Jeparit, Victoria

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Jeparit Victoria
Population:	370

Jeparit (36°08′S 141°59′E), population 370, is situated on the Wimmera River in Western Victoria, Australia, 370 kilometres north west of Melbourne.

[edit] History

The area around Jeparit had been home to the Gromiluk aboriginal people prior to European settlement. Settlement began in the 1880s, when German Lutheran immigrants began to settle and grow wheat.

The town was gazetted in 1889. The name Jeparit is believed to be derived from an aboriginal word meaning “home of small birds.”

Jeparit’s most famous son is former Australian Prime Minister Sir Robert Menzies, who was born in the town in 1894. He is commemorated by a local park and spire, which is inscribed:

This spire has been erected by the people of Jeparit and district, to honour Sir Robert Menzies. The spire symbolises the rise to world recognition of a boy who was born in Jeparit and who rose by his own efforts to become Australia's Prime Minister and a statesman recognised and honoured throughout the world.

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In the Finnish language, "jeparit" is a nickname for the police.