The first settler in the Wedderburn region was John Catto, who took up 64,000 acres as a squatter in 1840. Gold was discovered in 1852 and by December that year there were 6,000 people at Wedderburn panning and digging for gold. However, the population dropped off sharply after 1853 due to a lack of water for washing the dirt, and due to discoveries of gold elsewhere. Gold is still found in Wedderburn today and many hundreds of prospectors visit the area each year.
Albert Jacka’s parents, Nathaniel and Elizabeth Jacka were prominent citizens of Wedderburn, with his father working as a farmer, road contractor and carter.
Jacka Park in the centre of Wedderburn was named after Albert Jacka, although it is also referred to as ‘Soldiers Memorial Park’. A number of streets in Melbourne are also named after Albert Jacka, the most famous being Jacka Boulevard on the foreshore at St Kilda, which goes past the lawn on which the Colours of the 14th Battalion were consecrated by the Reverend Andrew Gillison on 13th December, 1914 (see Hard Jacka – The Book – Andrew Gillison).
Old Institute Hall in Wedderburn, where public meetings were held to commemorate Albert Jacka’s VC.