Omeo

The historic Omeo post office by night

State :	Australia Australia
State :	Victoria
Founded :	1858

Coordinates :	37 ° 6 ′ S , 147 ° 36 ′ E Coordinates: 37 ° 6 ′ S , 147 ° 36 ′ E-37.1 147.6 685
Height :	685 m
Area :	1.8 km²

Residents :	242 (2016)
Population density :	134 inhabitants per km²

Time zone :	AEST (UTC + 10)
Postal code :	3898

LGA :

East Gippsland Shire

Omeo

Omeo is a small town in eastern Gippsland in the Australian state of Victoria . It is located on the Great Alpine Road east of Mount Hotham . According to the 2016 Australian census, Omeo has a population of 242. Omeo acts as the trading center for the Tambo Valley and the Omeo Valley.

The place name is derived from the Aboriginal word for mountains or hills.

history

The natural scientist John Lhotsky was the first European to see the vast plains that the Aborigines called Omeo from the Australian Alps in 1834 . As early as 1835, Australian stockmen were driving their cattle through this area. Gold was found around Omeo in 1845, and the gold rush peaked in the 1860s .

The first post office was opened on January 1, 1858 near the present post office. But there were two post offices opened in other settlements in 1851 and 1856/57, which were also called Omeo.

Earthquakes in 1885 and 1892 and the great forest fire on Black Friday 1939 caused damage in Omeo, but several old buildings such as the historic bank have been preserved to this day.

Omeo today

The city hosts the Omeo Plains Mountain Festival each December and January , as well as a rodeo and polo market in Cobungra around Easter and an agricultural show in November.

Omeo used to have a football team that played in the Omeo & District Football League (ODFL), as well as an affiliated netball team. There was a senior and a junior football team, as well as senior, junior, and dwarf teams in netball. Due to the decrease in population, both clubs had to merge with those in the neighboring town of Benambra in 2007 to form the Omeo-Benambra (Alpine Ranges) Club .

Omeo has a horse racing club, the Omeo District Racing Club , whose annual competition, the Omeo Cup , takes place in March in Hinnomunjie . There is also a golf club in town.

Sights include the former Oriental Claims gold mine , the cuckoo clock business and white water rafting on the Mitta Mitta River . The Cobungra Rivers , Bundara Rivers , Big Rivers, and Mitta Mitta Rivers near the nearby Anglers Rest, as well as the Tambo River, offer good trout fishing grounds .

The Australian western Red Hill was filmed in the Omeo area.