Willaura is a town in western

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 in the

Rural City of Ararat The Rural City of Ararat is an Australian local government area located in the western part of the state of Victoria. It covers an area of and in the 2021 had a population of 11,880. The area includes the towns of Ararat, Armstrong, Dunne ...

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 ...

, 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 ...

. At the , Willaura and surrounding area had a population of 439. According to tradition, the town's name is derived from a question, specifically "Will Laura?"

History

In September 1836 Major Thomas Mitchell travelled through the area on his return to Sydney from

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: *Portland, Oregon, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon *Portland, Maine, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine *Isle of Portland, a tied island in the English Channel Portland may also r ...

. He crossed the

Hopkins Hopkins is an English and Welsh patronymic surname derived from the personal name Hopkin and the genitive ending -''s''. Hopkin is itself a pet form of the name Hobb, a shortening of Robert (with alteration of the initial consonant). Notable peop ...

near the Edgarley Bridge, camped at Mount Stavely, journeyed through the salt lakes area, and then camped at Cockajemmy Lakes. He wrote in his journal that "...a land more favorable for Colonization could not be found..." and his trip effectively opened the district for European settlement. A cairn on the Wickliffe road commemorates his journey. The 1862 the Duffy Land Act made blocks available for free selection, and this was taken up enthusiastically around what was then known as Wickliffe Road. The railway had come through in 1877, and gold discoveries at Mafeking in June 1900 had bought many people to the area. In 1902 sixty tenant farmers were settled on 18,000 acres of Mount William Estate and in 1906 a further 37,000 acres was sold off to small farmers. In 1902 part of Greenvale was sold as smaller town blocks, and the little settlement of Wickliffe Road, now called Willaura, had become a focal point for farming activities in the Shire. It was realized that crops, particularly wheat, did very well in the area and many farmers were keen to establish themselves. Willaura became an important receival centre for grain, and in 1910 was the second biggest in the western half of Victoria. There were a couple of disastrous fires in the town, one in 1912 and another in 1916, which wiped out many business houses. The town steadily progressed however, and in the 1940s gained momentum with the advent of

Soldier Settlement Soldier settlement was the settlement of land throughout parts of Australia by returning discharged soldiers under soldier settlement schemes administered by state governments after World War I and World War II. The post-World War II settlement ...

. Parts of Edgarley, Narrapumelap and Burrumbeep were divided for Closer Settlement, and again farming activity boosted the district. Wickliffe Road Railway Station Post Office opened around January 1878 and was renamed Willaura in 1905.

Climate

Willaura has a temperate climate with warm (sometimes very hot) summers and cool winters with frequent frosts. Rainfall totals around annually, most of which falls in winter and spring. Average temperatures in summer are a maximum of and a minimum of , whilst in winter they are a maximum of and a minimum of .

Sports

The town shares an

Australian rules football 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 ...

team with nearby Moyston, the Moyston-Willaura Pumas, competing in the Mininera & District Football League. Golfers play at the course of the Willaura Golf Club.

Notable people

* Rose Bygrave (born 1955), singer-songwriter * Louise Staley (born 1965), politician (

Victorian Legislative Assembly The Victorian Legislative Assembly is the states and territories of Australia, state lower house of the bicameral Parliament of Victoria in Australia; the state upper house being the Victorian Legislative Council. Both houses sit at Parliament H ...

) * Peter Tait (born 1949), sport shooter (

2000 Summer Paralympics The 2000 Summer Paralympic Games or the XI Summer Paralympics were held in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, between 18 and 29 October. The Sydney Paralympics was the last time that the Summer Paralympics were organized by two different Organ ...

)

References

External links

{{authority control Towns in Victoria (state) Western District (Victoria)