Birregurra, is a town in

Colac Otway Shire The Shire of Colac Otway is a local government area in the Barwon South West region of Victoria, Australia, located in the south-western part of the state. It covers an area of and in June 2018 had a population of 21,503. It includes the towns ...

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

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 ...

, approximately south-west 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 ...

. At the 2021 census, it had a population of 942. The name comes from an Aboriginal word thought to mean "kangaroo camp". The town is on Gulidjan Country.

History

In 1839,

Wesleyan Wesleyan theology, otherwise known as Wesleyan–Arminian theology, or Methodist theology, is a theological tradition in Protestant Christianity based upon the ministry of the 18th-century evangelical reformer brothers John Wesley and Charle ...

missionaries and the Victorian colonial government established the Buntingdale Aboriginal Mission in the area - Victoria's first Aboriginal mission. A post office opened in the area on 1 October 1858 and was renamed Mount Gellibrand in 1894, a few days before another nearby office was opened as Birregurra.

Railway

The railway through the town opened in 1877, as part of the line to the south-west of the state. A branch line to

Forrest Forrest may refer to: Places Australia *Forrest, Australian Capital Territory *Forrest, Victoria, a small rural township *Division of Forrest, a federal division of the Australian House of Representatives, in Western Australia *Electoral distric ...

, which opened in 1891 and closed in 1957, junctioned with the main line at Birregurra. The local railway station is served by

V/Line V/Line is a statutory authority that operates Regional rail, regional passenger rail and Intercity bus service, coach services in the Australian state of Victoria (state), Victoria. It provides passenger train services on five Commuter rail, ...

passenger services on the Warrnambool line.

Sport

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

football team competing in the Colac & District Football League. Birregurra also has a golf club.

Education

The town has a primary school which had 92 students , and is located on Beal Street.

Businesses

The town has cafes, a local providore showcasing local produce, the Royal Mail Hotel, a general store, gift shops and a hairdresser. Birregurra is home to the

Brae :''"Brae" is also the Lowland Scots language word for the slope or brow of a hill.'' Brae (Old Norse: ''Breiðeið'', meaning "the wide isthmus") is a village on the island of Mainland in Shetland, Scotland, United Kingdom. In it had a popula ...

restaurant, which was number 44 in

The World's 50 Best Restaurants The World's 50 Best Restaurants is a list produced by the UK media company William Reed Ltd, William Reed, which originally appeared in the British magazine ''Restaurant (magazine), Restaurant'' in 2002. The list and awards are no longer direc ...

in 2017.

Local events

Birregurra is host to the Birregurra Festival and Art Show, which starts on the second full weekend of October each year. A produce market is held on the second Sunday of each month from November to April, where local vendors sell cakes, jewellery, plants, fresh fruit and vegetables, wine, arts and crafts. Organisers hold a barbecue for patrons of the market and all proceeds return to the community. Birregurra was the filming location for the fictional Victorian town of Haven Bay in season 1 of the Channel 10 television series ''

The Henderson Kids ''The Henderson Kids'' is an Australian television series made by Crawford Productions for Network Ten between 1985 and 1987. It was created and storylined by Roger Moulton, who also wrote 5 episodes in the first series and 2 episodes in the se ...

''.

Notable people

Mary Glowrey Mary Glowrey JMJ, religious name ''Mary of the Sacred Heart'', (1887–1957) was an Australian born religious sister and educated doctor who spent 37 years in India, where she set up healthcare facilities, services and systems. She is believed t ...

(1887–1957) was an Australian-born and educated doctor, who spent 37 years in

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

, where she set up healthcare facilities. *

Firth McCallum Firth William McCallum (27 December 1872 – 11 July 1910) was an Australian rules footballer who played with Geelong Geelong ( ) (Wathawurrung language, Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in Victoria, Australia, loc ...

(1872–1910) was an Australian rules footballer with

Geelong Football Club The Geelong Football Club, nicknamed the Cats, is a professional Australian rules football club based at Kardinia Park in South Geelong, Victoria, Australia. The club competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's premier comp ...

and was named among the top players of the

1899 VFL season The 1899 VFL season was the third season of the Victorian Football League (VFL), the highest-level senior Australian rules football competition in Victoria. The season featured eight clubs and ran from 13 May to 16 September, comprising a 14-ro ...

References

External links

Community website
*
Birregurra Festival & Art ShowColac Otway ShireBirregurra Primary School
Towns in Victoria (state) Western District (Victoria) {{BarwonSouthWest-geo-stub