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 Warracknabeal district had a population of 2,745, of which 2,340 lived in the town. 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, several 19th-century hotels and pubs, 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. The Warracknabeal Magistrates' Court closed on 1 January 1990. Localities The Warracknabeal bounded locality includes the rural neighbourhoods of Batchica (whose post office opened as Yellangip South in 1908, was renamed Batchica in 1909 and closed in 1931), Challambra (whose post office opened as Challamba Dam (sic) around 1902, was renamed Challamba in 1905 and closed in 1918) and Mellis (whose post office opened around 1907 and closed in 1954). Traditional ownership The formally recognised traditional owners for the area in which Warracknabeal sits are the Wotjobaluk, Jaadwa, Jadawadjali, Wergaia and Jupagik Nations. These Nations are represented by the Barengi Gadjin Land Council Aboriginal Corporation. Demographics As of the 2016 census, 2,438 people resided in Warracknabeal. The median age of persons in Warracknabeal was 50 years. Children aged 0–14 years made up 16% of the population. People over the age of 65 years made up 27.8 percent of the population. There are slightly more females than males with 50.2% of the population female and 49.8% male. The average household size is 2.1 persons per household. The average number of children per family for families with children is 1.9. 82.6% of people were born in Australia. Of persons living in Warracknabeal, 1.5% (36 persons) were Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people. This