Nhill Victoria |
|||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
War memorial and park in the middle of the Western Highway as it passes through Nhill
|
|||||||||||||||
Coordinates | 36°20′0″S 141°39′0″E / 36.33333°S 141.65000°ECoordinates: 36°20′0″S 141°39′0″E / 36.33333°S 141.65000°E | ||||||||||||||
Population | 2,278 (2011 census) | ||||||||||||||
Postcode(s) | 3418 | ||||||||||||||
Elevation | 133.0 m (436 ft) | ||||||||||||||
Location | |||||||||||||||
LGA(s) | Shire of Hindmarsh | ||||||||||||||
State electorate(s) | Lowan | ||||||||||||||
Federal Division(s) | Mallee | ||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||
Footnotes | Adjoining localities |
Nhill is a town in the Wimmera, in western Victoria, Australia. Nhill is located on the Western Highway, halfway between Adelaide and Melbourne. At the 2011 census, Nhill had a population of 2278. "Nhill" is believed to be a Wergaia word meaning "early morning mist rising over water" or "white mist rising from the water".
Nhill is the administrative headquarters for Shire of Hindmarsh and residents are mainly employed in either farming or food processing, most notably in grain and fowl.
The town is home to a community of Karen people. Originally coming to Australia as refugees, the Karen community settled in Nhill in the early 2010s to work at the Luv-a-Duck food processing facility. In 2012, there were over 100 Karen residents in Nhill.
The 2011 Australian census listed the main religions in Nhill as Uniting Church 26.8%, Lutheran 15.6%, Anglican 13.4% and Catholic 12.9%. 31.3% either recorded "no religion" or did not answer.
The area has been home to the Wotjobaluk Aboriginal people for thousands of years and was first visited by Europeans in 1845. The famous Aboriginal tracker and cricketer, Dick-a-Dick, later claimed to have been present at the first meeting between the Wotjobaluk and Europeans. Brothers Frank and John Oliver decided to build a flour mill on Crown land beside the Dimboola-Lawloit road, the township of Nhill grew from there.
Cobb and Co coaches serviced Nhill from 1883. Nhill Post Office opened on 1 January 1881. An earlier rural office (1861) was replaced by Lawloit Post Office