COLERAINE Coleraine is the next town encounted when heading west from Hamilton to Mount Gambier. A nice tidy town this is.  Nestled in a valley, with wide streets and all of the essential services. It was named after the town in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. The area was first settled by Europeans in 1838 for pastoral grazing. The town was surveyed later on Bryan Creek, a tributary of the Wannon River. The Post Office opened on November 16, 1854. Today, Coleraine's primary industries are beef and wool. The town hosts an Autumn Festival in April and an art show in August. Coleraine is also the base in Australia where all of the types of Eucalypts (gum trees) are collected and  grown and maintained. The collection is open to the public. All of the churches in Coleraine are 100 plus years old. The Coleraine Hotel and the National Hotel service the town. Both old and Victorian classic. The old Coleraine Rail Station is the towns Museum. There is plenty to look at the Museum and a good insight into the past is on display. The Coleraine War Memorial is in the central cbd. There is enough in the town to warrant an overnight stopover. Heritage diary