Cocamba’s history can be read through specific place names and surviving features: the evidence ranges from its proclamation as a township to historic water storage tanks and Survey Trees that once bore inscriptions. Miller’s Tank is particularly notable, serving both as a reservoir and as the only surviving evidence of the former township of Miller’s Tank. There is also Log Tank and a historical railway connection to the name Cocamba. The focus, then, is on specific traces rather than a general list of things to do.
Place Name and Historical Context
Cocamba was proclaimed a township in 1915 under the name Cocamba, pursuant to Section 19 of the Land Act 1915. The proclamation provides a precise historical reference point for the township.
The name Cocamba is a variation or corruption of the name Koolcimboo. In the Mallee, Koolcimboo was given to a tank and means “Laughing Kookaburra”. The name Cocamba was also adopted for a historic railway station on the Bendigo to Manangatang line.
The township proclamation, the tank name and the railway station each point to different aspects of the history of the name and place. Taken together, they give Cocamba a historical context that extends beyond a single building or point in time.
Water Storage in Cocamba
Miller’s Tank on Miller’s Tank Road is a large, rectangular water storage tank. Its dam crest measures approximately 40 by 70 metres. The site is a locally significant and representative example of excavated water storage tanks established in the early 20th century along major transport routes in designated Mallee water reserves. This links a specific tank with the history of these water reserves.
The history of Miller’s Tank goes beyond the water storage tank: it is the only surviving evidence of the township of Miller’s Tank, which was located there in the 1920s and 1930s. Thus, the same name brings together the history of a water storage tank and that of a former township.
Log Tank in Cocamba is also a rectangular water storage tank; it is located on Moondah Road and measures approximately 30 by 20 metres. Both sites are therefore described as rectangular, but the measurements refer to different things.
At Miller’s Tank, the dam crest measures approximately 40 by 70 metres; for Log Tank, the figure of about 30 by 20 metres refers to the water storage tank. This distinction helps put the measurements in context without treating them as identical types of measurement.
Survey Trees and Their Inscriptions
Two Survey Trees of local historical interest survive in Cocamba. They originally bore incised letters, numbers and the arrow motif of the colonial government. Severe termite damage to the exposed trunk surfaces made the original inscriptions illegible; the survey markings had also badly deteriorated. The history of these trees therefore includes both the signs they once bore and the changes to their trunks.
For travellers interested in local history, the Survey Trees complement the water storage tanks with a different kind of historical trace: markings on trees rather than rectangular reservoirs. If you would like to include individual historic sites in your stay, check access before making specific plans.
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For the broader travel overview: Victoria.
