Irrewillipe
Irrewillipe is a rural locality 18 km south-west of Colac on the road to Timboon, western Victoria. It was named after a pastoral run taken up in 1838. It is thought that the name was derived from an Aboriginal word meaning sunset.
Irrewillipe is situated where the plains south of Colac reach once-forested ranges. The area was taken up for farm settlements in the late 1860s, and a school was opened in 1870. Another school was opened at Irrewillipe East, about 2 km away in 1881. Later there were Anglican and Bible Christian (1886) churches and a friendly society (Oddfellows) hall.
Irrewillipe was described in the 1903 Australian handbook:
At the present time Irrewillipe has a memorial hall, a football club, a recreation reserve and a Uniting church, and Irrewillipe East had the school until 2000 when it closed. The census populations of both localities have been:
| Area | census date | population |
|---|---|---|
| Irrewillipe and Irrewillipe East | 1881 | 61 |
| 1911 | 248 | |
| 1961 | 225 | |
| Irrewillipe and environs | 2006 | 421 |
| 2011 | not recorded |
Further Reading
Irrewillipe East primary school no. 2357 centenary, the school, 1981
