Natimuk is a town in Western Victoria,

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. It is located about northwest of

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

. A further west of Natimuk is one of Australia's best climbing areas, Mount Arapiles. At the 2016 census, Natimuk had a population of 514, up from 449 in 2006.

History

The local post office opened as "Natimuk Creek" on 1 July 1874 and was renamed "Natimuk" in 1884. A railway line, built in a number of sections, once connected

Horsham Horsham () is a market town on the upper reaches of the River Arun on the fringe of the Weald in West Sussex, England. The town is south south-west of London, north-west of Brighton and north-east of the county town of Chichester. Nearby to ...

and

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: * Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States * ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda ** ''Hamilton'' (al ...

, running via Cavendish, Balmoral and East Natimuk until their closures in 1986 and 1988. The Natimuk Court of Petty Sessions closed in 1965, with the former courthouse subsequently being used by the local historical society. In 2004 Natimuk hosted 10000 people for Triple J's One Night Stand.

Description

Natimuk has traditionally survived as a rural service centre for the surrounding grain and sheep farming community. More recently it has diversified into tourism and staved off the decline common in other Wimmera towns. People from all over the planet flock to Natimuk because of the rock climbing at Mount Arapiles and the nearby Grampians. Around 60 rock climbers (locally known as ''goats'') have made Natimuk their home due to the climbing and lifestyle. Every two years Natimuk hosts its arts festival, the Nati Frinj. Natimuk's arts friendly focus has attracted and supported artists from nearby regions or urban areas to settle in the town.

Sport

The town has traditionally had strong

Netball Netball is a ball sport played on a rectangular court by two teams of seven players. The primary objective is to shoot a ball through the defender's goal ring while preventing the opposing team from shooting through their own. It is one of a ...

teams - The Ewes. Natimuk also fields three or four

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 Australian rules football playing field, oval field, often a modified ...

teams who compete in the Horsham & District Football League. Golfers play at the course of the Natimuk Golf Club at Mount Arapiles State Park. There is also a lawn bowls club, tennis club, cricket club and people come from miles around to compete and train with th
Natimuk Gymnastics Club

Environment

There are many small wetlands in the district, and the town lies close to the Natimuk-Douglas Wetlands

Important Bird Area An Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) is an area identified using an internationally agreed set of criteria as being globally important for the conservation of bird populations. IBA was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife Int ...

, so identified by

BirdLife International BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding i ...

because of its importance for a variety of

waterbird A water bird, alternatively waterbird or aquatic bird, is a bird that lives on or around water. In some definitions, the term ''water bird'' is especially applied to birds in freshwater ecosystems, although others make no distinction from seabi ...

Events

Nati Frinj is hosted in the first weekend of November during each odd numbered year in town. The festival includes music, food, visual art, performances, and various other events. Natimuk also hosts Goatfest, an annual climbing film festival, which coincides with the influx of climbers over the Easter holidays.

References

External links

Information about Natimuk and the Nati Frinj
{{authority control Towns in Victoria (state) Rural City of Horsham Wimmera