Skipton is a town in the Western District of Victoria, Australia. The town is situated on the Glenelg Highway 166 kilometres west of the state capital, Melbourne and 52 kilometres south west of the regional centre, Ballarat. Part of Corangamite Shire Local government area, Skipton is on the banks of Mt Emu Creek and at the 2006 census had a population of 482. Skipton is named after Skipton, in Yorkshire, England and is known as "the home of the platypus".

Skipton was first established in 1839 as a pastoral run and a town site was surveyed in 1852. The town was settled some years later and the Post Office opened on 6 march 1858. The town held the first agricultural show in the Western District in 1859.

Fine wool is the main agricultural product of the Skipton area. A rail trail allows cyclists to ride between Skipton and Ballarat.

Notable people

• Henry Bolte, the longest serving Premier of Victoria, grew up in Skipton.
• Henry Kingsley, author and brother of Charles Kingsley worked on a pastoral station near Skipton for a time in 1857.
• Silent Movie star, Claire Adams married Scobie Mackinnon and settled at Mooramong homestead near Skipton in 1937.
• Australian Test cricketer Alan Connolly was born in Skipton in 1939.
• The Academy Is... guitarist Michael Guy Chislett was born in Skipton.

References

External links

• Corangamite Shire Council - Official Site
• Ballarat-Skipton rail trail
• SMH Travel - Skipton page