully, commemorating the contribution of St Just Point and Long Gully residents to Bendigo's mining industry, and noting that many were of Cornish descent.[17] On 12 March 2011, a monument commemorating the relationship between Cornwall and St Just Pont was erected in St Just Point, in response to the impacts of the 2009 Black Saturday bushfires in St Just Pont and Long Gully.[4][18][19]

Geography

The boundaries of St Just Point resembled an arrowhead.[2] It was located on the far western border of Long Gully,[10] on the eastern slopes of a hill called the Sheefold, a hill which was so named until the late 1940s.[3] A thoroughfare in the area, Sheefold Way, is named for the hill.[3] The area was semi-circled by the Derwent Gully Creek, the Sparrowhawk Creek (now part of the Long Gully Creek) and the Long Gully Creek.[2]

From 1862 until 1996, the centre of St Just Point was located where three Sandhurst municipalities met: the Shire of Marong, the Borough of Eaglehawk and the City of Bendigo.[4][20] As a result, the area did not receive council services, such as electricity poles, which were only introduced in 1937, since the area was viewed as a small, non-priority area on the outskirts of three separate municipalities.[20]

Landmarks

Several trees in St Just Point were regarded by residents as local landmarks. A twenty-metre-high pine tree, planted by J. H. Davey before 1900 (who later became mayor of the Borough of Eaglehawk from 1943 to 1944) was regarded as a prominent landmark in the area, until its removal in 1950.[21] In the mid-1940s, a tree located on private property was decorated by St Just Point residents at Christmas time. It has been cited as having started the tradition of Bendigo residents decorating Christmas trees in the town; a prominent example of this is the tree located in Rosalind Park.[22][23]

Sport

From pre-1870 to 1930, Gist's Oval was used by St Just Point residents for recreational and professional sporting activities. Named after Thomas Gist, a founding member of the Long Gully Fire Brigade, the gravel oval hosted sporting events that included football, cricket, athletics and cycling.[24]

Tennis was played by St Just Point residents from the 1930s, on a gravel clay tennis court located on private property. The onset of World War II resulted in decreased participation and the court's eventual closure during the middle years of the war.[25] In 1930, the St Just Point Cricket Club was formed. Likewise, the club disbanded at the onset of war.[26]

In 1928, the Long Gully Golf Club began to be constructed. The course had space for only nine holes, seven of which were located within St Just Point. The golf course was the first of four to be built in Bendigo. The others, which still exist, were the Belvoir Park Golf Club, the Eaglehawk Golf Club, and the Neangar Park Golf Club. Due to the establishment of these golf clubs, the Long Gully Golf Club was disbanded in 1932, owing to lack of participation. Following sluicing of a creek in the area, the course was made unusable by 1934.[27]

See also

References

Citations

  1. ^ a b c d Ellis 2010, p. 10.
  2. ^ a b c d e Ellis 2010, p. 5.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Ellis 2010, p. 6.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g geoellis55 (George A. Ellis) (5 April 2011), Cornish Monument St Just Point, YouTube, retrieved 8 February 2024
  5. ^ a b Davies, H. A. (16 April 1927). "The 'Cousin Jacks'". The Argus. p. 7. Retrieved 11 February 2024.
  6. ^ Ellis 2010, p. 36.
  7. ^ Ellis 2010, p. 11.
  8. ^ "Another Test at Burnley". The Leader. 13 March 1915. p. 13.
  9. ^ "Wounded Soldiers". The Bendigonian. 28 September 1916. p. 22.
  10. ^ a b c d e f Ellis 2010, p. 53.
  11. ^ Ellis 2010, p. 50.
  12. ^ "Central Victoria remembers Black Saturday five years on". ABC News. 7 February 2014. Retrieved 8 February 2024.
  13. ^ Ellis 2010, p. 1.
  14. ^ Ellis 2010, p. 17.
  15. ^ Ellis 2010, p. 39-40.
  16. ^ Ellis 2010, p. 45.
  17. ^ "The Bendigo Underground Miner". Monument Australia. Retrieved 21 February 2024.
  18. ^ "Cornish choir funds aid Bendigo mining memorial". BBC News. 4 April 2011. Retrieved 8 February 2024.
  19. ^ Ellis 2010, p. 51-52.
  20. ^ a b Ellis 2010, p. 8-9.
  21. ^ Ellis 2010, p. 27.
  22. ^ Ellis 2010, p. 30.
  23. ^ "Christmas tree takes its place in Rosalind Park piazza". Bendigo Advertiser. 18 November 2020. Retrieved 26 February 2024. (subscription required)
  24. ^ Ellis 2010, p. 19.
  25. ^ Ellis 2010, p. 32.
  26. ^ Ellis 2010, p. 35.
  27. ^ Ellis 2010, p. 37-38.

Works cited

Further reading

Categories