Koroit and District Angling Club Inc

Welcome to our site! The Koroit and District Angling Club has been an active club over many years. Currently the club has members who are both active anglers and non-active. The club fishes both river and sea, encouraging members to weigh in fish they catch out of competition for trophys at our end of season presentation.

The club holds competitions at venues such as Lake Purrumbette, Curdies River, Hopkins River, Port Fairy, Fitzroy River and at Nelson in the Glenelg River. The club actively encourages safe and sustainable angling, with fish being of quality not quantity. In late 2009 we held a successful come and try junior and family day to show those interested in fishing the different types of baits used, fish species, knot tying demonstrations and casting lessons. 

Attractive historic township with a National Trust listed main street.
Located 280 km west of Melbourne, Koroit is a tiny township which has developed into a charming rural town located amidst rolling green pastures on the northern slopes of Tower Hill, an extinct volcano. The settlement is situated just a few kilometres north of the Princes Highway, 18 km north-west of Warrnambool and 278 km west of Melbourne. The tone of the town benefits much from its heritage buildings and its Botanic Gardens. Potatoes, onions and dairying form the backbone of local industry.

Prior to the arrival of Europeans the area was inhabited by the Peel Whurrong Aborigines and the town's name is said to derive from an indigenous phrase although its meaning is unclear.

The townsite of Koroit was surveyed and the first town allotments were sold in 1857. The Koroit Hotel had been erected in 1853 and it is still standing today, along with some other early buildings, such as the Presbyterian Church (1859) and the former Tower Hill Lake National School (1857). The National School had been preceded by denominational schools in the area: the first being a Catholic school at Crossley, on the western side of the Tower Hill lake. Koroit was declared a borough in 1870.

The railway arrived in 1880, facilitating trade with the outside world. Dairying subsequently emerged and a butter factory was established in 1888.

In 1881 the population of the town was recorded as 1644. The fact that it is now over 3000  reflects the fact that Koroit has grown over the years, with the milk factory Murray Goulburn being the biggest employer in town. This is also partly due to the easy access to the growing commercial centre of Warrnambool. This has its upside for visitors who can enjoy the charm of what has remained a very pleasant rural centre with old-fashioned shop fronts and heritage buildings.

• Heritage Walk - take in the towns rich Irish history, many churches, old buildings.
• Botanical Gardens - constructed on land set aside in 1862. These are no ordinary rural town gardens. They were designed in 1880 by William Guilfoyle who at the time was the curator of the Melbourne Botanic Gardens. He designed the winding paths and sweeping lawns. Today only five conifers remain from the plantings that took place in the 1880s. However the gardens do have some genuine rarities. Six of the trees are registered with the National Trust and the Dragon's Blood Tree is on the World Rare and Endangered List. There are children's play facilities and electric barbecues.
• Koroit Irish Festival - The Koroit Irish festival began in 1997 and has since grown to a fun, energetic celebration of the town`s traditional Irish heritage. Usually held the last weekend in April.
• Tower Hill State Game Reserve - Tower Hill, bordering Koroit on the south and ten kilometres west of Warrnambool, was formed from a major eruption some 32,000 years ago and about forty others that followed. It is home to emus, koalas, kangaroos, and is the traditional land of the Koroitch Gundidj people.
• The Koroit Lake School of Celtic Song and Dance - Offers a week-long program of dance and music lessons, culminating in a final, grand concert and ceilidhe. Tuition includes fiddle, mandolin, banjo, flute, accordion, tin whistle, guitar, DADGAD guitar, kids program, bodhran, Irish set dance, Irish Language, concertina, slow session, songwriting, Lake School Revue Spud Poets Award and uilleann pipes, with sessions and ceilidhes every night. Beginner and advanced classes are offered with a number of top tutors - including session master - Paddy Fitzgerald. The event is held in January each year.
• Koroit Agricultural Show - held in November.

  Experience all the spectacle, excitement and fun of a country show including cattle competitions,horse events and art and craft competitions.

  Beaut Ute Competition; Childrens entertainment,live music. truck and classic car exhibits, animal nursery,face painting and other entertainment to keep the children and the public fully entertained on show day.  For further information on Koroit go to www.visitkoroit.com.au