Goulburn Valley
Encyclopedia
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. The region consists of those areas in the catchment of the Goulburn River
Goulburn River (Victoria)
The Goulburn River is a major inland river in Victoria, Australia.The headwaters of the Goulburn River rise in the western end of the Victoria Alps, near Mount Buller. The Eildon Dam creates Lake Eildon, a major storage of water for irrigation...
and other nearby streams, and is part of the Murray-Darling Basin
Murray-Darling Basin
The Murray-Darling basin is a large geographical area in the interior of southeastern Australia, whose name is derived from its two major rivers, the Murray River and the Darling River. It drains one-seventh of the Australian land mass, and is currently by far the most significant agricultural...
. The Goulburn Valley is bordered on the south by the Great Dividing Range
Great Dividing Range
The Great Dividing Range, or the Eastern Highlands, is Australia's most substantial mountain range and the third longest in the world. The range stretches more than 3,500 km from Dauan Island off the northeastern tip of Queensland, running the entire length of the eastern coastline through...
and to the north by the Murray River
Murray River
The Murray River is Australia's longest river. At in length, the Murray rises in the Australian Alps, draining the western side of Australia's highest mountains and, for most of its length, meanders across Australia's inland plains, forming the border between New South Wales and Victoria as it...
, the state border with New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
. The region is one of Australia's most productive and intensively farmed areas and is predominantly irrigated
Irrigation in Australia
Irrigation in Australia is a widespread practice to supplement low rainfall levels in Australia with water from other sources to assist in the production of crops or pasture. As the driest inhabited continent, irrigation is required in many areas for production of crops for domestic and export use...
.
The major regional centre of the Goulburn Valley is the city of Shepparton
Shepparton, Victoria
Shepparton is a city located on the floodplain of the Goulburn River in the north east of Victoria, Australia approximately north-east of Melbourne. It is the fifth largest city in Victoria, Australia. The estimated population of Shepparton's statistical area is 48,926.It began as a sheep station...
. Other important regional centres include Echuca
Echuca, Victoria
Echuca is a town located on the banks of the Murray River and Campaspe river in Victoria, Australia. The Border town Moama is on the northern side of the Murray river in New South Wales. It is the administrative centre and largest settlement in the Shire of Campaspe...
, Benalla
Benalla, Victoria
Benalla is a city of just over 9,000 people located just off the Hume Freeway in north-eastern Victoria, Australia, about southwest of Wangaratta. Its Local Government Area is the Rural City of Benalla.- Overview :...
, Yarrawonga
Yarrawonga, Victoria
Yarrawonga is a town in the Shire of Moira Local Government Area in the Australian state of Victoria. The town is situated on the south bank of the Murray River, the border between Victoria and New South Wales and is located approximately north-east of the state capital, Melbourne. Yarrawonga's...
, Kyabram
Kyabram, Victoria
Kyabram is located in the centre of a rich irrigation district in the Goulburn River Valley, 200 kilometres north of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Kyabram, the second largest town in the Shire of Campaspe. is situated between the towns of Echuca and Shepparton and is close to the Murray River...
and Seymour
Seymour, Victoria
Seymour is a township in the Shire of Mitchell in the state of Victoria, Australia and is located north of Melbourne. At the 2006 census, Seymour had a population of 6,063...
.
Transport
Major transport routes through the Goulburn Valley region include the Goulburn Valley HighwayGoulburn Valley Highway
The Goulburn Valley Highway / is a highway located in Victoria, Australia. The section north beyond the Hume Freeway is part of the Melbourne to Brisbane National Highway and is the main link between these two cities as well as a major link between Victoria and inland New South Wales...
, Midland Highway and the Murray Valley Highway
Murray Valley Highway
The Murray Valley Highway is a popular tourist route, which follows the south side of the Murray River in Victoria, Australia. The route effectively acts as the northern-most highway in Victoria...
. Passenger rail services are provided from Melbourne to Shepparton and Echuca by V/Line
V/Line
V/Line is a not for profit regional passenger train and coach service in Victoria, Australia. It was created after the split-up of VicRail in 1983. V/Line is owned by the V/Line Corporation which is a Victorian State Government statutory authority...
.
History
Aboriginal groups inhabited the Goulburn Valley region prior to European settlement. In the central Goulburn around NagambieNagambie, Victoria
Nagambie is a town in Victoria, Australia, located on the Goulburn Valley Highway, north of Seymour, in the Shire of Strathbogie. At the 2006 census, Nagambie had a population of 1,383.-History:...
, these groups are said to have included the Natrakboolok, Ngooraialum
Kulin
The Kulin nation, was an alliance of five Indigenous Australian nations in Central Victoria, Australia, prior to European settlement. Their collective territory extended to around Port Phillip and Western Port, up into the Great Dividing Range and the Loddon and Goulburn River valleys. To their...
or Thagungwurung tribes. Downstream, at Shepparton, the area was inhabited by the Yorta Yorta people
Yorta Yorta people
The Yorta Yorta people are the Indigenous Australians who traditionally lived around the junction of the Goulburn and Murray Rivers in present-day northeast Victoria....
.
Economy
Industries in the Goulburn Valley include agricultural activities such as fruit growing and dairyingDairy farming
Dairy farming is a class of agricultural, or an animal husbandry, enterprise, for long-term production of milk, usually from dairy cows but also from goats and sheep, which may be either processed on-site or transported to a dairy factory for processing and eventual retail sale.Most dairy farms...
, which supply processing plants in Shepparton and outlying towns such as Strathmerton
Strathmerton, Victoria
Strathmerton is a small country town in Victoria, Australia.It is located in the Shire of Moira Local Government Area on the Murray Valley Highway, about west of Cobram and previously known as the most northerly point in Victoria North of Melbourne at the start of the Goulburn Valley Highway...
and Tongala
Tongala, Victoria
Tongala is a small town between Kyabram and Echuca in the Goulburn River valley in northern Victoria, Australia, part of the Shire of Campaspe. At the 2006 census, Tongala had a population of 1623.-History:...
. This extensive food processing industry allows the region to produce around 25% of Victoria's rural output. The SPC Ardmona
SPC Ardmona
SPC Ardmona is an Australian-based company that specialises in large fruit packing and owns and operates a canning factory in Shepparton, Victoria. It has many workers and is one of the main sources of income for that area. It was formed in 2002 by the merger of the former Shepparton Preserving...
plant, founded in 1917 in Shepparton, is one of the world's largest fruit canneries. Other important agricultural activities include woolgrowing
Sheep husbandry
Sheep husbandry is a subcategory of animal husbandry specifically dealing with the raising and breeding of domestic sheep. Sheep farming is primarily based on raising lambs for meat, or raising sheep for wool. Sheep may also be raised for milk or to sell to other farmers.-Shelter and...
and cropping
Crop (agriculture)
A crop is a non-animal species or variety that is grown to be harvested as food, livestock fodder, fuel or for any other economic purpose. Major world crops include maize , wheat, rice, soybeans, hay, potatoes and cotton. While the term "crop" most commonly refers to plants, it can also include...
. Water for irrigation is sourced from Lake Eildon
Lake Eildon
Lake Eildon is the impoundment created by Eildon Weir on the Goulburn River in southern Victoria, Australia. At 3,334,158 megalitres when full, it contains six times as much water as Sydney Harbour and is the second largest water storage in Victoria after Dartmouth Dam...
and Goulburn Weir
Goulburn Weir
Goulburn Weir is a weir built between 1887 and early 1891 across the Goulburn River near Nagambie, Victoria, Australia. It was the first major diversion structure built for irrigation development in Australia. The weir also forms Lake Nagambie where rowing regattas and waterskiing tournaments are...
, with Lake Eildon supplying over half the water used in the Shepparton irrigation district.
The Goulburn Valley is also a significant wine region. Wine production began in the region in 1860
1860 in Australia
See also:1859 in Australia,other events of 1860,1861 in Australia and theTimeline of Australian history.- Governors:Governors of the Australian colonies:*Governor of New South Wales - Sir William Dennison*Governor of Queensland - Sir George Bowen...
. A syndicate raised £
Pound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...
25,000 to develop the Tahbilk
Tahbilk
Tahbilk is the oldest family owned winery in Victoria, Australia, established in 1860.Tahbilk is part of Australian wine alliance Australia’s First Families of Wine a multi-million-dollar venture to help resurrect the fortunes of the $6 billion industry highlighting the quality and diversity of...
winery
Winery
A winery is a building or property that produces wine, or a business involved in the production of wine, such as a wine company. Some wine companies own many wineries. Besides wine making equipment, larger wineries may also feature warehouses, bottling lines, laboratories, and large expanses of...
. By 1875 a thriving trade with England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
had been established, and the winery was producing the equivalent of 70,000 cases of wine per year. Due to the sandy soil, Tahbilk was able to withstand the spread of Phylloxera
Phylloxera
Grape phylloxera ; originally described in France as Phylloxera vastatrix; equated to the previously described Daktulosphaira vitifoliae, Phylloxera vitifoliae; commonly just called phylloxera is a pest of commercial grapevines worldwide, originally native to eastern North America...
, and in 1925 was the only winery in the area. As a result, the region is home to the oldest and largest plantings of Marsanne
Marsanne (grape)
Marsanne is a white wine grape, most commonly found in the Northern Rhône region. It is often blended with Roussanne. In Savoie the grape is known as grosse roussette...
grape variety in the world. Other major wine varieties grown today include Chardonnay
Chardonnay
Chardonnay is a green-skinned grape variety used to make white wine. It is originated from the Burgundy wine region of eastern France but is now grown wherever wine is produced, from England to New Zealand...
, Cabernet Sauvignon
Cabernet Sauvignon
Cabernet Sauvignon is one of the world's most widely recognized red wine grape varieties. It is grown in nearly every major wine producing country among a diverse spectrum of climates from Canada's Okanagan Valley to Lebanon's Beqaa Valley...
, Riesling
Riesling
Riesling is a white grape variety which originated in the Rhine region of Germany. Riesling is an aromatic grape variety displaying flowery, almost perfumed, aromas as well as high acidity. It is used to make dry, semi-sweet, sweet and sparkling white wines. Riesling wines are usually varietally...
and a Shiraz of awesome flavour and longevity. As well as Tahbilk, other major wineries include Michelton near Nagambie
Nagambie, Victoria
Nagambie is a town in Victoria, Australia, located on the Goulburn Valley Highway, north of Seymour, in the Shire of Strathbogie. At the 2006 census, Nagambie had a population of 1,383.-History:...
in the south and Monichino near Katunga
Katunga, Victoria
Katunga is a town in the Goulburn Valley region of northern Victoria, Australia. The town is located in the Shire of Moira Local Government Area, 228 kilometres from the state capital, Melbourne. At the 2006 census, Katunga had a population of 1,548....
in the north.
Politics
Local governmentLocal government in Australia
Local government in Australia is the third tier of government, administered by the states and territories which in turn are beneath the Commonwealth or federal tier. Unlike New Zealand, the US or the UK, there is only one level of local government in all states, with no distinction such as...
in the region is provided by the City of Greater Shepparton
City of Greater Shepparton
The City of Greater Shepparton is a Local Government Area in Victoria, Australia. It is located in the northern part of the state. It has an area of 2,420 square kilometres, and in 2001 it had a population of 56,000...
and the Shires of Moira, Campaspe and Strathbogie. The region is represented at the federal level in the Australian House of Representatives
Australian House of Representatives
The House of Representatives is one of the two houses of the Parliament of Australia; it is the lower house; the upper house is the Senate. Members of Parliament serve for terms of approximately three years....
by the Division of Murray
Division of Murray
The Division of Murray is an Australian Electoral Division in the state of Victoria. It is located in the north of the state, adjoining the Murray River, which forms Victoria's border with New South Wales...
as well as parts of the Divisions of McEwen
Division of McEwen
The Division of McEwen is an Australian Electoral Division in the state of Victoria. It is located in the centre of the state, north of the capital city of Melbourne...
and Indi
Division of Indi
The Division of Indi is an Australian Electoral Division in Victoria. It is located in north-eastern Victoria. Its northern border is formed by the Murray River...
. At the state level, the region includes the Electoral districts of Shepparton
Electoral district of Shepparton
The Electoral district of Shepparton is a rural Lower House electoral district of the Victorian Parliament. It is located within the Northern Victoria Region of the Legislative Council....
, Rodney
Electoral district of Rodney
The Electoral district of Rodney is a Victorian Legislative Assembly electorate in Northern Victoria.The Rodney District covers an area of 7,808 square kilometres, including the towns of Echuca, Rochester, Nathalia, Cohuna, Heathcote, Gunbower, Kyabram, Rushworth and Stanhope.The district...
, Murray Valley
Electoral district of Murray Valley
The Electoral district of Murray Valley is an electoral district of the Victorian Legislative Assembly.It contains the towns of Cobram, Numurkah, Rutherglen, Wangaratta and Yarrawonga, as well as many other smaller towns....
, Benalla
Electoral district of Benalla
Benalla is an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of Victoria. The electorate covers a rural area of 17,120 km², and includes the towns of Benalla, Bright, Eildon, Euroa, Mansfield, Mount Beauty, Murchison, Myrtleford, Nagambie and Violet Town...
and Seymour
Electoral district of Seymour
The Electoral district of Seymour is an electoral district of the Victorian Legislative Assembly. It covers rural territory just north of Melbourne, including the towns of Alexandra, Healesville, Kinglake, Marysville, Seymour and Yea....
.