Warracknabeal

Warracknabeal is a wheatbelt town in the Australian state of Victoria. Situated on the banks of the Yarriambiack Creek, 330 km north-west of Melbourne, it is the business and services centre of the northern Wimmera and southern Mallee districts, and hosts local government offices of the Shire of Yarriambiack. At the 2006 census Waracknabeal had a population of 2490.

History
The original inhabitants of the area around Warracknabeal were the Wotjobaluk tribe of aboriginal people. The town's name is believed to derive from an aboriginal expression meaning "place of big gums shading the water hole". The earliest European settlers in the area included Andrew and Robert Scott, who established the first run of the name.

The Post Office opened on 1 September 1861 and was known as Werracknebeal until 1885.

Amongst the historical buildings are an 1872 prison cell built from red and yellow gum, a Tudor-style post office, and a four storey water tower from 1886. There is also an agricultural machinery museum housing pieces from the history of farming in the Mallee and Wimmera districts.

Education
The town has Five schools; Satellite VCAL, Warracknabeal Secondary College, Warracknabeal Primary School, St Mary's primary School and Warracknabeal Special Developmental School.

Sport
The town has an Australian Rules football team (Warrack Eagles) competing in the Wimmera Football League.

Warrack Eagles Netball Club competes strongly in the Wimmera Netball Association.

The horse racing club, the Wimmera Racing Club, schedules around six race meetings a year at Warracknabeal including the Warracknabeal Cup meeting in February.

It also has the Sheep Hills Race Club, which schedules two race meetings a year, including the Sheep Hills Cup meeting in February.

Golfers play at the course of the Warracknabeal Golf Club.

Warracknabeal has 3 hockey teams, a senior men's team (Hoops), a woman's team, and a mixed junior team (revengers).

Easter Y-Fest
YFest incorporates an Easter Saturday Street Parade, a 3 Day Vintage Machinery Rally at Wheatlands Museum, 4 Day Golf Tournament, 3 day Art Show, Easter Saturday Race Meeting and Waterski Spectacular. The town of 2400 people swells with many visitors, friends and family and offers many family and rich community events every year.

The Easter Y-Fest is in its thirteenth year (2001) and continues to grow stronger as the individual events that make up Y-Fest, benefit from the joint marketing efforts of the Y-Fest Promotions Committee Inc. This Committee, made up of representatives from each of the individual event committees and Council, was formed as a marketing group to promote the Y-Fest concept and has been successful in boosting attendances at all venues.

Notable people
The town is the birth place of the musician Nick Cave.