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| Houseboat on
the Murray River |
Mildura (including Irymple, Merbein and
Gol Gol)
Major regional centre on the Murray River
Mildura is a major regional city of some 22 000
people located near the north-western tip of the
state and at the centre of an area known as 'Sunraysia'.
The settlement is 560 km north-west of Melbourne
and 50 m above sea-level. It is flanked to the
north by the Murray River (marking the state
border) which extends for 2530 km, making it one
of the longest navigable rivers in the world
with a catchment area covering 14 per cent of
the continent.
The streets of Mildura provide a clue as to
the economic basis of the area, having names
like Orange, Lemon, Lime, Valencia, Avocado,
Cherry, Muscat, Vineyard, Olive and Walnut. The
district supplies 80% of Australia's dried
fruit, 15% of its citrus fruit, 85 per cent of
the state's winemaking grapes and it possesses
the second and third largest packing companies
in the world.
Mildura is also a riverside resort, drawing
hundreds of thousands of visitors each year. In
this regard it is literally an oasis in the
desert and its paddlesteamers, lush golf course
and other attractions are a welcome site after
many kilometres of consistently dry brown
terrain and wheat fields.
The area is thought to have been occupied by
the Keramin Aborigines before white settlement.
The first European in the vicinity was probably
Charles Sturt who passed the townsite on his
journey along the Murray in 1830.
The first station in the area was 'Yerre
Yerre', established in 1847 by Frank Jenkins
but, as he didn't obtain a licence, the Jamieson
brothers, with 6000 sheep, took over the
property within a few months. Prophetically they
also planted some grape vines. In 1858 the
property was renamed 'Mildura' after a Keramin
word speculatively thought to mean 'red earth',
due to the red soils of the area, or 'sore
eyes', allegedly a tribute to the problems
caused by the vast fly population. The Jamiesons
sold the property in 1874, just in time to
escape devastating rabbit plagues.
The inception of the town dates from 1886
when Alfred Deakin travelled to California to
investigate the model irrigation settlements
established in the Californian desert by
Canadians William and George Chaffey. Deakin,
then commissioner for public works and later
prime minister, was interested in the
possibility of irrigating the semi-arid areas of
the north for agricultural development at a time
when the Mallee was a semi-arid region, as yet
unsettled by Europeans.
The Chaffeys, with undue haste, sold up their
Californian interests for a song and acquired
land at Mildura and Renmark. They planned the
town on their Californian models - streets
running east-west with numerical names, and
avenues with American names running north-south.
At 12.1 km the town's main thoroughfare (named
after Deakin) is the longest straight avenue in
the country. The original town plan was to
incorporate tram lines so it is also notable for
its great width. The central plantations contain
a fine band rotunda (1915), an attractive
fountain and many gum and palm trees, personally
planted by William Chaffey whose contribution to
the town is recognised by a statue (1929) in
Deakin Ave.
A promotional scheme was set in motion in
1887 and, despite transportation difficulties
(the nearest train station was 163 km away)
there were 3300 settlers (mostly new British
migrants) by 1891. They cleared hundreds of
hectares, built fences and dug irrigation
channels. The brothers imported two enormous
engines for the pumping station and, by 1893,
the first fruits were being marketed. The dried
fruit industry emerged due to problems with
transporting fresh fruits to the Melbourne
markets. The town also became an important river
port. Interestingly it began as a temperance
town (like the California settlements) and
remained without a pub until the Grand Hotel was
opened in 1918.
Despite considerable achievements, the
settlement was soon crippled by the nationwide
depression of the 1890s, rabbit plagues, a
devastating drought, dubious business
associates, technical problems, transportation
difficulties, settler dissatisfaction with and
parliamentary hostility towards the brothers'
management, inflammatory press coverage,
foreclosed mortgages and the liquidation, in
1894, of Chaffey Brothers Ltd. George Chaffey
returned to America but William remained to
become a significant member of the business
community. He established a winery at Irymple in
1888, set up the Mildura Winery (now the Mildara
Blass Winery) at Merbein in 1911, and became the
town's first mayor in 1920.
A railway line through to Melbourne was
completed in 1903 which greatly aided produce
transportation and the town slowly crawled its
way to prosperity with the help of the various
governments. The 1920s were a time of
considerable consolidation. 1000 soldier
settlers were granted land here after World War
I, leading to the establishment of Merbein and a
general expansion.
To boost the dried-fruit industry, an
American-style, nation-wide promotional campaign
was orchestrated by local businessman and
character C.J. De Garis. A public competition
seeking a slogan for the area's raisins and
sultanas produced the term 'sun-raysed' which
was soon incorporated into pamphlets, recipe
books, children's books, cartoons, music (the
'Sun-Raysed Waltz') and free screenings in the
capital cities of a film about Mildura. De Garis
produced a local newspaper he named the
Sunraysia Daily, had the slogan blazoned across
the skies over Melbourne by a skywriter and
opened a Sunraysia Cafe in Melbourne staffed by
young women from Mildura who were 'raised on
Sunraysia raisins'. Even the influenza epidemic
of 1919 was fodder for promotion:
'I fear no more the dreaded 'flu,
For Sunraysed fruits will see me through.'
De Garis helped to expose another writer and
colourful swindler named George Henry Cochrane
who wrote for the Bulletin as Grant Hervey.
Recently released from prison for forgery and
uttering, Cochrane emerged in Mildura in 1919.
Sporting a 'rank but not-too-well-sustained
American accent' he fraudulently presented
himself as an American named Hervey G. Madison,
the 'gigantic brain that was to lead Mildura to
its destiny'. After holding a local audience of
2000 spellbound with his oratory for 90 minutes
he sought financial backing for a fraudulent
scheme to secede from Victoria and form the new
state of 'Greater Mildura' under his leadership.
Subscriptions began to flow but De Garis
revealed Cochrane's true identity and criminal
record and used his role as a local newspaper
editor to sustain the attack.
When De Garis hit financial difficulties in
1921 Cochrane reappeared and sought revenge by
alleging De Garis's bankruptcy. To defend his
honour local citizens formed a 'vigilance
committee', tarred and feathered Cochrane and
ran him out of town. Unfortunately, De Garis's
financial position worsened and after some
farcical episodes, including a faked suicide, he
took his life in 1926. He left behind a
semi-autobiographical novel called The Victories
of Failure (1925).
Mildura became a borough in 1920, a town in
1922 and a city in 1934. Of some interest is the
fact that millionaire philanthropist Andrew
Carnegie donated £2000 in 1908 to build the free
public library in Deakin St.
The Mildura Arts Festival is held in March,
an International Balloon Fiesta at the end of
June, a folk festival in July, a Country Music
Week in the September school holidays, a Jazz &
Wine Festival in October or November and the
Mildura Show in October.
Things to see:
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| 6 Chaffey
Avenue, Mildura |
Tourist Information and the Chaffey Trail
Mildura Tourist Information Centre at the corner
of Deakin Ave and Twelfth St is open from 9.00
a.m. to 5.00 p.m. daily, until 4.00 p.m. on
Saturday and from 10.00 a.m. to 4.00 p.m. on
Sunday. They can furnish information on local
tour operators who explore local Aboriginal
heritage, wineries and national parks. Tours and
accommodation can also be booked here. The
centre has a guiding brochure for the Chaffey
Trail which takes you around some of the area's
historic site, tel: (03) 5021 4424 or free-call
(1800) 039 043.
If you walk along to, and turn down, Eleventh
St you will soon come to the Department of
Natural Resources and Environment office at the
corner with Langtree Parade. It can furnish
information on national and state parks in the
area, tel: (03) 5022 3000.
Mildura Arts Centre and Rio Vista Museum
The Arts Centre combines an art gallery, a
theatre and an historical museum at 'Rio Vista',
the gracious and carefully preserved brick
homestead of town founder W.B. Chaffey. It was
built for his family in 1889-1890, although his
wife died in childbirth before its completion
and the newborn son died several months later.
The interior features Murray pine, red gum
and jarrah and is decorated with Italian floor
tiles and stained-glass windows. The upstairs
bedrooms contain displays relating to colonial
and Aboriginal history, including furniture,
photographs, period costumes, letters and other
memorabilia.
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| Rio Vista in
the rain, Mildura |
The gallery's European section includes a
work by Degas. Australian painters include
Arthur Streeton and Fred McCubbin. There is also
a sculpture collection.
The complex is open weekdays from 9.00 a.m.
to 5.00 p.m. and weekends from 1.00 p.m.to 5.00
p.m., tel: (03) 5023 3733. It is located at the
corner of Chaffey Ave and Cureton Ave, opposite
the beautiful Rio Vista Park which contains a
number of outdoors sculptures and an
amphitheatre. From the edge of the park, by the
river's shore, you can see Lock 11 and Lock
Island, completed in 1928 to regulate the flow
of irrigation water. In daylight hours you can
cross the lock and visit the island or watch the
steamers passing through.
Have a look over the road at the exterior of
the fine Queen Anne-style building known as 'The
Bungalow', now privately owned.
Old Mildura Homestead
Nearby, in Cureton Ave, is a red-gum slab
homestead which is a replica of the first home
in the district, erected on this site by the
Chaffey brothers in the late 1840s. The brothers
later added a brick extension which has also
been recreated. Other buildings include a
woolshed and stables. There are displays
relating to irrigation and the town's riverboat
past. Scattered about the reserve are a number
of historic items including a Dethbridge wheel
and a recreated irrigation channel. The complex
is open from 9.00 a.m. to dusk daily, tel: (03)
5023 7853. 150 m further along Cureton Ave, turn
right to see the graves of the Chaffey family.
Cycleway and Apex Park
A 3-km cycleway starts by the Old Mildura
Homestead and follows the river north to Apex
Park, from whence there are fine views of the
Murray. Bikes can be hired from the Apex Park
kiosk. There is a caravan park with powered
sites set in the state forest, where boating,
fishing and swimming can be enjoyed. Road access
is via Pioneer Way.
Paddlesteamer Cruises
Also on the riverbank is the Mildura Wharf,
opposite the end of Madden Ave. Old
paddlesteamers and showboats ply the waters
here, recalling the days before the railways
when the inland river trade was a major means of
intra-national transport. The Melbourne (1912)
is still run by steampower and you can watch the
original boiler being stoked. Among its
services, the Rothbury (1881) makes weekly trips
to Golden Zoo Park and Trentham Winery. The
showboat Avoca (1877) offers night-time cruises
with dinner, music and dancing while the
Coonawarra (1894) undertakes cruises of 3-5
nights with accommodation. Ring the visitors'
centre for bookings.
The Buronga Boatman
Opposite the wharf, on the NSW side of the
Murray, is The Buronga Boatman which hires out
power boats, canoes and kayaks for those who
want to explore the river for themselves, tel:
(03 5023 5874). There are many local companies
offering houseboats for hire (see accommodation
listings).
Mildura Pioneer Cottage
Tours are conducted here of a memorabilia
collection relating to the town's early days. It
is open from 9.15 a.m. to 5.00 p.m. daily and is
located at 3 Hunter St, which runs off Deakin
Ave, tel: (03) 5023 3742.
Langtree Hall
Built c.1889 this was Mildura's first public
hall. The pine interior has been restored and it
now houses a display featuring local memorabilia
and dolls from around the world. There is a
collection of christening gowns in the
children's room of the restored cottage (pre
1900). It is located at 79 Walnut Ave and is
open every day but Monday from 10.00 a.m. until
4.00 p.m., tel: (03) 5021 3090.
Dolls on the Avenue
Dolls on the Avenue is a museum with a
collection of 3000 dolls dating back to c.1800.
Other toys and war memorabilia are part of the
collection and there is a gift shop. They are
located on Benetook Ave, between 17th & 18th
Streets, and are open from 10.00 a.m. to 4.00
p.m. on weekdays, school and public holidays,
tel: (03) 5025 7113.
Kids' Stuff
Mildura Fun Centre is located at the corner of
7th St and Orange Ave and is open seven days and
nights, tel: (03) 5023 3663. Other attractions
are Sunraysia Tenpin Bowling (King Ave), Sun
City Rollerama (The Crescent) and a go-kart
centre (The Crescent). If you follow 17th St
westwards towards Merbein for 3 km then, by Lake
Hawthorn, is Snakes 'n' Ladders, a 6-ha fun park
with mini-golf, go-karts, a 50-m slippery dip, a
collection of toilets used by famous Australians
and many other items. It is open daily, tel:
(03) 5025 3575.
Capogreco Winery
Capogreco Winery is a small family operation
specialising in Italian-style wines which is
located in Riverside Ave, between Seventeenth
and Eighteenth Sts. It is basically open daily
from 10.00 a.m. to 6.00 p.m. but Sunday visitors
and coach tour operators should call first, tel:
(03) 5022 1431.
Woodsie's Gem Shop
Head east out of town along Eleventh St and turn
left into Morpung Ave. At the corner of Morpung
and Cureton Ave is one of the largest jewellery
manufacturing complexes in the country, open
daily from 9.00 a.m. to 5.30 p.m. Woodsie's
contains gems from around the world and you can
see the jewellery being manufactured in the
cutting and grinding display at 11.00 a.m. and
2.30 p.m. Aladdin's Cave contains the family's
private collection. It has fossils, glowing
crystals and rocks. There is a one-acre garden
maze, a cafeteria in a waterfall setting and
playground equipment for children, tel: (03)
5024 5797.
Kings Billabong and Psyche Bend Pumphouse
Either turn right into Cureton Ave and follow it
to the intersection with Eleventh St, or pursue
Eleventh St eastwards until it meets up with
Cureton Ave. By this intersection is a lookout
over Kings Billabong which became the first
water supply for the Chaffeys' Mildura
irrigation settlement in 1889. Nature walks can
be commenced from here.
If you follow Cureton Ave southwards you will
pass a dry-weather road on the left that leads
into the reserve which contains river red gum
forest, black box woodland and saline shrubland.
It is a fine spot for bush camping, picnicking,
boating, nature studies and walking. The
unsealed road leads to Psyche Bend Pumphouse
which contained the engine that pumped the water
from the billabong to the fledgling settlement.
It is being restored as a museum with displays
and is open Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10.00
a.m. to 4.00 p.m. and Sundays from 10.00 a.m. to
1.00 pm.. For further information ring (03) 5024
1904.
Merbein and Mildara Winery
Further along the River Rd, as you approach
Merbein (9 km from Mildura), you will come to
Pump Hill. To the right is the Merbein pumping
station. Turn here into River Ave to visit
Mildara Blass Winery which was established at
Irymple in 1888 and at this site in 1913. It
specialises in fortified wines though red and
white table wines and sparkling wines are also
produced. The cellar door is open weekdays from
9.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m. and from 10.00 a.m. to
4.00 p.m. on weekends, tel: (03) 5025 2303.
There is a lookout over the river, as well as
picnic and barbecue facilities in a parkland
setting. Merbein was originally called White
Cliffs after these steep slopes beside the
Murray. It was changed in 1909 to 'Merbein'
after the Aboriginal word for the same cliffs.
Merbein Common
At the end of River Ave take a hard left onto
Whiting St and follow the road down the hill.
Where the bitumen runs out a dirt road heads off
to the right and this is the entry point for
Merbein Common. This was the site of the
original pump which serviced the Merbein
Irrigation Area. Today it is a good spot for
boating, swimming, fishing, walking or having a
barbecue. For further information ring (03) 5024
1904.
Kremor's Model Aircrafts
Along the Calder Highway, about halfway between
Merbein and Wentworth (before you cross the
river), is a display of over 500 model aircraft,
ships and army vehicles. It is open from 1.00
p.m. to 5.00 p.m. daily, tel: (03) 5025 2987.
Wallpolla, Mulcra and Lindsay Islands
Walpolla Island is sandwiched between Wallpolla
Creek and the Murray River, 25 km west of
Merbein. Fishing, boating and camping can all be
pursued amidst the seasonal lakes and floodplain
vegetation of red gums, saltbush plains and
grasslands. The island contains a number of
middens and hearths as a reminder of its long
pre-colonial history. In the European era,
grazing and forestry were practiced here.
To get there, head west along the Sturt
Highway for about 10 km, past Merbein South,
then turn right, heading north on the Meridian
Rd (bitumen). After about 8 km you will come to
the 'First Grid'. Turn left here onto the dirt
road known as the Mail Route, heading west until
you each the 'Fifth Grid'. Turn right here to
Wallpolla Island.
Further west on the Mail Route are Mulcra
Island and Lindsay Island. Another approach to
these two is to head north off the Sturt Highway
at Meringur North (82 km west of Mildura). After
14 km you will reach the Mail Route at Neds
Corner which is opposite Mulcra Island. Turn
left onto the Mail Route for Lindsay Island. For
further information ring (03) 5024 1904.
Lake Cullulleraine
58 km west of Mildura along the Sturt Highway is
the small township of Cullulleraine. The nearby
lake is fringed by black box and reeds. Boating,
swimming, fishing, yabbying, picnicking and
camping can all be pursued and there are powered
caravan sites. A 10.4-km walking-cycling track
rings the lake or you can take the shorter route
(5 km). For further information ring the two
caravan parks on (03) 5028 2252 or (03) 5028
2226.
Over the Border
If you cross the George Chaffey Bridge it will
take you across the border to Buronga in NSW. A
left turn at the roundabout onto the Silver City
Highway will take you to Orange World, Stanley
Winery and Australian Inland Botanical Gardens.
A right turn onto the Sturt Highway will take
you to Gol Gol, Gol Gol Fisheries and Trentham
Estate Winery and Restaurant. For further
information on these attractions see the entry
on Wentworth.
Alambie Wines
Just to the south of Irymple, as the highway
veers right, a signpost directs you to continue
straight ahead to Alambie Wines (in Campbell
Ave). Established in 1975 it produces
chardonnay, cabernet, sauvignon blanc, riesling
and cabernet/merlot. The cellar door is open
from 10.00 a.m. to 4.30 p.m., Monday to
Saturday. Coach tours are welcome on Sundays,
tel: (03) 5024 6800. A picnic area is available.
Ballooning
Hot-air balloon trips are available from
Cameron's Balloons, tel: (03) 5021 2876.
Tours
Mallee Outback Experiences operate guided,
informative tours of the Mungo and Hattah-Kulkyne
National Parks, the Chaffey Trail and an emu
farm, tel: (03) 5021 1621.
