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
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