Kilmore, Victoria
Encyclopedia
Kilmore is a town in the Australia
n state of Victoria. Located 60 kilometres (37.3 mi) north of Melbourne
, it is contentiously claimed as Victoria's oldest inland settled town. It has a population of approximately 5,200.
) which opened the same day, were the fifth and sixth to open in the Port Phillip District and the first two inland offices.
Kilmore was a stronghold of early Celt
ic settlers from Ireland
, Scotland
and Cornwall
, and remains a strong Celtic area to this day. In the mid-1850s Kilmore was the electorate of the Irish-born Premier of Victoria (1857–59), John O'Shanassy
(1818–83). O'Shanassy, an Irish Catholic, was the bane of the Protestant establishment in Melbourne and that rubbed-off of those who lived in Kilmore. O'Shanassy's supporters were referred to as 'O'Rowdies' and O'Shanassy as the 'Rowdy King". A Melbourne Punch
cartoon "Freedom of Election at Kilmore" depicted the 1859 election day in the town as a wild barney of Irishmen. The town hosts a market on the 2nd Saturday of each month, and a Celtic Festival each June.
Many of Kilmore's oldest extant buildings are made of bluestone
including the hospital, old court house, former post office, some churches, a gaol, and a monument to Hume and Hovell near the golf course.
A railway used to ascend from Heathcote Junction on the Sydney-Melbourne line, passed through Kilmore with the main branch running onto Heathcote; while a white elephant
branch line ran out to Lancefield until dismantled during 1914. The Heathcote branch line was closed in 1969 and then dismantled. An operational tram museum
utilises part of the old railway right of way between Kilmore and Bylands.
Kilmore is served by a railway station at Kilmore East, on the main line. The Post Office at Kilmore East opened on 1 September 1872 as Gavan Duffy and was renamed Kilmore East two months later and closed in 1976.
.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n state of Victoria. Located 60 kilometres (37.3 mi) north of Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, it is contentiously claimed as Victoria's oldest inland settled town. It has a population of approximately 5,200.
History
Kilmore Post Office opened on 1 February 1843 and, with Ovens (later WangarattaWangaratta, Victoria
Wangaratta is a cathedral city of almost 17,000 people in the northeast of Victoria, Australia, about from Melbourne along the Hume Highway, with Benalla to the southwest, and Albury-Wodonga to the northeast. It is located at the junction of the Ovens and King rivers which flow from the...
) which opened the same day, were the fifth and sixth to open in the Port Phillip District and the first two inland offices.
Kilmore was a stronghold of early Celt
Celt
The Celts were a diverse group of tribal societies in Iron Age and Roman-era Europe who spoke Celtic languages.The earliest archaeological culture commonly accepted as Celtic, or rather Proto-Celtic, was the central European Hallstatt culture , named for the rich grave finds in Hallstatt, Austria....
ic settlers from Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
and Cornwall
Cornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
, and remains a strong Celtic area to this day. In the mid-1850s Kilmore was the electorate of the Irish-born Premier of Victoria (1857–59), John O'Shanassy
John O'Shanassy
Sir John O'Shanassy, KCMG , Australian colonial politician, was the 2nd Premier of Victoria. O'Shanassy was born near Thurles in County Tipperary, Ireland, the son of a surveyor, and came to the Port Phillip District in 1839...
(1818–83). O'Shanassy, an Irish Catholic, was the bane of the Protestant establishment in Melbourne and that rubbed-off of those who lived in Kilmore. O'Shanassy's supporters were referred to as 'O'Rowdies' and O'Shanassy as the 'Rowdy King". A Melbourne Punch
Melbourne Punch
Melbourne Punch was an Australian illustrated magazine founded by Edgar Ray and Frederick Sinnett, modelled closely on Punch of London which was founded just fifteen years earlier....
cartoon "Freedom of Election at Kilmore" depicted the 1859 election day in the town as a wild barney of Irishmen. The town hosts a market on the 2nd Saturday of each month, and a Celtic Festival each June.
Many of Kilmore's oldest extant buildings are made of bluestone
Bluestone
Bluestone is a cultural or commercial name for a number of dimension or building stone varieties, including:*a feldspathic sandstone in the U.S. and Canada;*limestone in the Shenandoah Valley in the U.S...
including the hospital, old court house, former post office, some churches, a gaol, and a monument to Hume and Hovell near the golf course.
Railway
White elephant
A white elephant is an idiom for a valuable but burdensome possession of which its owner cannot dispose and whose cost is out of proportion to its usefulness or worth...
branch line ran out to Lancefield until dismantled during 1914. The Heathcote branch line was closed in 1969 and then dismantled. An operational tram museum
Tramway Museum Society Of Victoria
The Tramway Museum Society of Victoria was founded in 1963 in Victoria, Australia. Its aim is the preservation, restoration and operation of trams...
utilises part of the old railway right of way between Kilmore and Bylands.
Kilmore is served by a railway station at Kilmore East, on the main line. The Post Office at Kilmore East opened on 1 September 1872 as Gavan Duffy and was renamed Kilmore East two months later and closed in 1976.
Education
The town has two private secondary schools and two primary schools; Kilmore Primary School, St Patricks Primary school, Assumption College Kilmore, and the Kilmore International School. The Kilmore International school (TKIS) is the only school in Australia to exclusively use the International Baccalaureate and not offer a local high school qualification such as the VCEVictorian Certificate of Education
The Victorian Certificate of Education or VCE is the credential awarded to secondary school students who successfully complete high school level studies in the state of Victoria, Australia. Study for the VCE is usually completed over two years, but it can be spread over a longer period in some cases...
.