Warrnambool, Victoria
| Warrnambool Victoria |
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 View over Warrnambool |
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  Warrnambool
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| Population: | 28,150 [1] | ||||||
| Established: | 1855 | ||||||
| Time zone:
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AEST (UTC+10)
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| Location: | 265 km (165 mi) from Melbourne | ||||||
| LGA: | City of Warrnambool | ||||||
| County: | Villiers | ||||||
| State District: | South-West Coast | ||||||
| Federal Division: | Wannon | ||||||
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Warrnambool is a regional city located on the south-western coast of Victoria, Australia in the City of Warrnambool Local Government Area. The city has a urban population of 28,150.[1] It is situated on the Princes Highway and is near the western end of the Great Ocean Road.
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History
The word Warrnambool comes from the local Indigenous Australians name for a nearby volcanic cone. It has been interpreted to mean many things including “land between two rivers”, "two swamps" or "ample water".
The treacherous coast near the city is known as the "Shipwreck Coast" and evidence suggests the first ships to arrive were among the earliest international explorers. The legend of the Mahogany Ship is strongly linked to the city.
Some believe the first Europeans to discover the area were Portuguese sailors, who surveyed the coastline nearby and possibly marooned near the site of the present town as early as the 1500s, however this is currently unproven. French explorer Nicholas Baudin recorded coastal landmarks in 1802. The area was frequented by whalers early in the 19th century. Matthew Flinders sailed the coast in the Investigator, and Lieutenant James Grant in the Lady Nelson also explored the area.
The first settlers arrived in the 1840s in the Lady Bay area, which was a natural harbour. The town was surveyed in 1846 and established soon after, the Post Office opening on 1 January 1849.[2]
During the Victorian Gold Rush, Warrnambool became an important port and grew quickly in the 1850s, benefiting from the private ownership of nearby Port Fairy.
It was gazetted as a municipality in 1855 and became a borough in 1863. Warrnambool was declared a town in 1883 and a city in 1918.
Post Offices opened at Warrnambool South in 1937 (closed 1973), Warrnambool East in 1946, and Warrnambool North in 1947 (closed 1975).[2]
Economy
Warrnambool is a popular tourist destination, with about 715,000 visitors each year. It is also a comprehensive regional service centre. The mainstay of the economy is agriculture and its support industry (particularly dairy farming and associated milk processing). Other major industries and services include retail, education, health, meat processing, clothing manufacture and construction. Visitor levels are usually high during July due to the children's Fun4Kids festival. The Fletcher Jones and Staff Pty Ltd clothing factory opened in 1948 and was closed in 2005.[3]
As well as the spectacular views from the Great Ocean Road, there are several beaches nearby, some of which are used for surfing. In the winter months, Southern Right whales are regularly seen in the waters near the city at the Logan's Beach nursery, and boats make whale-watching tours.
Education
The City's main education centres include Deakin University Warrnambool Campus, the South West Institute of TAFE, government and private primary and secondary schools, and pre-school centres.
Features
The Warrnambool Botanic Gardens feature wide curving paths, rare trees, a lily pond with ducks, a fernery, a band rotunda, and was designed by notable landscape architect, William Guilfoyle.
The Lady Bay Lighthouse complex is on the Victorian heritage register due to its significance as an example of early colonial development. There has been a flagstaff on top of Flagstaff Hill since 1848, and the current lighthouses were moved to the site in 1878. They still operate as navigation aids for the channel into Warrnambool harbour.
Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village is built around the original lighthouses and now operates as a heritage attraction and museum for the Great Ocean Road. [1] Winner of the past 3 Victorian Tourism Awards - Tourist Attraction, is houses an extensive collection of shipwreck and maritime trade artefacts in both a museum and village setting.
The post office and lighthouse date back to the early days of settlement.
Eleven suburbs surround the CBD of Warrnambool: North, South, East and West Warrnambool, Brierly, Sherwood Park, Merrivale, Dennington, Woodford, Bushfield and Allansford, though only the four latter are recognised as localities of the city.
There are several bars and hotels in the city including The Flying Horse Bar and Brewery, the Seanchai, Warrnambool Hotel, The Whaler's Inn, The Royal, The Western, The Caledonian, Mac's, Rafferty's Tavern, The Gallery, The Loft, The Victoria, The Fishbowl, Your Break and, just out of town, The Junction Hotel.
The Warrnambool foreshore is a popular swimming area, and is adjacent to the Lake Pertobe parklands. A number of caravan parks are also located in the area.
Flora and fauna
Logan's Beach on the eastern side of the city is recognised as a nursery site for the Southern Right Whale Eubalaena australis. Most years one, two or three adult female whales arrive between late May and August, giving birth within days of their arrival. The young whale calf is then reared at the site, usually departing with its parent by mid to late September. Besides the Southern Right whale, the coastline is also visited by Australian Fur Seals, Fairy Penguins and the Common dolphin. During the winter and early spring albatross cruise along the coastline and can be sighted from Thunder Point, a popular coastal lookout in the town.
Middle Island has a colony of little penguins. Fox predation reduced numbers significantly. In 2005 only 4 penguins were remaining in the colony. Warrnambool City Council introduced a world first program using Maremma dogs to guard the penguins. This program has supported the re-establishment of a colony of over 100 penguins in 2009.[4][5][6]
Transport
Warrnambool is situated on the Princes Highway between Port Fairy to the west and Terang to the east as well as at the south-western terminus of the Hopkins Highway. The Great Ocean Road terminates 13 km east of Warrnambool, near Allansford.
Rail and bus services also operate to Melbourne and Geelong. V/Line passenger train services call at Warrnambool's two stations, Warrnambool in the city and Sherwood Park in the city's outer east, seven days a week. A daily container freight service is been run by Pacific National for local container handler Westvic.[7]
Local buses under the Transit South West brand cover Warrnambool's city and suburbs and extend to the nearby towns of Port Fairy and Koroit. V/Line coaches connect Warrnambool with Portland, Mount Gambier, Ballarat and Hamilton.
Events and culture
Warrnambool is home to the Grand Annual Sprintcar Classic, a race which attracts Australian and international drivers on the Australia Day long weekend.
Mainly during the end of June and the start of July every year, it is also the home to the children's festival Fun4Kids. It is held next to the Warrnambool Entertainment Centre.
The city is also the finishing point of the Melbourne to Warrnambool Classic cycle race. It is the longest one-day bicycle endurance race in the world, held every October since 1895 to be the world’s second oldest bike race.[8][9]
Warrnambool has a horse racing club, the Warrnambool Racing Club, which schedules around twenty race meetings a year including the Warrnambool Cup and Grand Annual Steeple three-day meeting in the first week of May.[10] The Woodford Racing Club also holds one meeting at Warrnambool racecourse. The Grand Annual steeplechase has 33 more jumps than any other horse race and is one of the longest steeplechases in the world.
The Warrnambool Greyhound Racing Club also holds regular meetings.[11]
The Wunta festival held in Warrnambool every February is one of south-west Victoria's major community festivals. It incorporates a wide range of entertainment for all ages.
The Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum is in Warrnambool built on Flagstaff Hill that also holds the original lighthouses and Warrnambool Garrison. Its most prized item in its collection is the Minton peacock salvaged from the Loch Ard.
From 1 to 3 September 2008, the city hosted, along with Melbourne, the 2008 Australian Football International Cup, featuring 14 nations from around the world playing Australian rules football.[12] The sport is highly popular in Warrnambool which has a competitive local league and is the origin of many high profile AFL players. The city has three Australian Rules football teams playing in the Hampden Football League (North Warrnambool, South Warrnambool and Warrnambool).[13]
Golfers play on the Warrnambool Golf Club course on Younger Street.[14]
Notable people from Warrnambool
- Alex Dyson, radio presenter
- Tom Ballard, comedian and radio presenter
- Jonathan Brown and Jordan Lewis, Australian rules football players
- Leon Cameron, Paul Couch, Noel Mugavin, Wayne Schwass, former Australian rules football players
- Sir John Eccles, Nobel Prize winner in physiology or medicine, 1963
- Michelle Ferris, Olympic Silver Medallist, Cycling 1996, 2000[15]
- Sam Grayson, member of rock band The Androids
- Dave Hughes, comedian
- Marc Leishman, golfer
- Christian Ryan, Olympic Silver Medallist, Rowing 2000
Sister City
- Miura, Kanagawa, Japan
See also
- ABC South West Victoria
- Mahogany Ship
- Warrnambool Airport
- Warrnambool railway line, Victoria
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Australian Bureau of Statistics (25 October 2007). "Warrnambool (Urban Centre/Locality)". 2006 Census QuickStats. http://www.censusdata.abs.gov.au/ABSNavigation/prenav/LocationSearch?collection=Census&period=2006&areacode=UCL256200&producttype=QuickStats&breadcrumb=PL&action=401. Retrieved 23 December 2009.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Premier Postal History, Post Office List, https://www.premierpostal.com/cgi-bin/wsProd.sh/Viewpocdwrapper.p?SortBy=VIC&country=, retrieved 2008-04-11
- ↑ ABC News: Future of Fletcher Jones factory may be known today - July 26, 2007
- ↑ TheAge.com
- ↑ 3AW.com.au
- ↑ Vic.gov.au
- ↑ "Rail freight deal New operator avoids closure". The Warrnambool Standard. warrnambool.yourguide.com.au. March 7, 2008. http://warrnambool.yourguide.com.au/news/local/news/general/rail-freight-deal-new-operator-avoids-closure/187162.aspx. Retrieved 2008-06-26.
- ↑ Race History: The First Race
- ↑ Boost for Melbourne to Warrnambool Cycling Classic
- ↑ Country Racing Victoria, Warrnambool Racing Club, http://www.countryracing.com.au/index.php?option=com_club_info&club=105&Itemid=80, retrieved 2009-05-07
- ↑ Greyhound Racing Victoria, Warrnambool, http://warrnambool.grv.org.au/index.html, retrieved 2009-04-15
- ↑ AFL International Cup
- ↑ Full Points Footy, Warrnambool, http://www.fullpointsfooty.net/Warrnambool.htm, retrieved 2008-07-25
- ↑ Golf Select, Warrnambool, http://www.golfselect.com.au/armchair/courseView.aspx?course_id=333, retrieved 2009-05-11
- ↑ "Promising return for Ferris". AAP Sports News. 21 Mar 2002. http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=archive&ct=res&cd=2-0&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.highbeam.com%2Fdoc%2F1P1-51530295.html%3Frefid%3Dgnews_1108&ei=sBVNTKG9D5DyqQO59bWZCA&usg=AFQjCNHuoZ8YIiCeXC8YHjHJe2dEqmenWA&sig2=C7uRVVWSUwPdBMIiULYQig. (registration required)
External links
- Warrnambool City Council
- Warrnambool Community Pages
- Warrnambool Tourism Association website
- "Climate for Warrnambool". Bureau of Meteorology. Australian Government. http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/averages/tables/cw_090172.shtml. Retrieved 2009-02-24.
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