Warracknabeal

Template:Use dmy dates Template:Use Australian English Template:Infobox Australian place

File:Warracknabeal Hotel 2010.JPG

Warracknabeal Hotel

Warracknabeal (Template:IPAc-en Template:Respell) is a town in the Australian state of Victoria, located in the Victorian wheatbelt.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Situated on the banks of the Yarriambiack Creek, 330 km northwest of Melbourne, it is the business and services centre of the northern Wimmera and southern Mallee districts, and hosts local government offices of the Shire of Yarriambiack. At the Template:CensusAU, the Warracknabeal township had a population of 2,359.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

HistoryEdit

The original inhabitants of the area around Warracknabeal were the Wotjobaluk tribe of Aboriginal people. The town's name is believed to derive from an Aboriginal expression meaning "place of big gums shading the water hole". The earliest European settlers in the area included Andrew and Robert Scott, who established the first run of the name.<ref>Reader's Digest Illustrated Guide to Australian Places, 1993.</ref>

The Post Office opened on 1 September 1861 and was known as Werracknebeal until 1885.<ref name = "Post office">Template:Citation</ref>

Among the historical buildings are a 1872 prison cell built from red and yellow gum, a Tudor-style post office, several 19th-century hotels and pubs, and a four-storey water tower from 1886. There is also an agricultural machinery museum housing pieces from the history of farming in the Mallee and Wimmera districts.

The Warracknabeal Magistrates' Court closed on 1 January 1990.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

LocalitiesEdit

Warracknabeal's bounded locality includes the rural neighbourhoods of Batchica Template:Coord, whose post office opened as Yellangip South in 1908, renamed Batchica in 1909, and closed in 1931; Challambra Template:Coord, whose post office opened as Challamba Dam (sic) around 1902, which was renamed Challamba in 1905 and closed in 1918; and Mellis Template:Coord, whose post office opened around 1907 and closed in 1954.<ref name = "Post office"/>

Traditional ownershipEdit

The formally recognised traditional owners for the area in which Warracknabeal sits are the Wotjobaluk, Jaadwa, Jadawadjali, Wergaia and Jupagik nations.<ref name=AV>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> These nations are represented by the Barengi Gadjin Land Council Aboriginal Corporation.<ref name=BGLC>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

DemographicsEdit

Template:Update section As of the 2021 census, 2,359 people resided in Warracknabeal, a slight decline from 2,438 in the 2016 census, with several hundred more living in the surrounding district.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Per the 2016 censes, the median age of persons in Warracknabeal was 50 years.<ref name="2016 Census QuickStat">Template:Census 2016 AUS</ref> Children aged 0–14 years made up 16% of the population.<ref name="2016 Census QuickStat" /> People over the age of 65 years made up 27.8 percent of the population.<ref name="2016 Census QuickStat" /> There are slightly more females than males, with 50.2% of the population female and 49.8% male.<ref name="2016 Census QuickStat" /> The average household size is 2.1 persons per household.<ref name="2016 Census QuickStat" /> The average number of children per family for families with children is 1.9.<ref name="2016 Census QuickStat" />

82.6% of people were born in Australia.<ref name="2016 Census QuickStat"/> Of persons living in Warracknabeal, 1.5% (36 persons) were Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people.<ref name="2016 Census QuickStat"/> This is higher than for the state of Victoria (0.8%) but lower than the national average (2.8%).<ref name="2016 Census QuickStat"/> The most common ancestries in Warracknabeal were Australian 33.0%, English 30.6%, Scottish 7.7%, Irish 7.2% and German 7.1%.<ref name="2016 Census QuickStat"/>

Of the people aged 15 and over, 10% reported having completed year 12 as their highest level of educational attainment.<ref name="2016 Census QuickStat"/> This is lower than the state average 15.9% and the national average of 15.7%.<ref name="2016 Census QuickStat"/>

In the 2016 census, just over half (54.0%) of the population of Warracknabeal reported being employed full time, 34.9% part-time, 6.1% were away from work and 5% were unemployed.<ref name="2016 Census QuickStat"/> Of those people over the age of 15 and employed, 40.4% work 40 hours or more per week.<ref name="2016 Census QuickStat"/> The hospital industry employs the largest number of people in Warracknabeal (15.0%).<ref name="2016 Census QuickStat"/> The median total family income was $1,194 per week, and median household income was $870.<ref name="2016 Census QuickStat"/> This is 39.5% less than the $1,438 median household income for Australia from the same 2016 census.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Almost a third (31.8%) of people in Warracknabeal reported doing voluntary work through an organisation or group in the 12 months before the election.<ref name="2016 Census QuickStat"/> This is more than 50% higher than both the state (19.2%) and national averages (19.0).<ref name="2016 Census QuickStat"/>

Median weekly rent was $150, and median monthly mortgage repayments were $758.<ref name="2016 Census QuickStat"/> Almost half (49.4%) own their home outright.<ref name="2016 Census QuickStat"/> Private dwellings in Warracknabeal tend to be separate houses (93.5%). Most of these have three bedrooms (57.2%).<ref name="2016 Census QuickStat"/> Just over two-thirds (67.5%) of household have at least one person access the internet from their dwelling.<ref name="2016 Census QuickStat"/> This is lower than the state (83.7%) and national (83.2%).<ref name="2016 Census QuickStat"/>

HealthcareEdit

The town is serviced by several doctors and one pharmacy. Hospital services are provided by Rural Northwest Health. The town is also home to Woodbine Inc., a disability service provider with a long and rich history.<ref name=RNH>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

SchoolsEdit

The town has four schools: St Mary's Catholic Primary School is private, but public schools Warracknabeal Secondary College, Warracknabeal Primary School and Warracknabeal Special Developmental School are a collective as of 2024, known as the Warracknabeal Education Precinct.

SportEdit

The town has an Australian rules football team (Warrack Eagles) competing in the Wimmera Football League.

Warrack Eagles Netball Club competes in the Wimmera Netball Association.

The town has two teams that compete in the Dimboola Tennis Association competition as of 2015: Warracknabeal Gold and Warracknabeal Maroon.

The horse racing club—the Wimmera Racing Club—schedules around six race meetings a year at Warracknabeal, including the Warracknabeal Cup meeting every Easter Saturday.<ref name="RaceClub">Template:Citation Template:Webarchive</ref> It also has the Sheep Hills Race Club, which schedules two race meetings a year, including the Sheep Hills Cup meeting in February.<ref name="RaceClub2">Template:Citation Template:Webarchive</ref>

Golfers play at the Warracknabeal Golf Club on the town's north-eastern outskirts.<ref name = "golf">Template:Citation</ref>

Warracknabeal has a cricket club (St Mary's) in the Wimmera Mallee Cricket Association, with two senior teams. Notably, Bailey Watts had the dubious distinction of breaking the world record for most ducks in a row while playing for St Mary’s.

It has three hockey teams: a senior men's team (Hoops), a women's team, and a mixed junior team (Revengers).

Warracknabeal also has a roller derby team called the Wheat City Derby Angels. They participate in tournaments around Victoria.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

GovernanceEdit

File:Warracknabeal Town Hall 001.JPG

Former Town Hall and sheep dog and wheatbag statue (left)

Warracknabeal is the seat of government for the Shire of Yarriambiack, with a total shire population of 6,556 people as of 2022.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> It is also the administrative centre. The council offices are located in Lyle Street.

The former town hall and theatre complex (built 1939–40), added to the Victorian Heritage Register in 2009, is now used for civic purposes.

Easter Y-FestEdit

Template:More citations needed section Y-Fest incorporates an Easter Saturday Street Parade, a three-day Vintage machinery rally at Wheatlands Museum, a four-day golf tournament, a three-day art show, an Easter Saturday race meeting, and a water ski spectacular. The town of ~2,400 people swells with many visitors, friends and family, and it offers many family and community events every year.

The Easter Y-Fest will have its 37th year in 2025 and continues to grow stronger as the individual events that make up Y-Fest, benefit from the joint marketing efforts of the Y-Fest Promotions Committee Inc. This Committee, made up of representatives from each of the individual event committees and Council, was formed as a marketing group to promote the Y-Fest concept and has been successful in boosting attendances at all venues.