Lismore, Victoria
| Lismore Victoria | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Lismore Hotel | |||||||||
  Lismore | |||||||||
| Coordinates | 37°58′0″S 143°21′0″E / 37.96667°S 143.35000°E | ||||||||
| Population | 513 (2006 census)[1] | ||||||||
| Postcode(s) | 3324 | ||||||||
| Elevation | 178 m (584 ft) | ||||||||
| Location |
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| LGA(s) | Corangamite Shire | ||||||||
| State electorate(s) | Polwarth | ||||||||
| Federal division(s) | Wannon | ||||||||
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Lismore is a town in Victoria, Australia, located on the Hamilton Highway 170 kilometres (106 mi) west of Melbourne. It is part of the Corangamite Shire local government area. The town is located at a point equidistant from Geelong and Warrnambool. At the 2006 census, Lismore had a population of 513. At the 2001 census, Lismore had a population of 262.
History
The town which is now Lismore was first settled by Europeans when a John Brown was forced to stop to repair a wagon axle. It broke while he forded the creek now named Brown's Waterholes. Lismore was surveyed and named in the 1850s. The settlement at that time was a rough grog shanty called the White Swan Hotel and a few houses near the crossing of Brown's Water Holes. Lismore Post Office opened on 1 December 1864.[2]
Lismore grew through the years to become a prosperous service town for the surrounding fine wool producing properties. Its peak of population was probably in the 1950s when many of the large properties of the area were divided up to make farms for returned soldiers. Since the late sixties, Lismore has slowly become more of a retirement town, though it still has a good primary school and other facilities for younger residents. For its size, the town has a remarkable array of services and recreation and leisure activities.
The Town today
A small Hamilton Highway town, Lismore lies just a few kilometres from the northernmost lakes in the Colac Lakes system. There are more than 50 lakes in the chain that spreads across the huge sweep of volcanic plains to the north of Colac. The largest lake, Lake Corangamite, is three times saltier than the ocean and only a species of minnow which has an extreme tolerance to salt can survive in its waters.
The town features one of the state's oldest private chapels, a Gothic revival style building built by Scottish emigrant Adam Robertson in 1867 from bluestone. There is also a large woolshed, capable of shearing 15,000 merinos, built by Robertson in 1841.
The town and surrounding area produces wool, lamb, cereals and oilseed canola.Businesses include 3 cafes, hotel, B&B, service station, grain dealer, farm machinery dealer, stock and station agent, post office and newsagent, several craft shops and a supermarket. There is a preschool primary school and a P-12 college in nearby Derrinallum. There is a community health centre with a visiting doctor and many preventative health program. There is a swimming pool and several well laid out playgrounds.
Sport in Lismore, includes golf, netball, football, cricket, squash, lawn bowls and croquet. The town in conjunction with neighbouring township Derrinallum has an Australian Rules football team Lismore-Derrinallum competing in the Mininera & District Football League.
Points of interest include Lake Tooliorook for fishing and camping, Mount Elephant for hiking, many lakes (some RAMSAR listed) for bird watching,
Notable people
Notable people from Lismore include Gordon Bryant, a Labor politician and minister in the Whitlam government, Tony Street, a Liberal politician and minister in the Fraser government, Olympic Silver medallist Ji Wallace, and Simon Hussey, who was born in Lismore in 1960, and is a multi ARIA award winning producer and composer for Daryl Braithwaite and James Reyne.
Accident
A severe level crossing accident at Lismore, where fog was a contributing factor, occurred on 25 May 2006. A truck failed to stop at a crossing with only passive protection, derailing the train and causing a massive pileup of wagons and killing the truck driver.
References
- ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (25 October 2007). "Lismore (State Suburb)". 2006 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 1 October 2007.
- ^ Premier Postal History, Post Office List, retrieved 11 April 2008
External links
Media related to Lismore, Victoria at Wikimedia Commons