Warrnambool Victoria
View over Warrnambool
Warrnambool
Population:	33,922[1]
Established:	1855
Coordinates:	38°23′S 142°29′E / 38.38°S 142.48°E / -38.38; 142.48Coordinates: 38°23′S 142°29′E / 38.38°S 142.48°E / -38.38; 142.48
Time zone:  • Summer (DST)	AEST (UTC+10) AEST (UTC+11)
Location:	265 km (165 mi) SW of Melbourne 114 km (71 mi) W of Colac 115 km (71 mi) SE of Hamilton 97 km (60 mi) E of Portland
LGA:	City of Warrnambool
County:	Villiers
State electorate:	South-West Coast
Federal Division:	Wannon
Mean max temp Mean min temp Annual rainfall 17.9 °C 64 °F 9.6 °C 49 °F 741.9 mm 29.2 in

Warrnambool is a regional city located on the south-western coast of Victoria, Australia in the City of Warrnambool Local Government Area. The city has a population of 33,922.^[1] It is situated on the Princes Highway and is near the western end of the Great Ocean Road.

History[link]

The word Warrnambool originates from the local Indigenous Australians name for a nearby volcanic cone. It is interpreted to mean many things including land between two rivers, two swamps or ample water.^{[citation needed]}

A popular legend is that the first Europeans to discover Warrnambool were Cristóvão de Mendonça and his crew who surveyed the coastline nearby and were marooned near the site of the present town as early as the 16th century, based on the unverified reports of local whaler's discovery of the wreck of a mahogany ship.^[2] The ship's provenance has been variously attributed to France, China, Spain and Portugal. There is no physical evidence to suggest that the Mahogany Ship existed.

The Lady Nelson under Lieutenant James Grant sailed along the coast in December 1800 and named several features, followed by Matthew Flinders in the Investigator and French explorer Nicholas Baudin, who recorded coastal landmarks, in 1802. The area was frequented by whalers early in the 19th century.

The first settlers arrived in the 1840s in the Lady Bay area, which was a natural harbour. The town was surveyed in 1846 and established soon after, the Post Office opening on 1 January 1849.^[3]

During the Victorian Gold Rush, Warrnambool became an important port and grew quickly in the 1850s, benefiting from the private ownership of nearby Port Fairy. It was gazetted as a municipality in 1855, and became a borough in 1863. Warrnambool was declared a town in 1883, and a city in 1918. Post Offices opened at Warrnambool South in 1937 (closed 1973), Warrnambool East in 1946, and Warrnambool North in 1947 (closed 1975).^[3]

Geography[link]

Climate

Warrnambool has an oceanic temperate climate. Summers are slightly cooler than in Melbourne, while winters are slightly warmer. On average, rainfall is greater than in most of Victoria.

Cityscape[link]

The original City of Warrnambool was a 4x8 grid, with boundaries of Lava Street (north), Japan Street (east), Merri Street (south) and Henna Street (west). In the nineteenth century, it was intended that Fairy Street – with its proximity to the Warrnambool Railway Station – would be the main street of Warrnambool. However, Liebig Street has since become the main street of the CBD. The Warrnambool CBD is particularly notable for its number of roundabouts.

War memorial

Outside the CBD, the Warrnambool Botanic Gardens feature wide curving paths, rare trees, a lily pond with ducks, a fernery, a band rotunda, and was designed by notable landscape architect, William Guilfoyle.

Eleven suburbs surround the CBD of Warrnambool: North, South, East and West Warrnambool, Brierly, Sherwood Park, Merrivale, Dennington, Woodford, Bushfield and Allansford, though only the four latter are recognised as localities of the city.

Culture[link]

Overview of the Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum

Lighthouse at the Maritime Museum

Looking up from the water at the Maritime Museum

During the end of June and the start of July every year, Warrnambool is the home to the children's festival Fun4Kids. It is held next to the Warrnambool Entertainment Centre.

The Wunta festival held in Warrnambool every February is one of south-west Victoria's major community festivals. It incorporates a wide range of entertainment for all ages.

The Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum is in Warrnambool built on Flagstaff Hill that also holds the original lighthouses and Warrnambool Garrison. Its most prized item in its collection is the Minton peacock salvaged from the Loch Ard. Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village is built around the original lighthouses and now operates as a heritage attraction and museum for the Great Ocean Road. [2] Winner of the past^[when?] 3 Victorian Tourism Awards – Tourist Attraction, is houses an extensive collection of shipwreck and maritime trade artefacts in both a museum and village setting.

The Lady Bay Lighthouse complex is on the Victorian heritage register due to its significance as an example of early colonial development. There has been a flagstaff on top of Flagstaff Hill since 1848, and the current lighthouses were moved to the site in 1878. They still operate as navigation aids for the channel into Warrnambool harbour.

The Warrnambool foreshore is a popular swimming area, and is adjacent to the Lake Pertobe parklands. A number of caravan parks are also located in the area.

Media

Warrnambool is served by one daily newspaper, the Warrnambool Standard, which is owned by Fairfax Media. The local commercial radio stations are 882 3YB and 95.3 Coast FM, both owned by Ace Radio. There is also a community radio channel, 3WAY FM.

Sport

Warrnambool is home to the Grand Annual Sprintcar Classic, a race which attracts Australian and international drivers on the Australia Day long weekend.

The city is also the finishing point of the Melbourne to Warrnambool Classic cycle race. It is the longest one-day bicycle endurance race in the world, held every October since 1895 to be the world’s second oldest bike race.^[5][6]

Warrnambool has a horse racing club, the Warrnambool Racing Club, which schedules around twenty race meetings a year including the Warrnambool Cup and Grand Annual Steeple three-day meeting in the first week of May.^[7] The Woodford Racing Club also holds one meeting at Warrnambool racecourse. The Grand Annual steeplechase has 33 jumps, more than any other horse race and is one of the longest steeplechases in the world.

The Warrnambool Greyhound Racing Club also holds regular meetings.^[8]

From 1 to 3 September 2008, the city hosted, along with Melbourne, the 2008 Australian Football International Cup, featuring 14 nations from around the world playing Australian rules football.^[9] The sport is highly popular in Warrnambool which has a competitive local league and is the origin of many high profile AFL players. The city has three Australian Rules football teams playing in the Hampden Football League (North Warrnambool, South Warrnambool and Warrnambool),^[10] and many more in the Warrnambool District Football League

Golfers play either on the 18 hole course at the Warrnambool Golf Club,^[11] or at the 9 hole course at the Deakin University Warrnambool campus.

Economy[link]

Warrnambool Harbour looking north from the breakwater

Warrnambool attracts approximately 715,000 visitors per year, and is a comprehensive regional service centre. The town's tourism benefits from the views from the Great Ocean Road, and its nearby beaches, some of which are used for surfing. In the winter months, Southern Right whales can be seen in the waters near the city at the Logan's Beach nursery, and boats make whale-watching tours. Visitor levels are usually higher during the winter school holidays due to Australia's Biggest Children's Festival, the Fun4Kids Festival.^{[citation needed]}

The mainstay of the economy is agriculture and its support industry – particularly dairy farming and associated milk processing. Other major industries and services include retail, education, health, meat processing, clothing manufacture and construction. The Fletcher Jones and Staff Pty Ltd clothing factory opened in 1948 and was closed in 2005.^[12]

Demographics[link]

6.1% of Warrnambool residents were born outside Australia, which is significantly less than the Australian average of 24%.^[13] 98.7% speak English at home. 1.4% regard themselves as Indigenous,^[14] which is more than twice the national average of 0.58%.

Governance[link]

The Local Government is the Warrnambool City Council.

At the state level, the Warrnambool was within the electoral district of Warrnambool until it was abolished in 2002. Since then, Warrnambool has been in the newly created South-West Coast electorate. This has always been held by Dennis Napthine, of the Liberal Party.

At the federal level, Warrnambool is the largest town in the division of Wannon, which has been a safe Liberal seat since 1955. However, Warrnambool booths typically receive a much stronger Labor vote than the rural areas that surround it. The seat was held by former Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser for 28 years, before being held by former Speaker of the lower house David Hawker for 27 years.

Education[link]

Primary

The largest primary school is Warrnambool Primary School. However, there are many other state and religious schools.

Secondary

Warrnambool has two public high schools:

• Brauer College
• Warrnambool College

In addition, there is:

• Emmanuel College, a Catholic school; and
• King's College, a private Presbyterian school.

Tertiary

The City's only university facilities are at the Deakin University Warrnambool campus. The South West Institute of TAFE and SEAL both provide vocational education.

Environment[link]

Logan's Beach on the eastern side of the city is recognised as a nursery site for the Southern Right Whale Eubalaena australis. Most years one, two or three adult female whales arrive between late May and August, giving birth within days of their arrival. The young whale calf is then reared at the site, usually departing with its parent by mid to late September. Besides the Southern Right whale, the coastline is also visited by Australian Fur Seals, Fairy Penguins and the Common dolphin. During the winter and early spring albatross cruise along the coastline and can be sighted from Thunder Point, a popular coastal lookout in the town.

Middle Island has a colony of little penguins. Fox predation reduced numbers significantly. In 2005 only 4 penguins were remaining in the colony. Warrnambool City Council introduced a world first program using Maremma dogs to guard the penguins. This program has supported the re-establishment of a colony of over 100 penguins in 2009.^[15][16][17]

Infrastructure[link]

Transport

Warrnambool is situated on the Princes Highway between Port Fairy to the west and Terang to the east as well as at the south-western terminus of the Hopkins Highway. The Great Ocean Road terminates 13 km east of Warrnambool, near Allansford.

Rail and bus services also operate to Melbourne and Geelong. V/Line passenger train services call at Warrnambool's two stations, Warrnambool in the city and Sherwood Park in the city's outer east, seven days a week. A daily container freight service is being run by Pacific National for local container handler Westvic.^[18]

Local buses under the Transit South West brand cover Warrnambool's city and suburbs and extend to the nearby towns of Port Fairy and Koroit. V/Line coaches connect Warrnambool with Portland, Mount Gambier, Ballarat and Hamilton.

Health

There are two hospitals in Warrnambool: South West Healthcare, and St John of God Healthcare.

Popular culture[link]

• Baritone Robert Nicholson recorded Back to Warrnambool in 1929.^[19]

Notable people from Warrnambool[link]

• Tom Ballard, Comedian and Radio Presenter
• Geoff Clark, former head of ATSIC
• Smoky Dawson, Country Music Performer – Born in Collingwood, Raised in Warrnambool.
• Alex Dyson, Radio Presenter
• Sir John Eccles, Nobel Prize winner in physiology or medicine, 1963
• Dave Hughes, Comedian
• Paul Jennings, Children's author – Resides in Warrnambool
• Airbourne, Hard Rock Band

Sportspeople

• Marc Leishman, Golfer
• Christian Ryan, Olympic Silver Medallist, Rowing 2000
• Michelle Ferris, Olympic Silver Medallist, Cycling 1996, 2000^[20]
• Jonathan Brown, Leon Cameron, Paul Couch, Simon Hogan, Jordan Lewis, Brent Moloney, Noel Mugavin, Kevin Neale, Wayne Schwass, Michael Turner, former Australian rules football players

Sister city[link]

• Miura, Kanagawa, Japan

See also[link]

• ABC South West Victoria
• Mahogany Ship
• Warrnambool Airport
• Warrnambool V/Line rail service

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Warrnambool

• Warrnambool City Council
• Warrnambool Tourism Association website
• "Climate for Warrnambool". Bureau of Meteorology. Australian Government. http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/averages/tables/cw_090172.shtml. Retrieved 24 February 2009. 
• Warrnambool – Official state tourism site.