Milawa is a town in Victoria, Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

, located on Snow Road, 18 kilometres (11 mi) south-east of Wangaratta

Wangaratta, Victoria

Wangaratta is a cathedral city of almost 17,000 people in the northeast of Victoria, Australia, about from Melbourne along the Hume Highway, with Benalla to the southwest, and Albury-Wodonga to the northeast. It is located at the junction of the Ovens and King rivers which flow from the...

, in the Rural City of Wangaratta

Rural City of Wangaratta

The Rural City of Wangaratta is a Local Government Area in Victoria, Australia. It is located in the north-eastern part of the state. It has an area of 3,764 square kilometres. In 2001 it had a population of 26,000, of which 8.6% were born overseas...

. At the 2006 census

Census in Australia

The Australian census is administered once every five years by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The most recent census was conducted on 9 August 2011; the next will be conducted in 2016. Prior to the introduction of regular censuses in 1961, they had also been run in 1901, 1911, 1921, 1933,...

, Milawa and the surrounding area had a population of 543.

Milawa is the hub of the Milawa Gourmet Region which offers a wide range of produce.

The town is the home to the Brown Brothers

Brown Brothers Milawa Vineyard

Brown Brothers Milawa Vineyard is a family-owned wine company based in Milawa, Victoria, Australia. Brown Brothers was founded in 1889 by John Francis Brown and continues to be owned and operated by his descendants on the original property...

 vineyards, which have operated in the town since 1889. Milawa is also home to the Milawa Cheese Company and Milawa Mustards.

History

Milawa was named in 1874 after being known only as The Square for many years prior. The word Milawa is aboriginal in origin and is said to mean "flat land". In these early times the Emu Hotel occupied one corner (built by James Henley) and the Commercial was on the opposite corner (built by Colin Gardner). General merchandise was available at McKenzie's store and there were two blacksmiths, a saddler, a bootmaker, a carpenter and a doctor, Dr McSweeney. (Milawa mustards now occupies the Emu Hotel site, the Milawa Hotel occupies the Commercial Hotel site and Food on Wood the McKenzies site). The Post Office opened on 7 July 1862, known as Oxley until 1870 and Oxley Plains until 1874.

A Mechanics Institute comprising a free library and a spacious hall opened in 1889. A court was established in Milawa in 1874 by the visiting Magistrate Mr Howitt, in a room leased from the Emu Hotel. The police station was located at the Commercial Hotel and in 1917 moved to McKenzies store upon becoming vacant. The lock-up adjoined the Emu Hotel.

A dairy company was established in 1891 and by 1896 was one of the biggest dairy companies in Australia (the Milawa Cheese Company now occupies this site)

Football and cricket began to be played on an organised basis in the 1890s.

Milawa was connected to electricity from the Kiewa hydro scheme in 1939.

A violent storm cut a narrow path through Milawa in 1977 and destroyed the Anglican church, tore the roofs from many buildings and destroyed crops. A second storm in 2000 followed a very similar path with similar results.

Source: Memories of Oxley, Graham Jones (1995).

Attractions

• Milawa Gourmet Region
• Brown Brothers
  Brown Brothers Milawa Vineyard
  Brown Brothers Milawa Vineyard is a family-owned wine company based in Milawa, Victoria, Australia. Brown Brothers was founded in 1889 by John Francis Brown and continues to be owned and operated by his descendants on the original property...
  
   has been established in Milawa since 1889 and is well known for its wide range of wines exported to many countries.
• The Milawa Cheese Company complex offers cheese tasting, a bakery, a restaurant, an ice creamery and an art gallery.
• Milawa Mustards offers mustard tasting and sales and has an art gallery.
• The Olive Shop
• The General Store
• Whiteheads Meadery & Honey

Food

• Lindenwarrah offers restaurant Merlot.
• Milawa Lodge offers Coopers Restaurant.
• Brown Brothers offers the Epicurean Centre.
• The Milawa Cheese Company offers a Bakery and Restaurant.
• Food on Wood is on the central corner
• The Milawa Hotel is also on the corner.

Sport

• The town has an Australian Rules football team competing in the Ovens & King Football League
  Ovens & King Football League
  300px|thumb|right|O&K 2007 Thirds Grand Final between Whorouly and North WangarattaThe Ovens & King Football League is a minor country Australian rules football league based in Northeastern Victoria in the vicinity of Wangaratta and more recently Benalla....
  
  .

• Squash: There are three squash courts at Milawa and a number of competitions running throughout the year.
• Tennis
• Netball