Skipton, Victoria

Skipton
Victoria
Skipton; Victoria
	Skipton
	Skipton
Coordinates	37°41′0″S 143°21′0″E / 37.68333°S 143.35000°ECoordinates: 37°41′0″S 143°21′0″E / 37.68333°S 143.35000°E
Population	586 (2016 census)
Postcode(s)	3361
Location	166 km (103 mi) W of Melbourne ; 52 km (32 mi) S of Ballarat ;
LGA(s)	Corangamite Shire
State electorate(s)	Polwarth; Ripon;
Federal division(s)	Wannon

Skipton /ˈskɪptən/ is a town in the Western District of Victoria, Australia. The town is situated on the Glenelg Highway 166 kilometres west of the state capital, Melbourne and 52 kilometres south west of the regional centre, Ballarat. Skipton is in the Shire of Corangamite LGA and is on the banks of Mount Emu Creek. At the 2016 census, Skipton had a population of 586, considerably less than the population of 927 at the 2011 census.^[2] Skipton is named after Skipton, in Yorkshire, England and is known as "the home of the platypus".

History[]

Skipton was first established in 1839 as a pastoral run and a town site was surveyed in 1852. The town was settled some years later, with a local Post Office opening on the 6th of March 1858.^[3] The town held the first agricultural show in the Western District in 1859. Skipton once had a Magistrates' Court, but it closed on the 1st of January 1983.^[4]

Culture[]

Economy[]

Fine wool is the main agricultural product of the Skipton area. Skipton Variety Market is held on every second Saturday of the month at the Mechanics Hall. A Rose Festival is held on the first Saturday after the running of the Melbourne Cup in November each year.

Sport and recreation[]

A rail trail allows cyclists to ride between Skipton and Ballarat. Skipton has a football club competing in the Central Highlands Football League. Golfers play at the course of the Skipton Golf Club on Geelong-Skipton Road.

Skipton Presbyterian Church

Notable people[]

Henry Bolte, the longest serving Premier of Victoria, grew up in Skipton.
Henry Kingsley, author and brother of Charles Kingsley, worked on a pastoral station near Skipton for a time in 1857.
Silent movie star Claire Adams married Scobie Mackinnon and settled at Mooramong homestead near Skipton in 1937.
Australian Test cricketer Alan Connolly was born in Skipton in 1939.
The Academy Is... guitarist Michael Guy Chislett was born in Skipton.

References[]

^ "2016 Census QuickStats Skipton". Australian Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved 2 February 2019.
^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (31 October 2012). "Skipton (State Suburb)". 2011 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 11 December 2014.
^ Phoenix Auctions History. "Post Office List". Retrieved 21 March 2021.
^ "Special Report No. 4 - Court Closures in Victoria" (PDF). Auditor-General of Victoria. 1986. p. 79. Retrieved 12 April 2020.

External links[]

Media related to Skipton, Victoria at Wikimedia Commons
Skipton (Victoria) travel guide from Wikivoyage
Community website
Corangamite Shire Council - Official Site
Ballarat-Skipton rail trail
SMH Travel - Skipton page

[ABS2016-1] "2016 Census QuickStats Skipton". Australian Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved 2 February 2019.

[ABS-2] Australian Bureau of Statistics (31 October 2012). "Skipton (State Suburb)". 2011 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 11 December 2014.

[a-3] Phoenix Auctions History. "Post Office List". Retrieved 21 March 2021.

[4] "Special Report No. 4 - Court Closures in Victoria" (PDF). Auditor-General of Victoria. 1986. p. 79. Retrieved 12 April 2020.

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