Avoca

Origin of the name

It is generally accepted that the meaning of Avoca (which is almost certainly a Gaelic word corrupted when it arrives in English) is "the meeting of the waters". It was widely known at the time because of the song, The Meeting of the Waters, by Thomas Moore which was inspired by the Vale of Avoca in County Wicklow in Ireland. It is known that this particular Avoca was named by the explorer Thomas Mitchell who passed through the area in 1836 and named the local river Avoca. ^[1]

History

Gold was first discovered in the Avoca district in September, 1853, which proved to be a very rich find. Early in 1854 the yields gradually increased, until 9000 oz was sent by one fortnightly escort, and the official returns for the first 12 years showed that £624,115 oz, valued at 2,496,000, were sent by Government escort from Avoca. Gold continued to be obtained in large quantities, and the population of varying nationalities, wasestimated at from 25,000 to 35,000 during that time.^[2]