Skipton is a town in the Western District of Victoria, Australia. The town is situated on the Glenelg Highway 166 kilometres west of 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 me ...

and 52 kilometres south west of the regional centre,

Ballarat Ballarat ( ) is a city in the Central Highlands of Victoria, Australia. At the 2021 Census, Ballarat had a population of 116,201, making it the third largest city in Victoria. Estimated resident population, 30 June 2018. Within months of Vi ...

. Skipton is in the

Shire of Corangamite The Shire of Corangamite 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 16,140. It includes the tow ...

LGA LaGuardia Airport is a civil airport in East Elmhurst, Queens, New York City. Covering , the facility was established in 1929 and began operating as a public airport in 1939. It is named after former New York City mayor Fiorello La Guardia. ...

and is on the banks of

Mount Emu Creek The Mount Emu Creek, (Aboriginal Australian:''Tarnpirr'') a perennial creek of the Glenelg Hopkins catchment, is located in the Western District of Victoria, Australia. Course and features The Mount Emu Creek is a long and small meander ...

. At the , Skipton had a population of 586, considerably less than the population of 927 at the . Skipton is named after

Skipton Skipton (also known as Skipton-in-Craven) is a market town and civil parish in the Craven district of North Yorkshire, England. Historically in the East Division of Staincliffe Wapentake in the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is on the River A ...

, in

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other English counties, functions have ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

and is known as "the home of the

platypus The platypus (''Ornithorhynchus anatinus''), sometimes referred to as the duck-billed platypus, is a semiaquatic, egg-laying mammal endemic to eastern Australia, including Tasmania. The platypus is the sole living representative or monot ...

History

Skipton was first established in 1839 as a pastoral run and a town site was surveyed in 1852. The town was settled some years later, with a local Post Office opening on the 6th of March 1858. The town held the first

agricultural show An agricultural show is a public event exhibiting the equipment, animals, sports and recreation associated with agriculture and animal husbandry. The largest comprise a livestock show (a judged event or display in which breeding stock is exhibi ...

in the Western District in 1859. Skipton once had a Magistrates' Court, but it closed on the 1st of January 1983.

Culture

Economy

Fine wool is the main agricultural product of the Skipton area. Skipton Variety Market is held on every second Saturday of the month at the Mechanics Hall. A Rose Festival is held on the first Saturday after the running of the

Melbourne Cup The Melbourne Cup is a Thoroughbred horse race held in Melbourne, Australia. It is a 3200-metre race for three-year-olds and over, conducted by the Victoria Racing Club on the Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne, Victoria as part of the Me ...

in November each year.

Sport and recreation

rail trail A rail trail is a shared-use path on railway right of way. Rail trails are typically constructed after a railway has been abandoned and the track has been removed, but may also share the right of way with active railways, light rail, or streetca ...

allows cyclists to ride between Skipton and

. Skipton has a

football club A football team is a group of players selected to play together in the various team sports known as football. Such teams could be selected to play in a match against an opposing team, to represent a football club, group, state or nation, an all- ...

competing in the

Central Highlands Football League The Central Highlands Football League is an Australian Rules Football League in the Ballarat region. The league coordinates Senior, Reserve, Under 18, Under 15 and Under 12 grades. History The CHFL was formed in 1979 as a merger of the Clune ...

. Golfers play at the course of the Skipton Golf Club on Geelong-Skipton Road. SkiptonPresbyterianChurch

Notable people

Henry Bolte Sir Henry Edward Bolte GCMG (20 May 1908 – 4 January 1990) was an Australian politician who served as the 38th Premier of Victoria. To date he is the longest-serving Victorian premier, having been in office for over 17 consecutive years. ...

, the longest serving

Premier of Victoria The premier of Victoria is the head of government in the Australian state of Victoria. The premier is appointed by the governor of Victoria, and is the leader of the political party able to secure a majority in the Victorian Legislative Assembl ...

, grew up in Skipton. There is a memorial for Henry Bolte located at the Skipton cemetery, where his parents are buried. *

Henry Kingsley Henry Kingsley (2 January 1830 – 24 May 1876) was an English novelist, brother of the better-known Charles Kingsley. He was an early exponent of muscular Christianity in an 1859 work, ''The Recollections of Geoffry Hamlyn''. Life Kingsley was ...

, author and brother of

Charles Kingsley Charles Kingsley (12 June 1819 – 23 January 1875) was a broad church priest of the Church of England, a university professor, social reformer, historian, novelist and poet. He is particularly associated with Christian socialism, the workin ...

, worked on a pastoral station near Skipton for a time in 1857. * LKS Mackinnon, former chairman of the

Victoria Racing Club The Victoria Racing Club was founded in 1864. It was formed following the disbanding of the Victoria Turf Club and the Victoria Jockey Club. A legacy passed from the Victoria Turf Club was the annual "race that stops a nation", the Melbourne Cup, ...

. * Silent movie star Claire Adams married the son of LKS Mackinnon, Scobie, and settled at Mooramong homestead near Skipton in 1937. *

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal ...

Test Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to: * Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities Arts and entertainment * ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film * ''Test'' (2014 film), ...

cricketer Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by st ...

Alan Connolly was born in Skipton in 1939. * The Academy Is... guitarist

Michael Guy Chislett Michael Guy Chislett (born 6 April 1982) is an Australian musician and producer. He is the lead guitarist and founding member of the Christian worship band Hillsong United and was the lead guitarist of the rock band the Academy Is... Car ...

was born in Skipton.

References

External links

* *
Community websiteCorangamite Shire Council
- Official Site
Ballarat-Skipton rail trail
- Skipton page {{authority control Towns in Victoria (Australia) Shire of Corangamite Western District (Victoria)