Cowwarr is a town in

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, 27 kilometres north-east of

Traralgon Traralgon ( ) is a town located in the east of the Latrobe Valley in the Gippsland region of Victoria, Australia and the most populous city of the City of Latrobe. The urban population of Traralgon at the was 26,907. It is the largest and fastes ...

, 174 kilometres east of

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

, in the

Shire of Wellington The Shire of Wellington is a local government area in Victoria, Australia, located in the eastern part of the state. It covers an area of and in June 2018 had a population of 44,019. It includes the towns of Heyfield, Rosedale, Maffra, Sale ...

. At the

2016 census Sixteen or 16 may refer to: *16 (number), the natural number following 15 and preceding 17 *one of the years 16 BC, AD 16, 1916, 2016 Films * ''Pathinaaru'' or ''Sixteen'', a 2010 Tamil film * ''Sixteen'' (1943 film), a 1943 Argentine film dir ...

, Cowwarr and the surrounding area had a population of 368. Established in the 1860s (when the usual spelling was "Cowwar"), the town serviced the area around Walhalla during the

Victorian gold rush The Victorian gold rush was a period in the history of Victoria, Australia approximately between 1851 and the late 1860s. It led to a period of extreme prosperity for the Australian colony, and an influx of population growth and financial capita ...

. The Post Office opened on 1 February 1869 as Upper Heyfield and was renamed Cowwarr in 1870. Cowwarr was a wayside station on the former Traralgon-Maffra-Stratford railway, which opened in 1883. Daily passenger trains from Maffra ran through to Traralgon station (connecting to Melbourne and beyond) until 1977, and the last freight train passed through the town in 1987. The former railway has been converted to the Gippsland Plains Rail trail. Historic buildings remain in the town today. A Heritage Listed Arts & Craft

butter Butter is a dairy product made from the fat and protein components of churned cream. It is a semi-solid emulsion at room temperature, consisting of approximately 80% butterfat. It is used at room temperature as a spread, melted as a condiment ...

factory, built in 1918, was converted into th
Cowwarr Art Space
a gallery for

contemporary art Contemporary art is the art of today, produced in the second half of the 20th century or in the 21st century. Contemporary artists work in a globally influenced, culturally diverse, and technologically advancing world. Their art is a dynamic com ...

. The gallery closed in February 2020.The Cricket Club Hotel
first established in 1880 as a wooden building the current concrete Art Deco building was constructed in 1930 as was the Cowwarr Public Hall opposite. The town is supported by district farming, including dairy farming, irrigated from the Rainbow Creek, which runs past Cowwarr, and the Thomson River. The town has an

Australian Rules Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...

football team competing in the

North Gippsland Football League The North Gippsland Football League (NGFL) is an Australian rules football league in the Central Gippsland area of Victoria, Australia. History The NGFL was formed in 1955 through the merger of the Cowwarr Football League and the Sale Distric ...

a Netball team a primary school which burnt down in late January 2020 and a picturesque Catholic Church.

References

Towns in Victoria (Australia) Towns in Central Gippsland Shire of Wellington {{Gippsland-geo-stub