In the 1860s, a group of Irish arrived in Melbourne and set out on foot to take land in the north of the colony. The Irish settled in Burramine south and it was there, one Sunday after mass that the idea was born of holding a sports day to buy a new set of jumpers for the Burramine footy club.
The sports were a great success, Burramine became a local footy power, the committee got ambitious and decided to upgrade the sports and become part of the Victorian sporting calendar with a meeting that acted as a prelude to the Stawell Gift. That's when the sports transferred to Yarrawonga and incorporated cycling (on a dirt track) and wood-chopping.
The Burramine Gift has been known in Scotland, Europe, Africa and West Indies, where the winners have lived,”
It is sad to have to write that there will not be a Burramine Gift Carnival in 2015.