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Place Names Register Extract

Winters Glen

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Name Winters Glen
Type Designation Valley
Place Id 21136
Place Type Feature
Status Historical
Date Registered
Location (Datum GDA94)  
Latitude: -25° 14' S (Decimal degrees -25.239444)
Longitude: 129° 49' E (Decimal degrees 129.817222)
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Locality / Suburb  
  Petermann
Local Government Area  
  MacDonnell Shire Council
History/Origin While Ernest Giles described Winters Glen in 1874 as a "splendid little watering place" lying four miles west of Mount?Phillips, its precise location remains uncertain. Modern interpretations - based on Giles's distances and bearings - identify a general search area of approximately five square miles. Within this zone, one candidate site has been proposed where several creeks converge and pass through a rocky glen, closely matching Giles's description. However, due to the tolerances in his measurements and subsequent landscape changes, the exact location cannot be confirmed with certainty.

Winters Glen was named by explorer Ernest Giles on 1 June 1874 during his central Australian expedition (Giles, 1872-74, p. 200). He chose the name 'Winter?s Glen' in honour of William Irving Winter, Esq. of Stanhope, Victoria, who was a subscriber to Giles?s expedition fund. The main creek in the area was named Irving Creek after Winter.

William Irving Winter was born on 20?February?1840 in Edinburgh. He emigrated to Australia as a toddler in 1841 and was educated at Scotch College, Melbourne.

In 1857, he and his brothers purchased extensive pastoral runs - including Colbinabbin, Toolamba, Dhurringile, and notably the Stanhope estate - initially as a family conglomerate but later divided in 1868, when Stanhope became Winter's exclusive property.

He invested heavily in the estate, spending approximately £40,000 on improvements and constructing a mansion.

Winter held various public roles: he served as a magistrate from 1868, president of the Waranga Shire Council, and later, in 1884, succeeded Sir William Mitchell as a member of the Victorian Legislative Council's Northern Province - retaining that seat unopposed until his death.

In 1890, he honoured his maternal lineage by adding "Irving" to his surname, officially becoming William Irving Winter-Irving.

Winter-Irving died suddenly of internal bleeding at his estate 'Noorilim', Goulburn Valley, Victoria on 28?June?1901, aged 61. His funeral in Brighton Cemetery, Melbourne, drew prominent figures including parliamentary leaders and business dignitaries.

Sources:
OBITUARY. (1901, July 6). The Australasian (Melbourne, Vic. : 1864 - 1946), p. 38. Retrieved June 23, 2025, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article139163659
Australian Dictionary of Biography. (n.d.). Winter-Irving, William Irving (1840?1901). National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/winterirving-william-irving-4957
Wikipedia contributors. (2024, April 15). William Winter-Irving. In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved June 23, 2025, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Winter-Irving

Register & Gazettal information

Date Gazettal Comment
  (None Found)  
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