Kilmore, Victoria

Kilmore Victoria
The main street of Kilmore
Kilmore
Coordinates	37°17′0″S 144°57′0″E / 37.28333°S 144.95000°E / -37.28333; 144.95000Coordinates: 37°17′0″S 144°57′0″E / 37.28333°S 144.95000°E / -37.28333; 144.95000
Population	6,678 (2011 census)
Postcode(s)	3764
Elevation	370 m (1,214 ft)
Location	60 km (37 mi) from Melbourne 40 km (25 mi) from Seymour
LGA(s)	Shire of Mitchell
State electorate(s)	Euroa
Federal Division(s)	McEwen
Localities around Kilmore: Willowmavin Willowmavin Broadford Willowmavin Kilmore Wandong Wallan Wallan Wandong

Kilmore (/ˈkɪlmɔːr/, locally [ˈkɪlmoː]) is a town in the Australian state of Victoria. Located 60 kilometres (37 mi) north of Melbourne, it is contentiously claimed as Victoria's oldest inland settled town. At the 2011 census, Kilmore had a population of 6,678.

Kilmore Post Office opened on 1 February 1843 and, with Ovens (later Wangaratta) which opened the same day, were the fifth and sixth to open in the Port Phillip District and the first two inland offices.

Kilmore was a stronghold of early Celtic settlers from Ireland, Scotland and Cornwall, and remains a strong Celtic area to this day. In the mid-1850s Kilmore was the electorate of the Irish-born Premier of Victoria (1857–59), John O'Shanassy (1818–83). O'Shanassy, an Irish Catholic, was the bane of the Protestant establishment in Melbourne and this also affected those who lived in Kilmore. O'Shanassy's supporters were referred to as 'O'Rowdies' and O'Shanassy as the 'Rowdy King". A Melbourne Punch cartoon "Freedom of Election at Kilmore" depicted the 1859 election day in the town as a wild barney of Irishmen. The town hosts a market on the last Saturday of each month, and a Celtic Festival each June.

Many of Kilmore's oldest extant buildings are made of bluestone including the hospital, old court house, former post office, some churches, a gaol, and a monument to Hume and Hovell near the golf course.