Koroit

Koroit is a small rural town in western Victoria, Australia a few kilometres north of the Princes Highway, 18km north-west of Warrnambool and 278km west of Melbourne. It is in the Shire of Moyne local government area located amidst rolling green pastures on the North rim of Tower Hill. At the 2016 census, Koroit had a population of 2,055. The town borrows its name from the Koroitch Gundidj people who occupied the area prior to European settlement.HistoryPrior to European settlement the Koroit area was a rich source of foods for the Koroitch Gundidj people, whose descendants retain special links with the area.The first European knowledge of the area is the confirmed sighting of Tower Hill by French explorers sailing with Captain Nicolas Baudin aboard Le Géographe in 1802. The first European settler came to the Koroit area in 1837. A large number of Irish immigrants made Koroit their home in the 1840s and 1850s. The township of Koroit was surveyed and the first town allotments were sold in 1857. The Post Office opened on 23 April 1858. One of the strongest and most obvious links between Koroit and Ireland are the potato crops grown in the rich volcanic soil surrounding the town. Eight sites in Koroit are listed in the Register of the National Estate.What became the Port Fairy railway was extended to the town in 1890, along with a branch to Hamilton, both being closed in 1977.