Kilmore

Postcode: 3764

Kilmore is a town in the Australian state of Victoria. Located 60 kilometres north of Melbourne, it is acknowledged as Victoria's oldest inland settled town. It has a population of approximately 5,200.

It was a stronghold of early Celtic settlers from Ireland, Scotland and Cornwall, and remains a strong Celtic area to this day. In the mid-1850s Kilmore was the electorate of the Irish Premier of Victoria (1857-1859), John O'Shanassy (1818-83). O'Shanassy, an Irish Catholic, was the bane of the Protestant establishment in Melbourne and that rubbed-off of those who lived in Kilmore. O'Shanassy's supporters were referred to as 'O'Rowdies' and O'Shanassy as the 'Rowdy King" (O'Brien, Shenanigans) A Melbourne Punch cartoon "Freedom of Election at Kilmore" depicted the 1859 election day in the town as a wild barney of Irishmen. (Punch, 8 September 1859, p.52, & O'Brien, p. 81) The town hosts a market on the 2nd Saturday of each month, and a Celtic Festival each June.

The town has two private secondary schools, and two primary schools. One of the secondary schools is The Kilmore International School (also known as T.K.I.S.), which is the only school in Australia to completely use the I.B. (International Baccalaureate). The other secondary school is Assumption College which has had many AFL players graduate from there. These include Shane Crawford, Jason Johnson, Simon O'Donnell and Billy Brownless.

Many of Kilmore's oldest and still intact buildings are made of bluestone. For example, the town's hospital, old court house, former post office, some churches, a gaol, and a monument to Hume and Hovell near the golf course.

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