Rural City of Mildura

The Rural City of Mildura is a local government area in Victoria, Australia, located in the north-western part of the state. It covers an area of 22,330 square kilometres (8,620 sq mi) and, at the 2011 Census, had a population of 50,979. It includes the city of Mildura and the towns of Merbein, Red Cliffs, Irymple, Ouyen, Werrimull, Murrayville, Walpeup and Hattah. It was formed in 1995 from the amalgamation of the City of Mildura, Shire of Mildura and Shire of Walpeup.

Contents

• Map of Mildura VIC Australia
• Current composition
• Administration and governance
• Sister cities
• References

Map of Mildura, VIC, Australia

The Rural City is governed and administered by the Mildura Rural City Council; its seat of local government and administrative centre is located at the council headquarters in Mildura, it also has service centres located in Ouyen and a couple of other locations within Mildura. The Rural City is named after the main urban settlement lying in the north of the LGA, that is Mildura, which is also the LGA's most populous urban centre with a population of 30,647.

The Rural City of Mildura covers most of the Mallee region of Victoria. Before the less infertile soils were fertilised and developed for the production of wheat and barley the whole region was covered in a dense mallee scrub of deep-rooting eucalypts that regenerated after the frequent bushfires in the region. Many of the soils are so sandy that clearing is impractical, and Murray-Sunset National Park covers almost a third of the area of the LGA. Other protected areas include Hattah-Kulkyne National Park and Murray-Kulkyne Park on the Murray River.

The climate of the region is the driest in Victoria, and Neds Corner in the remote northwest has the lowest average annual rainfall in the state at 240 millimetres (9.4 in). In the south at Ouyen the average is 335 millimetres (13.2 in). In all the areas of the LGA there can be considerable variation in annual rainfall: the range historically has been from 110 millimetres (4.3 in) in 1967 to 605 millimetres (23.8 in) in 1973. Temperatures in the LGA are the hottest in Victoria and the average summer maxima is 32 °C (90 °F), but it often exceed 40 °C (104 °F). Winter can be very pleasant with a maxima of 16 °C (61 °F), but frosts are common in the morning and can sometimes be severe.

The southeast of the LGA is used primarily for grain growing; however yield are erratic and often poor due to drought. In the north irrigated fruit (primarily oranges and grapes) growing is a huge earner of money and supports Mildura and nearby towns; however, salinity in the Murray River is a major threat to the long-term sustainability of these activities, as is competition from overseas citrus growers.

In 2006 the Rural City of Mildura had a population of 49,815, most of which was located in Mildura (30,016) and adjacent areas (that is Victorian Sunraysia). Many of the small towns in the region have practically disappeared as more efficient farming methods reduce the quantity of human labour required.