Anakie, Victoria

{{short description|Town in Victoria, Australia}} {{about|the Victorian town|the Queensland town|Anakie Siding, Queensland}} {{Use dmy dates|date=September 2014}} {{Use Australian English|date=September 2014}} {{Infobox Australian place | type = town | name = Anakie | state = vic | image = AnakieGeneralStore.JPG | caption = The general store at Anakie | use_lga_map = yes | coordinates = {{coord|37|55|S|144|15|E|display=inline,title}} | pushpin_label_position = right | lga = City of Greater Geelong | lga2 = Golden Plains Shire | postcode = 3213 | est = | pop = 734 | pop_year = {{CensusAU|2021}} | pop_footnotes = | elevation = | maxtemp = | mintemp = | rainfall = | stategov = [[Electoral district of Lara|Lara]] | stategov2 = | fedgov = [[Division of Ballarat|Ballarat]] | fedgov2 = [[Division of Corio|Corio]] | dist1 = 73 | dir1 = SW | location1 = [[Melbourne]] | dist2 = 20 | dir2 = N | location2 = [[Geelong]] | dist3 = 12 | dir3 = W | location3 = [[Lara, Victoria|Lara]] | near-nw = [[Steiglitz, Victoria|Steiglitz]] | near-n = [[Staughton Vale, Victoria|Staughton Vale]] | near-ne = [[Balliang, Victoria|Balliang]] | near-w = [[Steiglitz, Victoria|Steiglitz]] | near-e = [[Little River, Victoria|Little River]] | near-sw = [[Maude, Victoria|Maude]] | near-s = [[Moorabool, Victoria|Moorabool]]<br>[[Lovely Banks, Victoria|Lovely Banks]] | near-se = [[Lara, Victoria|Lara]] }}

'''Anakie''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|æ|n|ə|k|iː}} {{Respell|AN|uh|kee}}) is a town between [[Geelong]] and [[Bacchus Marsh]], in [[Victoria (state)|Victoria]], [[Australia]]. At the {{CensusAU|2021}}, Anakie and the surrounding area had a population of 734.<ref name=ABS>{{Cite web |title=2021 Anakie, Census All persons QuickStats {{!}} Australian Bureau of Statistics |url=https://www.abs.gov.au/census/find-census-data/quickstats/2021/SAL20042 |access-date=2022-07-13 |website=abs.gov.au}}</ref> The area is divided between the [[City of Greater Geelong]] and [[Golden Plains Shire]] local government areas.

The name is believed to be derived from 'Anakie Youang', an expression in one of the local [[Australian Aboriginal languages]], meaning 'little hill' or 'twin hills'.<ref>Kennedy, B: ''Australian Place Names'', page 5. ABC Books, 2006</ref> The nearby [[Brisbane Ranges National Park]] contains three hills known as The Anakies, as well as Mount Anakie.

Anakie's industry consists mainly of farms and vineyards. [[Fairy Park]], a fairytale-themed amusement park overlooking the Anakie township, is a prominent local attraction. The town is also a stopping-off point for the Brisbane Ranges National Park.

The town has an [[Australian rules football]] team, the [[Anakie Football Club]], competing in the [[Geelong & District Football League]].

==History== The area was first settled by Europeans in 1842 when Frederick Griffin established his Anakie pastoral run.<ref>Hogan, JF: "The Anakie of Long Ago". Geelong Advertiser, 8 February 1919, p.9</ref> In the 1850s, Griffin subdivided some of the land along the Anakie Creek, which became a small village. A [[Methodism|Wesleyan]] school opened in 1858 and a [[Catholic]] school in 1859. The Post Office opened on 15 October 1858.<ref name="a">{{Citation | last = Phoenix Auctions History | title = Post Office List | url = http://www.phoenixauctions.com.au/cgi-bin/wsPhoenix.sh/Viewpocdwrapper.p?SortBy=VIC&filter=*Anakie* | access-date = 5 March 2021}}</ref> By 1865, the town had a hotel and a [[Presbyterian]] church. A Catholic church was established in 1871, followed by an [[Anglican]] church in 1891. The size of the farming lots were too small for most farmers to make a living, and so consolidations occurred, which resulted in a drop in population.

Residents in Anakie experienced severe [[bushfires]] on 22 January 2006, with fires spreading over {{convert|67|km2}} of land and at least three homes being lost in conditions surpassing {{cvt|42|C}}.<ref>[https://www.theage.com.au/national/homes-lost-at-anakie-20060123-ge1m93.html The Age: Homes lost at Anakie - 22 January 2006]</ref>

Narada Homestead dates from 1862 and is listed on the [[Victorian Heritage Register]].<ref>[https://vhd.heritagecouncil.vic.gov.au/places/21 "Narada Homestead (H0282)"]. ''[[Victorian Heritage Register]].'' [[Heritage Victoria]]. Retrieved 2014-03-23.</ref>

==Population== In the 2021 census, there were 734 people in Anakie. Seventy-nine per cent of people were born in Australia and 88% of people spoke only English at home. The most common responses for religion were 'no religion' (44.8%) and Catholic (17.7%).<ref name=ABS/>

== Gallery ==

<gallery> Image:AnakieFairyPark.JPG|Fairy Park, a small amusement park in Anakie </gallery>

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links==

*[https://web.archive.org/web/20050309013520/http://www.arts.monash.edu.au/ncas/multimedia/gazetteer/list/anakie.html Australian Places - Anakie] *[https://www.fairypark.com/ Fairy Park]

{{Geelong suburbs}} {{Towns in Golden Plains Shire}}

[[Category:Suburbs of Geelong]] [[Category:Towns in Victoria (state)]] [[Category:Wine regions of Victoria (state)]]