Warracknabeal-The Daily Ledger

Warracknabeal ( ) is a town in the Australian state of Victoria, located in the Victorian wheatbelt. 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 , Warracknabeal district had a population of 2,745, of which 2,340 lived in the town.

History

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.

Warracknabeal

The Post Office opened on 1 September 1861 and was known as Werracknebeal until 1885.

Warracknabeal

Amongst the historical buildings are an 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.

Warracknabeal

The Warracknabeal Magistrates' Court closed on 1 January 1990.

Localities

The Warracknabeal bounded locality includes the rural neighbourhoods of Batchica (whose post office opened as Yellangip South in 1908, was renamed Batchica in 1909 and closed in 1931), Challambra (whose post office opened as Challamba Dam (sic) around 1902, was renamed Challamba in 1905 and closed in 1918) and Mellis (whose post office opened around 1907 and closed in 1954).

Traditional ownership

The formally recognised traditional owners for the area in which Warracknabeal sits are the Wotjobaluk, Jaadwa, Jadawadjali, Wergaia and Jupagik nations. These nations are represented by the Barengi Gadjin Land Council Aboriginal Corporation.

Demographics

As of the 2016 census, 2,438 people resided in Warracknabeal. The median age of persons in Warracknabeal was 50 years. Children aged 0–14 years made up 16% of the population. People over the age of 65 years made up 27.8 percent of the population. There are slightly more females than males with 50.2% of the population female and 49.8% male. The average household size is 2.1 persons per household. The average number of children per family for families with children is 1.9.

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

Of the people aged 15 and over, 10% reported having completed year 12 as their highest level of educational attainment. This is lower than the state average 15.9% and the national average of 15.7%.

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. Of those people over the age of 15 and employed, 40.4% work 40 hours or more per week. The hospital industry employs the largest number of people in Warracknabeal (15.0%). The median total family income was $1,194 per week, and median household income was $870.

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. This is higher than the state (19.2%) and national averages (19.0).

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

Healthcare

The town is serviced by three doctors and one pharmacy. Hospital services are provided by Rural Northwest Health. The town also has an osteopath.

Schools

The town has four schools: Warracknabeal Secondary College, Warracknabeal Primary School, St Mary's Catholic Primary School and Warracknabeal Special Developmental School.