Warracknabeal

Warracknabeal
Victoria

Post office and war memorial

Warracknabeal

Coordinates

36°15′0″S 142°25′0″E / 36.25000°S 142.41667°ECoordinates: 36°15′0″S 142°25′0″E / 36.25000°S 142.41667°E

Population

2,745 (2011 census)

Postcode(s)

3393

Elevation

113 m (371 ft)

Location

359 km (223 mi) NW of Melbourne
58 km (36 mi) N of Horsham
60 km (37 mi) W of Donald

LGA(s)

Shire of Yarriambiack

Mean max temp	Mean min temp	Annual rainfall
22.2 °C ^{72 °F}	8.6 °C ^{47 °F}	397.4 mm ^{15.6 in}

Warracknabeal (/ˈwɒrɪknəbiːl/ WORR-ik-nə-beel) is a wheatbelt town in the Australian state of Victoria. Situated on the banks of the Yarriambiack Creek, 330 km north-west of Melbourne, it is the business and services centre of the northern Wimmera and southern Mallee districts, and hosts local government offices of the Shire of Yarriambiack. At the 2011 census Warracknabeal district had a population of 2,745, of which 2,340 lived in the urban town centre.

The original inhabitants of the area around Warracknabeal were the Wotjobaluk tribe of Aboriginal people. The town's name is believed to derive from an aboriginal expression meaning "place of big gums shading the water hole". The earliest European settlers in the area included Andrew and Robert Scott, who established the first run of the name.

The Post Office opened on 1 September 1861 and was known as Werracknebeal until 1885.

Amongst the historical buildings are an 1872 prison cell built from red and yellow gum, a Tudor-style post office, several 19th century hotels and pubs, and a four storey water tower from 1886. There is also an agricultural machinery museum housing pieces from the history of farming in the Mallee and Wimmera districts.

The Warracknabeal bounded locality includes the rural neighbourhoods of Batchica 36°11′10″S 142°23′54″E / 36.1862°S 142.3982°E / -36.1862; 142.3982 (Batchica) (whose post office opened as Yellanghip South in 1908, was renamed Batchica in 1909 and closed in 1931), Challambra 36°14′46″S 142°31′53″E / 36.2460°S 142.5315°E / -36.2460; 142.5315 (Challambra) (whose post office opened as Challamba Dam (sic) around 1902, was renamed Challamba in 1905 and closed in 1918) and Mellis 36°17′47″S 142°28′57″E / 36.2963°S 142.4824°E / -36.2963; 142.4824 (Mellis) (whose post office opened around 1907 and closed in 1954).

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Wikipedia