Greta, Victoria

Greta is a small town in Victoria, Australia. It is east of the city of Benalla. The local government that looks after Greta is the Rural City of Wangaratta. At the 2006 census, there were 231 people living in and around Greta.  
History
The area had four villages, all of which were called Greta at some time. The first township known as Greta, on Fifteen Mile Creek, is now called Greta West.  The name is thought to come from Greta River in Cumberland, England.

After gold was found near Beechworth in 1852, roads to the gold diggings passed through the Greta area. At that time, there was a large swamp, which was later drained. The town site was laid out at Fifteen Mile Creek in 1852. During the 1860s the land was sold into small farm lots, used for cereals, cattle grazing, and dairying. At this time the township started with the Post Office opened on September 4, 1863. It closed in 1971, though post offices at Greta West and Greta South remained open until 1994.

In 1867 a Catholic school was started. By the 1880s there were 5 schools in the Greta area; Greta, Greta South, Greta West, Hansonville, and Fifteen Mile Creek. Today, only 2 of the 5 schools remain; Greta Valley and Fifteen Mile School Camp.

The nearby city of Benalla was joined to the railway in 1873. This meant that less people passed through Greta. It became mainly a farming area.

A Methodist church was started in 1878 and an Anglican church in 1890. A public hall was built in 1916.

The Kelly family
Bushranger Ned Kelly's family lived on a small farm near Greta. It was in the small cottage at Greta that Constable Fitzpatrick tried to sexually assault Ned's sister, Kate Kelly. In the fight that followed, Fitzpatrick was injured. His mother, Ellen Kelly was put in gaol for 4 years for trying to murder Fitzpatrick. The police tried to arrest Ned and his brother Dan Kelly, but they had escaped into the bush. This was the start of the Kelly Gang.

After the siege at Glenrowan, Dan Kelly and Steve Hart, were buried in the Greta Cemetery. Ellen Kelly died at Greta in 1923, and is buried in the Greta Cemetery. Ned's younger brother, Jim Kelly, lived in the cottage at Greta until 1948. He is buried in the Greta Cemetery.

The Town today
The town has a football team playing in the Ovens & King Football League.

References

Other websites
Local History of Greta