St Arnaud is a town in the Wimmera region of Victoria, Australia, 244 kilometres north west of the capital Melbourne. It is in the Shire of Northern Grampians local government area. At the , St Arnaud had a population of 2,318. It is named after French marshal Jacques Leroy de Saint Arnaud, commander-in-chief of the army of the East. It is one of quite a number of towns, streets etc. named after people and places of the Crimean War. History St Arnaud is a former gold mining town, situated on the main route between Ballarat and Mildura. The town was settled in the mid-1850s, the post office opening on 1 February 1856. Traditional ownership The formally recognised traditional owners for the area in which St Arnaud sits are the Dja Dja Wurrung people who are represented by the Dja Dja Wurrung Clans Aboriginal Corporation. Demographics As of the 2021 census, 2,318 people resided in St Arnaud. The median age of persons in St Arnaud was 52 years. Children aged 0–14 years made up 13.8% of the population. People over the age of 65 years made up 32.0% of the population There were slightly more females than males with 51.9% of the population female and 48.1% male. The average household size is 2 people per household. The average number of children per family for families with children is 1.8. 85.2% of people in St Arnaud were born in Australia. Of all persons living in St Arnaud, 2.3% (54 persons) were Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people. This is higher than for the state of Victoria (1.0%) and lower than the national average (3.2%). The most common ancestries in St Arnaud were English 44.6%, Australian 43.4%, Scottish 12.7%, Irish 12.5% and German 3.9%. Climate St Arnaud has a warm temperate climate with Mediterranean characteristics. Summers are usually very warm and dry but thunderstorms can occur. Maximums around 32C are expected with minimums around 15C. Winters are quite frosty most nights but daytime temperatures seem to climb to about 9-14 with varied weather. Present The town features many well-preserved historic buildings which line the main thoroughfare of Napier Street, including a generous collection of pubs. A number of attractive gardens exist in town, including Pioneer Park (believed to be Australia's only remaining public park designed by Edna Walling), the Queen Mary Botanic Gardens, the Market Square gardens adjacent to the council offices and