Minimay is a locality located in

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

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 ...

. The locality is in the

Shire of West Wimmera The Shire of West Wimmera is a local government area in the western part of the Wimmera region of Victoria, Australia, located in the western part of the state. It covers an area of and in June 2018 had a population of 3,862. It includes the to ...

from the South Australian border, about halfway between

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 ...

and

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

. At the 2016 census, Minimay and the surrounding area recorded a population of 84. A signpost outside Minimay lists the population at 9.

Geography

Farming is the main industry in Minimay and includes

sheep Sheep (: sheep) or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are a domesticated, ruminant mammal typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus '' Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to d ...

and

cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, bovid ungulates widely kept as livestock. They are prominent modern members of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus '' Bos''. Mature female cattle are calle ...

breeding and

arable Arable relates to the growing of crops: * Arable farming or agronomy, the cultivation of field crops * Arable land, land upon which crops are cultivated * Arable crops program, a consolidated support system operated under the EU Common Agricultura ...

crops.

Center pivot irrigation Center-pivot irrigation (sometimes called central pivot irrigation), also called water-wheel and circle irrigation, is a method of crop irrigation in which equipment rotates around a pivot and crops are watered with sprinklers. A circular area ...

is used to water crops and give

satellite images Satellite images (also Earth observation imagery, spaceborne photography, or simply satellite photo) are images of Earth collected by imaging satellites operated by governments and businesses around the world. Satellite imaging companies sell i ...

of the area a characteristic patchwork pattern of green circles. Before agriculture, the area was quite wooded; at the time trees were cleared,

agriculture in Australia Although Australia is mostly arid, the nation is a major agricultural producer and exporter, with around 421,000 people employed in agriculture, forestry and fishing as of 2023. Agriculture's farm gate output was $100 billion a year for a 5.7% ...

was not advanced and initial attempts to grow crops required much manual labour, and Minimay consequently had a higher population.

Sporting

Sports today in Minimay is extinct with locals travelling to other sporting clubs in the district—including

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

and

netball Netball is a ball sport played on a rectangular court by two teams of seven players. The primary objective is to shoot a ball through the defender's goal ring while preventing the opposing team from shooting through their own. It is one of a ...

clubs. Minimay originally had a golf club, basketball club, tennis club, racecourse, football club and cricket club.

Football

Border Districts Football Netball Club was originally a combined team with Minimay and Frances and today also includes Goroke. The club plays in the

Kowree-Naracoorte-Tatiara Football League The Kowree-Naracoorte-Tatiara Football League is an Australian rules football competition based in the Limestone Coast region of South Australia, Australia. It is an affiliated member of the South Australian National Football League. One unusu ...

. The football ground still exists. Border District football club won premierships in 1962, 1967, 1975, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1991, 1992 and 1996.

Cricket

The Minimay Cricket Club is one of the oldest bodies in the district. Records are poor but, an old minute book suggests that the club was formed before 1896. The Minimay Cricket Club also won premierships during the 1900s. The cricket club now has been extinct for a long time.

Tennis

Tennis was first played in Minimay on a dirt court in 1913. The Minimay Tennis Club was first formed in 1919. Today the courts are in a different position than what they first were. 1967 they rebuilt the third court. Minimay again won many premierships in Tennis. The courts were last used in 1985 when the sport wasn't played any more.

Basketball

Minimay Basketball Club started in 1946. The Minimay Basketball team won ten premierships. Minimay Race Club started in the early 1900s. Minimay Golf Club had a nine hole course which was founded in 1931 and the Golf Club lasted for only 8 years.

History

There have been two churches in Minimay; the first church was Catholic and the second dating from 1953 was the Union church. Minimay Post Office opened on 1 November 1877. In the early 1880s selectors were taking up 320-acre blocks in the Minimay area. In 1885, a new school in Minimay was designated: Minimay School No.2600. The school consisted of a small room which could hold 30 to 40 children. The school was closed in 1902 while it was painted and repaired. The school had planned to enlarge in 1906; this did not happen until 1911. A new school was built as the old school was infested by

white ants Termites are a group of detritophagous eusocial cockroaches which consume a variety of decaying plant material, generally in the form of wood, leaf litter, and soil humus. They are distinguished by their moniliform antennae and the soft-bo ...

. In 1951 the school was closed and most students went to a school in nearby Goroke. The poet

John Shaw Neilson John Shaw Neilson (1872–1942) was an Australian poet. Slightly built, for most of his life he worked as a labourer, fruit-picking, clearing scrub, navvying and working in quarries, and, after 1928, working as a messenger with the Country Road ...

grew up in Minimay in the 1880s. The Minimay Public Hall was built in 1901 to 1975. The Hall was opened 15 February 1991. In 1975 the old Hall was removed to make way for the new Minimay Memorial Hall. For the opening of the Minimay Memorial Hall the community had a ball. Today the Hall still is used for many fund-raising and community events. The first general store in Minimay was built in the 1880s. The first owners were from

Harrow Harrow may refer to: Places * Harrow, Victoria, Australia * Harrow, Ontario, Canada * The Harrow, County Wexford, a village in Ireland * London Borough of Harrow, England * Harrow, London, a town in London * Harrow (UK Parliament constituency) * ...

and they were Mr. and Mrs. Egan. The store had three rooms and a veranda. After a few years the owners left and the store was destroyed by fire. Mr. Carracher from the general store in

Frances Frances is an English given name or last name of Latin origin. In Latin the meaning of the name Frances is 'from France' or 'the French.' The male version of the name in English is Francis (given name), Francis. The original Franciscus, meaning "F ...

decided to build a new one in Minimay in 1901. In 1941 the president Mrs. McIntosh purchased the store. The shop was demolished on 12 February 1976. Later a new Minimay store was built and this still runs. The store sells groceries and is a post office agency. Work commenced to construct a telephone line, connecting Minimay to Goroke, in 1908.

References

* History of Minimay and District. Published 1976 {{authority control Wimmera Towns in Victoria (state)