Quambatook is a town in northern
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.
Description and history
Quambatook is located on the
Avoca River
The Avoca River, an inland intermittent river of the northcentral catchment, part of the Murray-Darling basin, is located in the lower Riverina bioregion and Central Highlands and Wimmera regions of the Australian state of Victoria. The head ...
in the
Shire of Gannawarra
The Shire of Gannawarra is a local government area in Victoria, Australia, located in the northern part of the state. It covers an area of and, in June 2018 had a population of 10,547.
It includes the towns of Cohuna, Kerang, Koondrook, Le ...
local government area, from the state capital,
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 ...
. At the
Quambatook had a population of 229, a decline from 249 at the
and from 361 at the .
The primary school closed in mid 2017 after no applications to teach the six remaining students were received.
Quambatook was settled following the end of 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 capit ...
of the 1850s. Resumption of large
squatter's land holdings for closer settlement in the 1870s led to Quambatook becoming one of Victoria's leading
wheat
Wheat is a grass widely cultivated for its seed, a cereal grain that is a worldwide staple food. The many species of wheat together make up the genus ''Triticum'' ; the most widely grown is common wheat (''T. aestivum''). The archaeologi ...
and
sheep
Sheep or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are domesticated, ruminant mammals 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 domesticated ...
producing areas.
Quambatook Post Office opened on 1 September 1879.
Quambatook has been recognised as the
tractor pulling
Truck and tractor pulling, also known as power pulling, is a form of a motorsport competition in which antique or modified tractors pull a heavy drag or sled along an , track, with the winner being the tractor that pulls the drag the farthe ...
capital of Australia with an annual competition, the Australian Tractor Pulling Championships, held at Easter since 1976.
In fact, the town's motto is 'Land of wheat and wool, home of the tractor pull'.
The town is where
country music
Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...
performer
John Williamson grew up. Williamson has written a musical named for the town.
Golfers play at the course of the Quambatook Golf Club on Boort Road.
After over a century of history, Quambatook Football Club folded from the
Golden Rivers Football League following the 2022 season.
Gallery
File:Quambatook War Memorial 002.JPG, War memorial
File:Quambatook Post Office 002.JPG, Post office
File:Quambatook Welcome Sign.JPG, Guthrie St
File:Quambatook Avoca River 002.JPG, Avoca River and River St
File:Quambatook Store.JPG, General store
See also
*
Quambatook (musical)
References
External links
Towns in Victoria (Australia)
{{VictoriaAU-geo-stub