Great Western is a town in the east of the

Wimmera The Victorian government's Wimmera Southern Mallee subregion is part of the Grampians region in western Victoria. It includes most of what is considered the Wimmera, and part of the southern Mallee region. The subregion is based on the social ...

region of

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 ...

. The town is located on the Western Highway, in the

Shire of Northern Grampians The Shire of Northern Grampians is a local government area in the Wimmera region of Victoria, Australia, located in the western part of the state. It covers an area of and in June 2018 had a population of 11,431, having fallen from 12,087 in 20 ...

local government area A local government area (LGA) is an administrative division of a country that a local government is responsible for. The size of an LGA varies by country but it is generally a subdivision of a federated state, state, province, division (politica ...

, 225 kilometres north west of the state capital,

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 ...

. The town has a population of 425. The first

European European, or Europeans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe and other West ...

settlers in the Great Western area were

sheep Sheep (: sheep) or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are a domesticated, ruminant mammal typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus '' Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to d ...

graziers in the 1840s and closer settlement began with the discovery of

gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

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 capi ...

, the Post Office opening on 1 June 1858. . The first

vineyards A vineyard ( , ) is a plantation of grape-bearing vines. Many vineyards exist for winemaking; others for the production of raisins, table grapes, and non-alcoholic grape juice. The science, practice and study of vineyard production is kno ...

in the Great Western area were established by two

Frenchmen French people () are a nation primarily located in Western Europe that share a common French culture, history, and language, identified with the country of France. The French people, especially the native speakers of langues d'oïl from nor ...

who met at the gold diggings at Daylesford. Following their example, Joseph Best and his brother Henry established vineyards in 1865. Following Joseph's death in 1888, the property was purchased by Hans Irvine. Irvine imported staff from France and dedicated himself to establishing a

sparkling wine Sparkling wine is a wine with significant levels of carbon dioxide in it, making it fizzy. While it is common to refer to this as champagne, European Union countries legally reserve that word for products exclusively produced in the Champagne ( ...

of comparable quality of French

champagne Champagne (; ) is a sparkling wine originated and produced in the Champagne wine region of France under the rules of the appellation, which demand specific vineyard practices, sourcing of grapes exclusively from designated places within it, spe ...

. In 1918, Irvine sold the winery to his friend and Australian wine pioneer,

Benno Seppelt Oscar Benno Pedro Seppelt (13 July 1846 – 11 May 1931), known universally as Benno Seppelt, was a South Australian winemaker who helped the Barossa Valley become recognised as a premium wine region. History Joseph Ernst Seppelt (1813 – 29 Ja ...

. For decades Seppelt's "Great Western" and Penfolds' "Minchinbury" were strong contenders for Australia's premier Champagne-style sparkling wine. Today, Great Western is the wine and food village of the

Grampians The Grampian Mountains () is one of the three major mountain ranges in Scotland, that together occupy about half of Scotland. The other two ranges are the Northwest Highlands and the Southern Uplands. The Grampian range extends northeast to so ...

. Wineries are still producing quality sparkling wines including Seppelt Salinger at the Seppelt winery, now owned by

Treasury Wine Estates Treasury Wine Estates is an Australian global winemaking and distribution business with headquarters in Melbourne. It was formerly the wine division of international brewing company Foster's Group. History Background Treasury Wine Estates trac ...

. The Ahchow Family have been custodians of the Seppelt Great Western estate since 2016. The Seppelt cellars include over 3 kilometres of labyrinthine tunnels ("drives") originally constructed by out of work gold miners. The underground cellars were used to allow the sparkling wine to rest and develop. Sparkling Shiraz was first made at the now Seppelt site in Great Western. The other major vineyard in the area is the Concongella vineyard, operated by Best's Wines, producing a wide variety of wine types. Table

shiraz Shiraz (; ) is the List of largest cities of Iran, fifth-most-populous city of Iran and the capital of Fars province, which has been historically known as Pars (Sasanian province), Pars () and Persis. As of the 2016 national census, the popu ...

, including some from pre-

phylloxera Grape phylloxera is an insect pest of grapevines worldwide, originally native to eastern North America. Grape phylloxera (''Daktulosphaira vitifoliae'' (Fitch 1855) belongs to the family Phylloxeridae, within the order Hemiptera, bugs); orig ...

root stocks, is also produced by wineries in the area. The development of a water recycling program transferring waste water from nearby Ararat to wineries at Great Western has allowed recent expansion of the wine industry in the area. The horse racing club, the Wimmera Racing Club, holds the Great Western Cup meeting on

Australia Day Australia Day is the official national day of Australia. Observed annually on 26 January, it marks the 1788 landing of the First Fleet and raising of the Flag of Great Britain, Union Flag of Great Britain by Arthur Phillip at Sydney Cove, a ...

(26 January), and a

rodeo Rodeo () is a competitive equestrian sport that arose out of the working practices of cattle herding in Spain and Mexico, expanding throughout the Americas and to other nations. It was originally based on the skills required of the working vaqu ...

is also held annually. 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 Australian rules football playing field, oval field, often a modified ...

football team competing in the

Mininera & District Football League The Mininera & District Football League is based in South-western Victoria (Australia), Victoria, with clubs located east of Hamilton, Victoria, Hamilton, south of Ararat, Victoria, Ararat and west of Colac, Victoria, Colac. The league absorbed ...

.West and fairest Lions roar
The Age 25 March 2012

Gallery

File:Great Western Anglican Church.JPG, Anglican Church File:Great Western Church 002.JPG, Church building File:Great Western General Store.JPG, General Store File:Great Western Hotel.JPG, Great Western Hotel File:Great Western Mechanics Institute.JPG, Mechanics Institute File:Great Western War Memorial.JPG, War memorial gates File:GreatWesternMainStreet.JPG, Main Street

Gallery

References

Further reading