Yarroweyah

Yarroweyah is a rural village and district 6 km west of Cobram in northern Victoria. It is on the branch railway line between Strathmerton and Cobram.

Yarroweyah (also spelt Yarroweya), was the name of a pastoral run taken up in 1842 by Elizabeth Hume, the widowed sister-in-law of the explorer, Hamilton Hume. (It was later named the Yarrawonga run, extending from Cobram to Yarrawonga, 25 km eastwards.)

During the 1870s large pastoral runs came under closer settlement, mainly for wheatlands. Yarroweyah's settlers had a school opened in the Wesleyan church in 1881, and another school was opened at Yarroweyah South in 1884. A third school was opened at Yarroweyah North, also known as Koonoomoo in 1891. A Presbyterian church was opened in 1882. In 1903 the Australian handbook described Yarroweyah:

In 1947 an area of 4450 ha was acquired for soldier-settler farms in Yarroweyah. Eighteen farms became 108 irrigated farms, and the district's population grew from 60 to 360. Despite the growth in population the schools were closed between 1950 and 1953 as pupils were bussed to the Cobram consolidated school. The school building at Yarroweyah became a scout hall.

Yarroweyah has many irrigated properties, particularly south of the village which has a public hall and a reserve with ovals.

Census populations have been:

area Census date Population
Yarroweyah 1901 81
  1911 374
  1947 282
  1961 838
Yarroweyah and environs 2011 528

At the 2011 census, dairy farming accounted for 16.9% of employment and other farming 3.6%. The Cobram dairy factory took 10.5% of Yarroweyah's employment (2011 census).

Further Reading

W. Newnham, Yarroweyah church 1882-1982: centenary souvenir, 1982

Margaret E. Fleming, Gumtrees, lagoons and flat plains: a history of Yarroweyah, Koonoomoo and Yarraweyah North, 1878 to 1962, 2011

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