Harrow, Victoria

Infobox Australian Place | type = town
name = Harrow
state = vic


caption =
lga = Shire of West Wimmera
postcode = 3317
est =
pop = 96
elevation=
maxtemp =
mintemp =
rainfall =
stategov = Lowan
fedgov = Wannon, Mallee
dist1 = 391
dir1 =
location1= Melbourne
dist2 = 89
dir2 =
location2= Horsham
dist3 = 68
dir3 =
location3= Casterton

Harrow is a town in the Wimmera region of western Victoria, Australia. The town is located in the Shire of West Wimmera Local Government Area, 391 kilometres north west of the state capital Melbourne, overlooking the Glenelg River valley. At the 2006 census, Harrow and the surrounding area had a population of 96.Census 2006 AUS
id=SSC25733
name=Harrow (State Suburb)
accessdate=2007-08-04
quick=on]

The first European explorer of the area was Thomas Mitchell and a monument marks the spot where he crossed the Glenelg River. A town originally known as Upper Glenelg was established in the 1840s and is claimed to be the oldest inland town in Victoria. The Post Office opened on March 1, 1849 as Upper Glenelg (Harrow from 1854).Citation

last = Premier Postal History | title = Post Office List | url = https://www.premierpostal.com/cgi-bin/wsProd.sh/Viewpocdwrapper.p?SortBy=VIC&country= | accessdate = 2008-04-11 ] At its peak, the town included a range of shops and services including two hotels. Harrow is the burial place of Johnny Mullagh, member of the Australian Aboriginal cricket team, the first Australian cricket team to tour England. He also represented the Victorian cricket team in first-class cricket

The Marsh clan is one of the oldest existing families from this region. Les and James Marsh were the first settlers in the 1830s and there homestead is still viewable to this day.cite web
url = http://www.smh.com.au/news/Victoria/Harrow/2005/02/17/1108500206518.html
title = Harrow
work = SHM Travel
publisher = Sydney Morning Herald
accessdate = 2007-05-26]

In recent years, there has been a drift away from Harrow to larger towns in the region. In an effort to counteract this, Harrow has pioneered several popular events such as the regular "Beaut Blokes" events. The event was established to offset a perceived gender imbalance by introducing women from cities such as Melbourne and Geelong to single men from the district. The concept has now been picked up by other rural communities throughout Australia.cite news
first = Ben
last = McNair
title = Blokes saved
url = http://www.abc.net.au/westernvic/stories/s1472974.htm
publisher = Australian Broadcasting Corporation
date = 29 September 2005
accessdate = 2007-05-26 ] A sound and light show is held weekly, retelling the history of Harrow in a humorous and interactive manner.cite web
last = Reading
first = Lyndal
url = http://www.abc.net.au/rural/legends/stories/14_2.htm
title = Ange Newton
work = Rural Legends
publisher = Australian Broadcasting Corporation
accessdate = 2007-05-26]

The town in conjunction with neighbouring township Balmoral has an Australian Rules football team competing in the Horsham & District Football League.

References

External links

* [http://www.harrowtown.com.au/ Community website]
* [http://www.beautblokes.com.au/ Beaut Blokes] - Official website
* [http://www.westwimmera.vic.gov.au/main.cfm?categoryid=4&TopicID=48&contentfile=infopage Shire of West Wimmera Council] - Official website