Minimay, Victoria
Encyclopedia
Minimay is a small town located in Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....

, 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...

. The town is in the Shire of West Wimmera 25 kilometres (25,000 m) from the South Australian border, about halfway between Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...

 and Adelaide
Adelaide
Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...

. 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,...

, Minimay and the surrounding area had a population of 103. A signpost outside the town lists the town's population at 9.

Geography

Farming is the main industry in Minimay and includes sheep and cattle
Cattle
Cattle are the most common type of large domesticated ungulates. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae, are the most widespread species of the genus Bos, and are most commonly classified collectively as Bos primigenius...

 breeding and arable
Agronomy
Agronomy is the science and technology of producing and using plants for food, fuel, feed, fiber, and reclamation. Agronomy encompasses work in the areas of plant genetics, plant physiology, meteorology, and soil science. Agronomy is the application of a combination of sciences like biology,...

 crops. Center pivot irrigation
Center pivot irrigation
Center-pivot irrigation , also called circle irrigation, is a method of crop irrigation in which equipment rotates around a pivot...

 is used to water crops and give satellite images
Satellite imagery
Satellite imagery consists of photographs of Earth or other planets made by means of artificial satellites.- History :The first images from space were taken on sub-orbital flights. The U.S-launched V-2 flight on October 24, 1946 took one image every 1.5 seconds...

 of the area a characteristic patchwork pattern of green circles. Before agriculture, the area was quite wooded; at the time trees were cleared, agriculture in Australia
Agriculture in Australia
Australia is a major agricultural producer and exporter. Agriculture and its closely related sectors earn $155 billion-a-year for a 12% share of GDP. Australian farmers and graziers own 135,996 farms, covering 61% of Australia’s landmass. There is a mix of irrigation and dry-land farming...

 was not advanced and initial attempts to grow crops required lots of manual labour, and the town consequently had a higher population.

Sporting

Sports today in Minimay is extinct with locals travelling to other sporting clubs in the district—including football
Australian rules football
Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...

 and netball
Netball
Netball is a ball sport played between two teams of seven players. Its development, derived from early versions of basketball, began in England in the 1890s. By 1960 international playing rules had been standardised for the game, and the International Federation of Netball and Women's Basketball ...

 clubs. Minimay originally had a golf club, basketball club, tennis club, racecourse, football club and cricket club.

Football

Border Districts Football Netball Club was originally a combined team with Minimay and Frances and today also includes Goroke. The club plays in the Kowree-Naracoorte-Tatiara Football League
Kowree-Naracoorte-Tatiara Football League
The Kowree-Naracoorte-Tatiara Football League is an Australian rules football competition based in the Limestone Coast region of South Australia, Australia. It is an affiliated member of the South Australian National Football League...

. The football ground still exists. Border District football club has won many premiships but the A grade team won premierships in 1962, 1967, 1975, 1996, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1991, 1992 this was our last premiership Border districts have won.

Cricket

The Minimay Cricket Club is one of the oldest bodies in the district. Records are poor but, an old minute book suggests that the club was formed before 1896. The Minimay Cricket Club also won premierships during the 19 hundreds. The cricket club now has been extinct for a long time.

Tennis

Tennis was first played in Minimay on a dirt court was in 1913.
The Minimay Tennis Club was first formed in 1919. Today the courts are in a different position than what they first were. 1967 they rebuilt the third court. Minimay again won many premierships in Tennis. The courts were last used in 1985 when the sport wasn’t played any more.

Basketball

Minimay Basketball Club started in 1946.
The Minimay Basketball team won 10 premierships.
Minimay Race Club started in the early 1900’s. Minimay Golf Club had nine holes course which was founded in 1931 and the Golf Club lasted for only 8 years.

History

There have been two churches in Minimay; the first church was Catholic and the second dating from 1953 was the Union church.
Minimay Post Office opened on 1 November 1877 as the area was settled.

The first school in Minimay opened was in 1884 or early in 1885. The school consisted of a small room which could hold 30 to 40 children. The school was closed in 1902 while it was painted and repaired. The school had planned to enlarge in 1906; this did not happen until 1911. A new school was built as the old school was infested by white ants. In 1951 the school was closed and most students went to a school in nearby Goroke
Goroke, Victoria
Goroke is a town in the Wimmera region of Victoria. The town is located in the Shire of West Wimmera Local Government Area, north west of the state capital, Melbourne...

.
The Minimay Public Hall was built in 1901 to 1975. The Hall was opened 15 February 1991. In 1975 the old Hall was removed to make way for the new Minimay Memorial Hall. For the opening of the Minimay Memorial Hall the community had a ball. Lately the Hall has been repainted, new tables and table cloths and floor has been polished. Today the Hall still is used for many fund-raising and community events.

The first general store in Minimay was built in the 1880s. The first owners were from Harrow
Harrow, Victoria
Harrow is a town in the Wimmera region of western Victoria, Australia. The town is located in the Shire of West Wimmera Local Government Area, 391 kilometres north west of the state capital Melbourne, overlooking the Glenelg River valley...

 and they were Mr. and Mrs. Egan. The store had three rooms and a veranda. After a few years the owners left and the store was destroyed by fire. Mr. Carracher from the general store in Frances
Frances, South Australia
Frances is a settlement in South Australia. The town is in the Naracoorte Lucindale Council local government area, south east of the state capital, Adelaide. At the 2006 census, Frances and the surrounding area had a population of 347....

decided to build a new one in Minimay in 1901. In 1941 the president Mrs. McIntosh purchased the store. The shop was demolished on 12 February 1976.

Later a new Minimay store was built and this still runs. The store sells groceries and is a post office agency. The store is open seven days a week and serves take away food every Friday.
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