Kilmore, Victoria
| Kilmore Victoria |
|||||||||||||
 The main street of Kilmore |
|||||||||||||
 Kilmore
|
|||||||||||||
| Population: | 4,721(2006 census)[1] | ||||||||||||
| Postcode: | 3764 | ||||||||||||
| Elevation: | 370 m (1,214 ft) | ||||||||||||
| Location: | |||||||||||||
| LGA: | Shire of Mitchell | ||||||||||||
| State District: | Seymour | ||||||||||||
| Federal Division: | McEwen | ||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||
Kilmore (
/ˈkɪlmɔr/, locally [ˈkɪlmoː])[2] 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.[3] It has a population of approximately 5,200.
Contents |
[edit] History
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. [4]
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 that rubbed-off of those who lived in Kilmore. O'Shanassy's supporters were referred to as 'O'Rowdies' and O'Shanassy as the 'Rowdy King".[5] A Melbourne Punch cartoon "Freedom of Election at Kilmore" depicted the 1859 election day in the town as a wild barney of Irishmen. [6][7] The town hosts a market on the 2nd 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.
[edit] Railway
A railway used to ascend from Heathcote Junction on the Sydney-Melbourne line, passed through Kilmore[8] with the main branch running onto Heathcote; while a white elephant branch line ran out to Lancefield until dismantled during 1914. The Heathcote branch line was closed in 1969 and then dismantled. An operational tram museum utilises part of the old railway right of way between Kilmore and Bylands. [9]
Kilmore is served by a railway station at Kilmore East, on the main line. The Post Office at Kilmore East opened on 1 September 1872 as Gavan Duffy and was renamed Kilmore East two months later and closed in 1976. [4]
[edit] Education
The town has two private secondary schools and two primary schools; Kilmore Primary School, St Patricks Primary school, Assumption College Kilmore, and the Kilmore International School. The Kilmore International school (TKIS) is the only school in Australia to exclusively use the International Baccalaureate and not offer a local high school qualification such as the VCE.[10]
[edit] References
- ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (25 October 2007). "Kilmore (Urban Centre/Locality)". 2006 Census QuickStats. http://www.censusdata.abs.gov.au/ABSNavigation/prenav/LocationSearch?collection=Census&period=2006&areacode=UCL224400&producttype=QuickStats&breadcrumb=PL&action=401. Retrieved 2008-02-28.
- ^ Macquarie Dictionary, Fourth Edition (2005). Melbourne, The Macquarie Library Pty Ltd. ISBN 1-876429-14-3
- ^ "Kilmore". The Sydney Morning Herald. February 8, 2004. http://www.smh.com.au/news/Victoria/Kilmore/2005/02/17/1108500206612.html. Retrieved 17 September, 2009.
- ^ a b Premier Postal History, Post Office List, https://www.premierpostal.com/cgi-bin/wsProd.sh/Viewpocdwrapper.p?SortBy=VIC&country=, retrieved 2008-04-11
- ^ O'Brien, Antony. Shenanigans on the Ovens Goldfields; the 1859 election, Artillery Publishing, Hartwell, 2005. (detail on O'Shannasy, the local member and Premier)
- ^ Punch, 8 September 1859, p.52
- ^ O'Brien, Antony. Shenanigans on the Ovens Goldfields; the 1859 election, Artillery Publishing, Hartwell, 2005. (detail on O'Shannasy, the local member and Premier). p. 81
- ^ The Heathcote Junction to Bendigo and Associated Railways Turton, Keith Australian Railway Historical Society Bulletin, April, 1970 pp69-88
- ^ Tucker, Maya V. Kilmore on the Sydney Road, Shire of Kilmore, 1988. (comprehensive (1830s–1980s) history based on local newspapers)
- ^ The Kilmore International School
[edit] External links
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Kilmore, Victoria |
- Kilmore Historical Society
- Kilmore Celtic Festival and Kilmore Mechanics' Institute
- Ferreting, Feasting and Finding Your Way Around Historic Kilmore Country
Coordinates: 37°17′S 144°57′E / 37.283°S 144.95°E
|
|||||
