Jamieson
Postcode: 3723
Jamieson is a town in Victoria, Australia. It is located at the junction of Goulburn River and Jamieson River, 199 kilometers north-east of Melbourne. The name is believed to have been derived from George Jamieson, a shepherd who grazed sheep in the area in the 1850s.
The area was first settled in 1860 and by 1861 there were approximately 300 people working the goldfields. The town site was surveyed in 1862, and a borough council was established in 1864. By 1865 the town had a Catholic chapel, an Anglican church, a school, a court house and police station, two banks, two insurance offices, five hotels and several stores. Jamieson reached its peak in the 1870s, yet a sharp decline soon followed. Most mining operations had ceased by the beginning of the First World War, and Black Friday bushfires destroyed many mine workings in 1939.
By the 1990s, the town had become a popular tourist destination, boosted by Lake Eildon (situated adjacent to the Jamieson township and formed by the damming of the Goulburn River) reaching 100% capacity in 1996. However the tourism industry suffered in the early 2000s following a drought which affected Lake Eildon. The drought has proven to be long term and in March 2007, the capacity of the lake reached a historic low of 7.9%.
Today, Jamieson has a permanent population of around 250. It is a popular destination for four wheel drive enthusiasts, fishers, and amateur gold dredgers. It is close to Lake Eildon and the Mount Buller snowfields. The town has two hotels, a caravan park, and several bed and breakfast establishments.