Milawa is a town in

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 ...

, located on Snow Road, south-east of

Wangaratta Wangaratta ( ) is a city in the northeast of Victoria, Australia, from Melbourne along the Hume Highway. The city had a population of 29,808 per the 2021 Australian Census. The city is located at the confluence, junction of the Ovens River, ...

, in the

Rural City of Wangaratta The Rural City of Wangaratta is a Local government areas of Victoria, local government area in the Hume (region), Hume region of Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, located in the north-east part of the state. It covers an area of and, ...

. At the , Milawa had a population of 588. It is at the northern end of the King Valley wine region, between the King River to the west and

Ovens River The Ovens River, a perennial river of the north-east Murray catchment, part of the Murray-Darling basin, is located in the Alpine and Hume regions of the Australian state of Victoria. Location and features Formed by the confluence of the Ea ...

to the north (they meet in Wangaratta). Milawa is the hub of the Milawa Gourmet Region which offers a wide range of produce.

History

Milawa was named in 1873 after being known only as The Square for many years prior. The word Milawa is aboriginal in origin. The word is made up of the words 'Mila' meaning 'Eyes' and 'Wah/Wa' meaning water. The Bpangerang people in the Milawa area were the ''water watchers'' who kept a close eye on the two main rivers, the King River (the Poodumbia) and the Ovens (the Torryong). In these early times the ''Emu Hotel'' occupied one corner (built by James Henley) and the ''Commercial'' was on the opposite corner (built by Colin Gardner). General merchandise was available at McKenzie's store and there were two blacksmiths, a saddler, a bootmaker, a carpenter and a doctor, Dr McSweeney. (''Henley’s Wine Bar & Kitchen'' now occupies the ''Emu Hotel'' site, the ''Milawa Hotel'' occupies the ''Commercial Hotel'' site and Food on Wood the ''McKenzies'' site). The Post Office opened on 7 July 1862, known as Oxley until 1870 and Oxley Plains until 1874. A

Mechanics Institute Mechanics' institutes, also known as mechanics' institutions, sometimes simply known as institutes, and also called schools of arts (especially in the Australian colonies), were educational establishments originally formed to provide adult ed ...

comprising a free library and a spacious hall opened in 1889. A court was established in Milawa in 1874 by the visiting Magistrate Mr Howitt, in a room leased from the Emu Hotel. The police station was located at the Commercial Hotel and in 1917 moved to McKenzies store upon becoming vacant. The lock-up adjoined the Emu Hotel. A dairy company was established in 1891 and by 1896 was one of the biggest dairy companies in Australia (''Milawa Cheese Company'' now occupies this site) Football and cricket began to be played on an organised basis in the 1890s. Milawa was connected to electricity from the

Kiewa Hydroelectric Scheme The Kiewa Hydroelectric Scheme is the largest hydro-electric scheme in the Australian States and territories of Australia, state of Victoria (Australia), Victoria and the second-largest in mainland Australia after the Snowy Mountains Scheme. The ...

in 1939. A violent storm cut a narrow path through Milawa in 1977 and destroyed the Anglican church, tore the roofs from many buildings and destroyed crops. A second storm in 2000 followed a very similar path with similar results. Source: Memories of Oxley, Graham Jones (1995).

Attractions

Milawa Gourmet Region
* Brown Brothers has been established in Milawa since 1889 and is well known for its wide range of wines exported to many countries.

Sport

* 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

Ovens & King Football League The Ovens & King Football Netball League (OKFNL) is an Australian rules football and netball competition based in north-eastern Victoria (state), Victoria around the regional cities of Benalla, Victoria, Benalla and Wangaratta, Victoria, Wanga ...

. * Squash: There are thre
squash
courts at Milawa and a number of competitions running throughout the year. * Tennis * Netball

References

{{authority control Towns in Victoria (state) Rural City of Wangaratta