- Seymour, Victoria
Infobox Australian Place | type = town
name = Seymour
state = vic
caption = Aerial view from the east, Goulburn River to the left, railway running left to right in the centre
lga =Shire of Mitchell
postcode = 3660
est = 1839
pop = 6,304
elevation= 145
maxtemp = 21.1
mintemp = 7.7
rainfall = 597.9
stategov = Seymour
fedgov = McEwen
dist1 = 96
dir1 = north
location1=Melbourne
dist2 = 85
dir2 = south
location2= Shepparton
near-nw = Hilldene
near-n = Nagambie
near-ne = Avenel
near-w = Hilldene
near-e = Avenel
near-sw = Tallarook
near-s = Whiteheads Creek
near-se = Whiteheads CreekSeymour is a township located in the Shire of Mitchell in the state of Victoria,
Australia and is located 98 km north ofMelbourne . At the 2006 census, Seymour had a population of 6,304.Census 2006 AUS
id = SSC26603
name = Seymour (State Suburb)
accessdate = 2007-06-27] The township services the surrounding agricultural industries (primarilyequine ,cattle/sheep andwine ) as well as the nearby military base ofPuckapunyal (population 1,176Census 2006 AUS
id = SSC26489
name = Puckapunyal (State Suburb)
accessdate = 2007-06-27] ), which is an important training centre for theAustralian Army . Other important sectors of employment in Seymour include retail, light engineering, agricultural services support, medical services, and education.History
Seymour was established in 1839 at the crossing of the Goulburn River on the
Melbourne -Sydney route (now known as theHume Highway ) where an inn was first built. The Post Office opened on 1 July 1844.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 ] The railway arrived in 1872 along with substantial infrastructure to support it, establishing the town as an important rail hub for theGoulburn Valley , the Melbourne-Sydney railway and North Eastern Victoria. It was one of the first Victorian examples of therailway town phenomenon, in the heyday of the railway it employed 400 men and along with their families comprised one third of the town, or 1500 people. [cite book
author = John C. Jennings and Robert K. Whitehead
title = "Seymour - A Railway Town"
publisher = Seymour and District Historical Society
month = July | year = 2005
page = page 3
isbn = 0 9751658 0 1 ]Puckapunyal Army Base
The
Australian Army first established a large training camp 4 km east of the township during theFirst World War . During theSecond World War , the eastern camp diminished in importance and a substantially larger and more permanent military township was established 10 km to the west atPuckapunyal . As of 2008 Puckapunyal is the centre for the [http://www.defence.gov.au/Army/ Australian Army's] Land Warfare Development Centre (LWDC) and Headquarters Combined Arms Training Centre (HQ CATC). The HQ CATC is the headquarters for the Australian Army School of Armour (Puckapunyal), School of Artillery (Puckapunyal), School of Engineers (Sydney NSW) and School of Infantry (Singleton NSW). Additionally there are smaller training centres and facilities as well as a road transport squadron based in Puckapunyal.Future (though non-committed) Federal Government planning for the Australian Army has discussed the eventual relocation of the School of Engineers and School of Infantry to Puckapunyal to establish a Combined Training Centre of Excellence for the combatant corps of the Australian Army.
Puckapunyal has extensive corporatised garrison support, maintenance, and overhaul facilities that support the Army units in Puckapunyal as well as many outlying depots throughout Victoria and Tasmania. The base employs many from the civilian population in Seymour and surounding townships. The base is home to the [http://www.armytankmuseum.com.au/Australian Army's Tank Museum] , which features an excellent collection of historical and modern tanks and armoured vehicles from around the world.
Layout and Amenities
Seymour is a generally neat town, with many long straight roads and many culldesacs. There are designated shopping areas, and the township is fairly well serviced with a broad range of local competative businesseses and supermarket chains. Fast foods chains include McDonalds, KFC and Subway, while main retail chains include Safeway, Coles, IGA and Target. Discussions have been underway for the addition of a proposed Aldi supermarket. There are several government schools in the area including 4 primary schools (From preparatory to Year 6) that include:Seymour Primary School, Seymour East Primary School,Puckpunyal Primary School, andand Seymour Special School.A Catholic Church run private school, St Mary's Seymour provides tuition for years preparatory to Year 10. The Seymour Secondary College is State owned and provides tuition from Years 7 to 12.
ervices
A number of fraternal, service and community organisations are active in Seymour including [http://www.geocities.com/seymour_freemasons/index.html Freemasonry] (established in Seymour in 1883), the
Lions Club ,Scouting , andApex Clubs of Australia . Seymour has an excellent indoor multi-purpose sports centre and indoor swimming complex as well as a number of large playing fields for athletics, cricket and football. The township has a number of successful and well resourced sporting clubs including the Seymour Turf Club, the Seymour Football Club (Goulburn Valley Football League Premiers 2005, 2006 and 2007), Lawn Bowls, Kick Boxing, Basketball and Netball.The Seymour campus of the
Goulburn Ovens Institute of TAFE , opened in 1998, provides a variety of short courses and vocational education and training.Transport
Seymour is located adjacent to the junction of the Hume Highway and
Goulburn Valley Highway . TheHume Highway crossed the Goulburn river and diverted all Melbourne-Sydney bound traffic though the township for over 100 years until a freeway bypass was opened routing all non-local and interstate traffic around the township in 1982.Seymour station is served by regular
V/Line hourly services to and from MelbourneSouthern Cross Station as well as services on the Albury-Wodonga and Shepparton lines. The station was once a major freight marshalling location and the home of a significant locomotive depot. The depot is now the home of theSeymour Railway Heritage Centre . The heritage centre has a large collection of vintage and heritage locomotives, diesels and rolling stock (In various stages of restoration) that is opened to the public regularly for inspection.Tourism
Seymour hosts an annual [http://www.seymour-expo.com/ Alternative Farming Exposition] each February which draws many thousands of visitors from around Australia. The township is also home to a well-established railway museum and art Galleries - Old Courthouse and Old Post Office Seymour. Seymour offers a wide selection of dining options to visitors that include [http://www.geocities.com/seymour_pow/index.html The Prince of Wales Hotel] , [http://www.seymour.org.au/somerset.htm The Somerset Winery] , [http://www.artseymour.com.au/ Old Post Office Seymour, Fine Art Gallery & Restaurant] , The Seymour Club, The Royal Hotel, and The Railway Hotel, which all provide visitors with a selection of fresh locally-produced foods and wines.Additionally, there are several major wineries within 15 minutes driving distance from the township. Seymour is also home to an excellent horse racing facility with regular meetings held throughout the year. The Hume International Raceway is located 10km West of the township and holds regular go-cart racing meetings on most weekends.
port
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