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GRAVE OF KITTY CANE
WALHALLA-WOODS POINT ROAD THOMSON, BAW BAW SHIRE
GRAVE OF KITTY CANE
WALHALLA-WOODS POINT ROAD THOMSON, BAW BAW SHIRE
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GRAVE OF KITTY CANE - History
Folklore has it that this is the grave of Kitty Cane, but evidence suggests that it may be the grave of Catherine Lowe. Similar circumstances in the death of Lowe of protracted dysentery on 10 April 1863 may also suggest they were the same person. The story of Kitty Cane is a long-standing legend of the mountain goldfields. Supposedly a dance-hall girl weighing in at some 22-stone, Kitty was packed into the area by Louie the Frenchman at 9d per pound, and set up a wayside tavern on the road to Aberfeldy. This venture was short-lived, because Kitty died of an unknown ailment. Several inebriated men attempted to carry her to Aberfeldy, but gave up and buried her by the roadside.
The mine names associated with the various mining features recorded at the site by Rudi Paoletti (red on the Site Plan) are Anderson’s and New Pride of the Mountains. The Pride of the Mountains Co worked here in the late 1880s, taking over the ground of the old Hanoverian Company. The first mention found of the Hanoverian workings comes from 1871. Anderson & party took over the old Pride of the Mountains claim in 1898 and they erected a battery in the following year. They called their claim New Pride of Mountains or New Pride of the Mountains (variously reported). In 1932, a lease on the abandoned New Pride of the Mountains was applied for.
References (mines): The Ballarat Star, 20 Jun 1871; Gippsland Times, 02 Feb 1887; The Gippsland Farmers' Journal, 30 Aug 1898; The Age (Melbourne), 12 Apr 1899; The Narracan Shire Advocate and Yallourn Brown Coal Mine, Walhalla and Thorpdale Lines Echo, 09 Sep 1932.Heritage Inventory Description
GRAVE OF KITTY CANE - Heritage Inventory Description
The grave is situated about 15 metres from the west side of the Walhalla Road, on top of a steep embankment. It is on a cleared area with a stand of large gums. The grave measures approximately 2.4 metres long by 0.9 metres wide, and is marked with a white, wooden, Latin cross 0.85 metres high. The mound is edged by white quartz rocks and covered with scattered white quartz. Metal pins protrude at three corners of the grave. The grave is regularly supplied with flowers, by the public The grave is situated amongst large gum trees and medium-height undergrowth, in close proximity to the main Walhalla Road. It is on a slight incline, overlooking the Thomson Valley Catchment Area. The grave is clearly signposted, and can be seen from the road.Physical Conditions: Good. The grave is well-maintained by interested members of the general public, and the cross has recently been replaced. Updated site information June 2022- The grave is well-signposted and is situated in a narrow strip of forest between the Walhalla Road and a wide firebreak. There are no mine workings in the immediate vicinity of the grave. Where the southern end of the firebreak meets the Walhalla Road, a sign points to a short walking track which leads to a small open adit and via a short side track to an old boarding house site. The track ends a few metres past the adit and there are currently no tracks beyond the boarding house site. No other mine workings are currently visible from the track. The mine workings marked on the Site Plan are situated in dense vegetation to the west of the firebreak and in the south, to the west of the Walhalla Road.
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GRAVE OF KITTY CANEVictorian Heritage Inventory
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MOUNTAIN TOWN HISTORIC SITEVictorian Heritage Inventory
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