Whorouly


Whorouly is a town in northeast Victoria, Australia.
The town is in the valley of the Ovens River and in the Rural City of Wangaratta local government area, northeast of the state capital, Melbourne and southeast of the regional centre of Wangaratta. At the, Whorouly and the surrounding area had a population of 376. Prior to the 1994 Kennet Government council amalgamations, the township was in the Shire of Oxley.
The town can easily be missed, sitting as it does off the main valley highways between the Snow Road and The Great Alpine Road. It is however, only 5 minutes from either road.
The town was surveyed and proclaimed in 1868, adopting the name of a nearby station. Whorouly Primary School opened in 1874. The first European settlers established large grazing properties but after the Victorian gold rush, closer settlement took place. Land was released in lots, on the condition that part of the land was cleared for agriculture.
Until the 1980s much of the area along the Ovens River was planted with tobacco. Other production in the area included beef and dairy cattle, orchards and market gardens. In recent years, wine grape growing has been introduced to the area so that the area, being at the apex of the Ovens Valley and King Valley, is the centre of a significant food region with many farm gate and cellar door sales.
The local Australian rules football team, Whorouly Football Club, competes in the Ovens and King Football League.
Town facilities currently include churches, children's playground, sporting ground & public hall, a combined primary school & pre-school, a combined hotel/pub/general store, a local well renowned cafe called The 2 Cooks Cafe and several self-catering holiday rentals and B&B's. There is also a garage with fuel facilities. The garage was known as Whorouly Motors but recently changed its name to Alpine Performance changing focus to support the growing performance car and motorbike market in the region.