Pomonal, Victoria

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


caption =
lga = Rural City of Ararat
postcode = 3381
est =
pop = 350
pop_footnotes=
elevation=
elevation_footnotes=
maxtemp =
mintemp =
rainfall =
stategov = Ripon
fedgov = Wannon
dist1 = 245
dir1 = NW
location1= Melbourne
dist2 = 132
dir2 = W
location2= Ballarat
dist3 = 39
dir3 = W
location3= Ararat

Pomonal is a town in western Victoria, Australia. The town is located in the Rural City of Ararat Local Government Area, convert|245|km|mi|0|lk=on north west of the state capital, Melbourne. At the 2006 census, Pomonal had a population of 350.Census 2006 AUS
id=SSC26455
name=Pomonal (State Suburb)
accessdate=2007-11-09
quick=on]

History

Reflecting the many orchards in the area at the time, the town was originally named Pomona after the Roman goddess. As a result of another town in Australia with the same name, this was changed in 1904 to Pomonal.cite web
url = http://www.ararat.vic.gov.au/Files/Pomonal.pdf
title = Pomonal Community Action Plan
format = PDF
publisher = Rural City of Ararat
accessdate = 2007-11-09] The Post Office reflected this change opening as Pomona on December 25, 1892 (closing 1895), re-opening as Mona on August 1, 1904 then being renamed Pomonal on October 10, 1904. 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 ]

Thomas Mitchell was the first European explorer in the Pomonal area, camping near the future town site in 1836 before climbing Mount William in the nearby Grampians mountain range.cite web
url = http://walkabout.com.au/locations/VICPomonal.shtml
title = Pomonal
work = Walkabout Travel Guide
publisher = Fairfax
accessdate = 2007-11-09] Squatters soon followed and the town site was part of the "Lexington Run". In 1866, the Frenchman Peter DeMay was he first selector in the area, developing an orchard and small vineyard. The fruit industry developed from the 1890s, reaching a peak around 1913. From 1920, tobacco growing started in the area. The Black Friday bushfires of 1939 destroyed many of the orchards and tobacco properties. Today, while there is one remaining commercial orchard, Pomonal is mainly a grazing district.

References