Horsham

POPULATION
(RC) Central 13,407
(RC) Balance 4,985

DISTANCES
Little Desert National Park 40 km
Grampians National Park 50km
Mt Arapiles 32 km
Melbourne 300 km
Adelaide 450 km

Location and Region
Horsham is the main service town and the centre of the Wimmera District of western Victoria. Located about 300 km west of Melbourne, Horsham is the main commercial centre for a region that is mostly devoted to broad acre farming and large-scale agriculture.

It is located on a flat plain with the Wimmera River flowing through the town. Mark Twain, the famous American author of Huckleberry Finn visited the town in 1890 and described it as a 'country town, peaceful, inviting, full of snug homes, with garden plots and plenty of shrubbery and flowers'.

Horsham is located among the open plains of the Wimmera's cereal cropping industry. Wheat, wool, cereals and tourism are among its most important industries as well as retail.

Horsham is surrounded by popular tourist attractions such as the:

  • Little Desert - Here in the Little Desert - a desert in name only - you can discover how many species of plants and animals have succeeded, on poor soils with little water, in creating a kind of arid landscape where survival depends on maintaining a delicate balance of natural forces.
  • The Grampians - The Grampians mountain range to the south is an extraordinarily rugged mountain outcrop at the western edge of the Great Dividing Range. The 167,000- hectare Grampians National Park is one of the State's most popular holiday destinations and is home for almost a third of Victoria's plant species.
  • Mt Arapiles, near Natimuk is regarded as one of the best rock climbing sites in the world. It is an imposing outcrop of rock rising sharply from the plains of the Wimmera to 230 metres. There are over a thousand climbs on offer among the many rock formations around the peak. Being only half an hour's drive from Horsham it is also a popular spot with locals who often go out there for a BBQ or to watch the sunset.

Further information on townships in the Wimmera can be found by clicking here

The town is on the Wimmera River that flows from the Grampians to the south terminating in a series of lakes starting with Lake Hindmarsh about 80 km north. The numerous lakes in the district are, Green Lake, Lake Wyn Wyn, Lake Natimuk, Lake Taylor and Lake Pine. The many Wimmera Lakes offer a variety of sporting an recreational opportunities including boating, swimming, fishing, water skiing, and other water sports. There are numerous places for picnicking and relaxation among the lakes.

Fish found in the lakes include Redfin, the main species in the area that also hold quantities of trout and perch. Yabbying is also very popular in all the rivers, lakes and dams in the region. In the Wimmera River you find redfin, yellow belly, tench, catfish and Murray cod.

Sporting clubs and facilities available in Horsham includes football, cricket, golf, tennis, bowls, croquet amd gymnastics. Horsham prides itself as having one of the finest golf courses in rural Victoria.

The Wimmera is also a place for hot air ballooning, gliding and scenic flights in light aircraft. There is a Spring Garden Festival and Agricultural Show held in spring each year and the Wimmera Machinery Field Days are held in March.

There is an aboriginal community at Horsham. The community runs the Goolum Goolum Aboriginal Cooperative. The cooperative runs a range of health services including allied health, social, and public health services. Horsham has a Mediterranean climate of warm to hot dry summers and cool to mild winters.

Horsham is on the Western Highway almost halfway between Melbourne and Adelaide. There is a regular bus service in the town and between Naracoorte in South Australia and Mildura in the Mallee, Ararat, Stawell and Rainbow.

Useful Links

GP vacacny at Lister House Medical Clinic

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