North central victoria
Encyclopedia
North Central Victoria is a rural region in the Australia
n state of Victoria
.
, Gannawarra
, Loddon, Campaspe, Central Goldfields
, Mount Alexander, Macedon Ranges and the City of Greater Bendigo
. A climate change study by LaTrobe University also includes the Shire of Hepburn within the region.
The major urban centres are Bendigo
, Castlemaine
, Maryborough
and Rochester
. Smaller localities include Kyneton
, Pyramid Hill
, Kerang
, Donald
and Creswick
. In 2002 the estimated population of North Central Victoria was 200,000.
in the north, to over 1,200 millimetres in the far southeast.
Temperatures are warm in summer, typically ranging from a maximum of 31°C to a minimum of 14° in Kerang
in the northwest and from 27°C to 11°C in the south. Winters are cool with minimum temperatures of 2-4°C across the region.
, the Mount Carmel Ranges to the east and the New South Wales
border to the north. This includes the management of rural water allocations and environmental protection for the Avon-Richardson, Avoca
, Campaspe
and Loddon
rivers.
Regional water consumption for irrigation, stock and domestic use greatly exceeds local supply. Irrigation consumes an average 1.4 million ML/year while domestic use consumes around 40,000 ML/year. More than 75% of regional water needs are met from water imports from the Goulburn Valley
and upper Murray River
catchments to the north and west..
An extensive network of natural lakes includes Lake Buloke (the terminus for the Avon-Richardson River), Lake Batyo Catyo near the town of Donald
, and a northern network comprising Lakes Boort, Merna, Kangaroo, Charm, Lalbert and Boga. Groundwater beneath this northern lakes network supplies approximately 80% of Australia's mineral springs
, supplying the bulk of domestically-produced mineral water
and providing substantial local employment.
, including sheep and cattle grazing and the production of cereals, grains and legumes. The gross value of agricultural output exceeds $0.8 billion a year. Forestry
is also a major employer in the area surrounding the former gold rush
towns of Creswick
and Daylesford
, with a substantial output of firewood, furniture timber and Eucalyptus oil
.
Approximately 13% of the North Central catchment is public land, comprising flora reserves and state and national parks.
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...
n state of Victoria
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....
.
Location
Sustainability Victoria, a Victorian Government agency, defines North Central Victoria as the municipalities of BulokeBuloke Shire
The Shire of Buloke is a local government area in Victoria, Australia. It is located in the north-western part of the state and is named after the tree buloke or bulloak Allocasuarina luehmannii which is common in the area. It includes the towns of Birchip, Charlton, Donald, Sea Lake and Wycheproof...
, Gannawarra
Gannawarra Shire
The Shire of Gannawarra is a Local Government Area in Victoria, Australia. It is located in the north-western part of the state. The main towns are Cohuna, Kerang and Quambatook. It has an area of 3,728 square kilometres. In 2006 it had a population of 11,296...
, Loddon, Campaspe, Central Goldfields
Central Goldfields Shire
Central Goldfields Shire is a Local Government Area in Victoria, Australia. It is located in the central part of the state. The major towns are Dunolly and Maryborough. It has an area of 1,536 square kilometres. In 2006 it had a population of 12,323...
, Mount Alexander, Macedon Ranges and the City of Greater Bendigo
City of Greater Bendigo
The City of Greater Bendigo is a Local Government Area in Victoria, Australia. It is located in the central-western part of the state. It has an area of 3,048 square kilometres...
. A climate change study by LaTrobe University also includes the Shire of Hepburn within the region.
The major urban centres are Bendigo
Bendigo, Victoria
Bendigo is a major regional city in the state of Victoria, Australia, located very close to the geographical centre of the state and approximately north west of the state capital Melbourne. It is the second largest inland city and fourth most populous city in the state. The estimated urban...
, Castlemaine
Castlemaine, Victoria
Castlemaine is a city in Victoria, Australia, in the Goldfields region of Victoria about 120 kilometres northwest by road from Melbourne, and about 40 kilometres from the major provincial centre of Bendigo. It is the administrative and economic centre of the Shire of Mount Alexander. The...
, Maryborough
Maryborough, Victoria
-Education:Maryborough has three schools:*Highview Christian Community College*Maryborough Education Centre Years Prep–12*St Augustine's Primary School Grades Prep–6-Music:...
and Rochester
Rochester, Victoria
Rochester is a small town in country Victoria, Australia. It is located 180 km north of Melbourne with a mixture of rural and semi-rural communities on the northern Campaspe River, between Bendigo and the Murray River port of Echuca...
. Smaller localities include Kyneton
Kyneton, Victoria
Kyneton is a town on the Calder Highway in the Macedon Ranges of Victoria, Australia. The Calder Freeway bypasses Kyneton to the north and east. The town was named after the English village of Kineton, Warwickshire. The town has three main streets: Mollison Street, Piper Street and High Street...
, Pyramid Hill
Pyramid Hill, Victoria
Pyramid Hill is a town in Victoria, Australia located in the Shire of Loddon. It is located north of Melbourne and north of Bendigo. At the 2006 census, Pyramid Hill had a population of 465. The town has its own railway station....
, Kerang
Kerang, Victoria
Kerang is a rural town on the Loddon River in northern Victoria in Australia. It is the commercial centre to an irrigation district based on livestock, horticulture, lucerne and grain. It is located north-west of Melbourne on the Murray Valley Highway a few kilometres north of its intersection...
, Donald
Donald, Victoria
Donald is a town in Victoria, Australia, located on the Richardson River, at the junction of Sunraysia Highway and Borung Highway, in the Shire of Buloke. The town is named after William Donald, a Scottish pastoralist who was the first settler in the area in 1844...
and Creswick
Creswick, Victoria
Creswick is a town in west-central Victoria, Australia. It is located 18 kilometres north of Ballarat and 129 km northwest of Melbourne, in Shire of Hepburn. It is 430 metres above sea level. At the 2006 census, Creswick had a population of 2,485...
. In 2002 the estimated population of North Central Victoria was 200,000.
Climate
The climate is moderate with wet winters and warm, dry summers. Annual rainfall ranges from 350 millimetres near Swan HillSwan Hill, Victoria
Swan Hill is a city in the northwest of Victoria, Australia. It is located on the Murray Valley Highway, on the south bank of the Murray River, downstream from the junction of the Loddon River. At the 2006 census, Swan Hill had a population of 9,684.-History:...
in the north, to over 1,200 millimetres in the far southeast.
Temperatures are warm in summer, typically ranging from a maximum of 31°C to a minimum of 14° in Kerang
Kerang, Victoria
Kerang is a rural town on the Loddon River in northern Victoria in Australia. It is the commercial centre to an irrigation district based on livestock, horticulture, lucerne and grain. It is located north-west of Melbourne on the Murray Valley Highway a few kilometres north of its intersection...
in the northwest and from 27°C to 11°C in the south. Winters are cool with minimum temperatures of 2-4°C across the region.
Natural resources
Natural resource management is administered by the North Central Catchment Management Authority covering 30,000 kilometres bounded by the Great Dividing RangeGreat 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...
, the Mount Carmel Ranges to the east and the 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...
border to the north. This includes the management of rural water allocations and environmental protection for the Avon-Richardson, Avoca
Avoca River
The Avoca River drains a substantial part of Victoria, the southernmost state of mainland Australia. The river rises at the foot of Mount Lonarch in the Central Highlands near the small town of Amphitheatre, and flows north for 270 km through Avoca, Charlton and Quambatook...
, Campaspe
Campaspe River
The Campaspe River is a river in Victoria, Australia. It was named by Major Mitchell in 1836 for Campaspe, a mistress of Alexander the Great.The river was known as yalooka by the local aboriginal people of the Rochester area.-Course:...
and Loddon
Loddon River
The Loddon River is a 392-km long tributary of the Murray River that flows through central and northern Victoria, Australia. The river rises near Trentham and flows by Glenlyon. It then flows generally northward through Guildford and Newstead, 40 km west of Bendigo through the Cairn Curran...
rivers.
Regional water consumption for irrigation, stock and domestic use greatly exceeds local supply. Irrigation consumes an average 1.4 million ML/year while domestic use consumes around 40,000 ML/year. More than 75% of regional water needs are met from water imports from the Goulburn Valley
Goulburn Valley
The Goulburn Valley is a region of Victoria, Australia. The region consists of those areas in the catchment of the Goulburn River and other nearby streams, and is part of the Murray-Darling Basin. The Goulburn Valley is bordered on the south by the Great Dividing Range and to the north by the...
and upper 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...
catchments to the north and west..
An extensive network of natural lakes includes Lake Buloke (the terminus for the Avon-Richardson River), Lake Batyo Catyo near the town of Donald
Donald, Victoria
Donald is a town in Victoria, Australia, located on the Richardson River, at the junction of Sunraysia Highway and Borung Highway, in the Shire of Buloke. The town is named after William Donald, a Scottish pastoralist who was the first settler in the area in 1844...
, and a northern network comprising Lakes Boort, Merna, Kangaroo, Charm, Lalbert and Boga. Groundwater beneath this northern lakes network supplies approximately 80% of Australia's mineral springs
Mineral Springs
Mineral Springs is the name of several locations in the United States:* Mineral Springs, Arkansas* Mineral Springs, North Carolina* Mineral Springs Township, North Dakota* Mineral Springs at Green Springs, Ohio...
, supplying the bulk of domestically-produced mineral water
Mineral water
Mineral water is water containing minerals or other dissolved substances that alter its taste or give it therapeutic value, generally obtained from a naturally occurring mineral spring or source. Dissolved substances in the water may include various salts and sulfur compounds...
and providing substantial local employment.
Land Use
The predominant land use is agricultureAgriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
, including sheep and cattle grazing and the production of cereals, grains and legumes. The gross value of agricultural output exceeds $0.8 billion a year. Forestry
Forestry
Forestry is the interdisciplinary profession embracing the science, art, and craft of creating, managing, using, and conserving forests and associated resources in a sustainable manner to meet desired goals, needs, and values for human benefit. Forestry is practiced in plantations and natural stands...
is also a major employer in the area surrounding the former gold rush
Gold rush
A gold rush is a period of feverish migration of workers to an area that has had a dramatic discovery of gold. Major gold rushes took place in the 19th century in Australia, Brazil, Canada, South Africa, and the United States, while smaller gold rushes took place elsewhere.In the 19th and early...
towns of Creswick
Creswick, Victoria
Creswick is a town in west-central Victoria, Australia. It is located 18 kilometres north of Ballarat and 129 km northwest of Melbourne, in Shire of Hepburn. It is 430 metres above sea level. At the 2006 census, Creswick had a population of 2,485...
and Daylesford
Daylesford, Victoria
Daylesford is a town located in the Shire of Hepburn, Victoria, Australia. It is a former goldmining town about 115 kilometres north-west of Melbourne, in the foothills of the Great Dividing Range. At the 2006 census, Daylesford had a population of 3,073...
, with a substantial output of firewood, furniture timber and Eucalyptus oil
Eucalyptus oil
Eucalyptus oil is the generic name for distilled oil from the leaf of Eucalyptus, a genus of the plant family Myrtaceae native to Australia and cultivated worldwide. Eucalyptus oil has a history of wide application, as a pharmaceutical, antiseptic, repellent, flavouring, fragrance and industrial uses...
.
Approximately 13% of the North Central catchment is public land, comprising flora reserves and state and national parks.