Kyabram () is a town in north central Victoria,

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. Kyabram is located in the centre of a rich

irrigation Irrigation (also referred to as watering of plants) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow crops, landscape plants, and lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,000 years and has bee ...

district in the Goulburn River Valley, north of

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

. The name of the town is thought to derive from an Aboriginal word Kiambram meaning "thick forest". It is the second-largest town in the

Shire of Campaspe The Shire of Campaspe is a local government area in Victoria, Australia, located in the northern part of the state. It covers an area of and in August 2021 had a population of 38,735. It includes the towns of Girgarre, Echuca, Kyabram, Roc ...

, situated between the towns of

Echuca Echuca ( ) is a town on the banks of the Murray River and Campaspe River in Victoria (state), Victoria, Australia. The border town of Moama is adjacent on the northern side of the Murray River in New South Wales. Echuca is the administrative cen ...

and

Shepparton Shepparton () (Yorta Yorta language, Yortayorta: ''Kanny-goopna'') is a city located on the floodplain of the Goulburn River (Victoria), Goulburn River in northern Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, approximately north-northeast of Mel ...

and is close to the

Murray River The Murray River (in South Australia: River Murray; Ngarrindjeri language, Ngarrindjeri: ''Millewa'', Yorta Yorta language, Yorta Yorta: ''Dhungala'' or ''Tongala'') is a river in Southeastern Australia. It is List of rivers of Australia, Aust ...

, Goulburn River, Campaspe River and Waranga Basin. As of the 2021 census the town had a population of 7,416 people and provides services to a district population of around 16,000. Surrounding smaller towns include Merrigum,

Lancaster Lancaster may refer to: Lands and titles *The County Palatine of Lancaster, a synonym for Lancashire *Duchy of Lancaster, one of only two British royal duchies *Duke of Lancaster *Earl of Lancaster *House of Lancaster, a British royal dynasty ...

, Undera, Cooma, Wyuna, Kyvalley, Girgarre, Stanhope and Tongala.

History

The Pangerang people (also spelled Bangerang) are the original inhabitants of the Goulburn Valley area. Settlement of the township began in the 1870s with the first sale of town blocks held in 1876. Kyabram Post Office opened on 23 September 1878. Sheridan Post Office opened on 1 December 1884. On 8 April 1886, in anticipation of the arrival of the railway at what was then Sheridan, Kyabram was renamed Kyabram East and Sheridan was renamed Kyabram. The Kyabram

Mechanics' Institute Mechanics' institutes, also known as mechanics' institutions, sometimes simply known as institutes, and also called schools of arts (especially in the Australian colonies), were educational establishments originally formed to provide adult edu ...

was built in 1891. John Allan, who lived in Kyabram from 1873, became

Premier of Victoria The premier of Victoria is the head of government of the state of Victoria in Australia. The premier leads the Cabinet of Victoria and selects its ministers. The premier is appointed by the governor of Victoria, must be a member of the Vic ...

in 1924 and was Australia's first Country Party premier. Allan was associated with the Kyabram Reform Movement, a conservative political organisation formed at the start of the 20th century and led by Benjamin Goddard, a local businessman. The movement's campaign played a significant role in the downfall of the

Peacock Peafowl is a common name for two bird species of the genus '' Pavo'' and one species of the closely related genus '' Afropavo'' within the tribe Pavonini of the family Phasianidae (the pheasants and their allies). Male peafowl are referred t ...

state government in June 1902 and its sound defeat in the subsequent October election. The incoming Irvine government substantially reduced the number of state parliamentarians, a key demand of the movement. Kyabram was formally proclaimed a town on 4 July 1973. The Kyabram Magistrates' Court closed on 1 January 1990.

Climate

Kyabram has a semi-arid-influenced humid subtropcial climate ( Köppen: ''Cfa''), with warm to hot, dry summers and cool, rather cloudy winters. Mean maximum temperatures vary from in January to in July, and mean minima range from in February to in July. Annual rainfall is rather low, averaging , and is spread across 104.6 rainy days. The town experiences 110.1 clear days and 91.9 cloudy days per annum. Extreme temperatures have ranged from on 25 January 2019 to on 21 July 1982.

Economy

The district is dependent on the primary industries of

dairy A dairy is a place where milk is stored and where butter, cheese, and other dairy products are made, or a place where those products are sold. It may be a room, a building, or a larger establishment. In the United States, the word may also des ...

ing and fruit

orchard An orchard is an intentional plantation of trees or shrubs that is maintained for food production. Orchards comprise fruit tree, fruit- or nut (fruit), nut-producing trees that are generally grown for commercial production. Orchards are also so ...

s. Henry Jones, operate a plant in the town, manufacturing Taylor's branded sauces. Goulburn Valley Creamery, operates out of the same site and produces frozen milk concentrates for export. The town provides engineering, financial advisors, solicitors and accounting services to the district as well as cold storage and specialist dairy services. Kyabram also boasts a family owned Camel dairy unique to Australia. Southern Processing Ltd and

Fonterra Fonterra Co-operative Group Limited is a New Zealand Multinational corporation, multinational publicly traded dairy cooperative, co-operative owned by New Zealand farmers. The company is responsible for approximately 30% of the world's dairy ex ...

(Stanhope) also have food processing plants nearby. Kyabram is home to the Kyabram Fauna Park.

Facilities

Medical and aged care services in the town include a 46-bed hospital, a 30-bed home for the aged, infant welfare centre, ambulance station, several doctors, dentists and other health practitioners. A residential drug and alcohol rehab. Kyabram also has a local police station and volunteer CFA station.

Education

Kyabram has combined three state schools ( Kyabram Secondary College, Dawes Rd (Demolished) and Haslem St Primary Schools) to one P-12 school containing three campuses (Dawes, Haslem and Fisher). Kyabram also has a Catholic primary and secondary school (St Augustine's College), two kindergartens and the Kyabram Community & Learning Centre providing community services and adult learning opportunities for the people of Kyabram and the surrounding region. Kyabram also has their own "Blue Light" for young people. Kyyabram Blue Light was headed up by Senior Constable Mitchell Bull, who was named Campaspe Shire's Citizen of the Year 2022.

Media

The local newspaper is called the ''Kyabram Free Press'', a part of the McPherson media group in the region, with a circulation of roughly 3,300 copies In

Kath & Kim ''Kath & Kim'' (also written as ''Kath and Kim'') is an Australian sitcom originally airing in the prime-time slot on ABC Television from 2002 to 2005 and subsequently on the Seven Network in 2007 and 2022. The show was produced by Riley and T ...

, Episode 3 (The Moon) Kath and Kel win a mystery flight to Kyabram due to Kim running up Kath's credit card. Although Kath is excited, claiming "I love Kyabram!" unfortunately the couple never makes it there due to flight delays.

Attractions

Attractions include the Kyabram Fauna Park, a reserve housing five hundred species of wildlife. There are free-roaming

kangaroo Kangaroos are marsupials from the family Macropodidae (macropods, meaning "large foot"). In common use, the term is used to describe the largest species from this family, the red kangaroo, as well as the antilopine kangaroo, eastern gre ...

s and

emu The emu (; ''Dromaius novaehollandiae'') is a species of flightless bird endemism, endemic to Australia, where it is the Tallest extant birds, tallest native bird. It is the only extant taxon, extant member of the genus ''Dromaius'' and the ...

s and hides to observe a variety of water birds. Kyabram holds the annual Bush Market festival in the month of November where Allan Street is closed down and the local businesses extend their hours of availability. During the festival the locals enjoy pop up marquees, food, wine, beer, and live music.

Sport

Popular sports in Kyabram include

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an Australian rules football playing field, oval field, often a modified ...

and

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

. The local football team is known as the Bombers and competes in the Goulburn Valley Football Netball League. Netball and soccer are also popular in Kyabram. Golfers play at the Kyabram Valley View Golf and Bowls Club on Curr Road, Mount Scobie, or at the Kyabram Parkland Golf Club, the home of the Victorian Par 3 Amateur Championships, on Racecourse Road.

Notable residents

* John Allan -

(1924-1927), Australia's first Country Party premier. * Felice Arena – author * Dulcie Boling – magazine editor * Allan Bryce –

er * Julia Crockett-Grills – Australian rules footballer and Kyabram's first

AFL Women's AFL Women's (AFLW) is Australia's national semi-professional Australian rules football in Australia, Australian rules football competition for women's Australian rules football, female players. The 2017 AFL Women's season, first season of the l ...

player * Brett Deledio – Australian rules footballer * Dot Edis – decorated nurse. * Richard Farleigh – financial investor * Jim Higgs – cricketer * Nick Holman – Australian rules footballer * Cynna Kydd – netball player * Joe Langtry – Federal Member of Parliament for the

Division of Riverina The Division of Riverina () is an Divisions of the Australian House of Representatives, Australian electoral division in the states and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales. It is located in southwest New South Wales and include ...

(1940-1949) * Garry Lyon – Australian rules footballer * Joe Matera – musician * Tom McCluskey – Australian rules footballer * Russell McDonald – Member of

Victorian Legislative Assembly The Victorian Legislative Assembly is the states and territories of Australia, state lower house of the bicameral Parliament of Victoria in Australia; the state upper house being the Victorian Legislative Council. Both houses sit at Parliament H ...

for the District of Rodney (1964-1973) * Hugh McKenzie – Member of Victorian Legislative Assembly for the District of Rodney (1904-1917) * Declan O'Rourke - Irish singer-songwriter who resided in Kyabram in his childhood, and whose debut album is titled '' Since Kyabram''. * Kayne Pettifer – Australian rules footballer * Hugh Edward Ryan – priest * Allan Salisbury – cartoonist * Arch Shields – Australian rules footballer * Barrie Vagg – Australian rules footballer

References

External links

Kyabram information

{{authority control Towns in Victoria (state) City of Greater Shepparton