Nhill Victoria
Nhill Victoria is an important rural service centre surrounded by merino grazing and the Wimmera wheatbelt. There was a time when the town’s grain silo was reputedly the largest single-bin silo in the Southern Hemisphere. There is also a poultry farm and a flour mill in Nhill.
The town is characterised by an attractive main street with a huge median strip which is so wide it contains Goldsworthy Park, a delightful spot with seats, neat lawns, trees and bushes, electric barbecues, a playground and a memorial statue to the Draught horse which was vital to the development of the Wimmera.
The history of Nhill, Victoria
The transformation from grazing to wheat-growing occurred when selectors began to take up land from 1874. The Nhill townsite developed at the intersection of a number of squatters’ tracks. It was also by the swamp which was commonly used by travellers as a camping ground and rest area.
A mill was established in 1879 and a survey was conducted. The first hotel, a general store and drapery were constructed in 1880. A police report indicated 80-100 people at the townsite in July 1880 with another 450-600 people within a radius of about 7 km. 1881 saw the addition of a police station, post office, Wesleyan Church, some shops, two more hotels and a town well.
The next few years saw rapid development with the addition of
- a bank,
- mechanics’ institute,
- foundry,
- shire offices,
- the Nhill Free Press,
- a cordial factory,
- more churches and hotels,
- a state school,
- a land office,
- a hospital,
- an agricultural equipment manufacturer,
- a courthouse,
- a brewery and
- many private residences.
Rabbit plagues and wild dogs followed by wheat rust frustrated the efforts of many local pioneers in the 1880s, although Nhill benefited from the arrival of the railway in 1886.
An 1891 census recorded the town population at 1102. In 1892 Nhill became one of the first Victorian country towns to acquire electric street lighting. Vineyards, a butter factory and related creameries were established as a response to the economic depression and low wheat prices of the early 1890s. Drought also favoured the town in the 1890s and a major tornado destroyed much of Nhill in 1897. However, matters greatly improved after the turn of the century.
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Nhill VIC, Australia
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