The Millewa is a region of north western

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

in Australia.

History

The

County of Millewa The County of Millewa is one of the 37 counties of Victoria which are part of the cadastral divisions of Australia, used for land titles. It is located to the south of the Murray River, at the north-western corner of Victoria, with the South A ...

was proclaimed in the area in the nineteenth century. In the 1960s the then dryland farming areas of

Nangiloc Nangiloc is a small rural community in North Western Victoria on the south (left) bank of the Murray River, about 50 km south east of Mildura. Primarily an agricultural settlement, at the 2021 census, Nangiloc and the surrounding area had ...

and

Colignan Colignan is a small rural town on the banks of the Murray River, in North Western Victoria, Australia. The town is on the border of the Hattah-Kulkyne National Park. At the 2016 census, Colignan and the surrounding area had a population of 329. ...

were irrigated. Subsequently, they became less seen as being in the Millewa, and more being part of Sunraysia. In the late 1990s, irrigation came to northern Millewa towns like

Cullulleraine Cullulleraine is a locality on the Sturt Highway in northwestern Victoria, Australia, west of Mildura and north of Werrimull Werrimull is a small town and locality in the Rural City of Mildura, part of the Sunraysia region of Victoria. The ...

. These still remain firmly "Millewa" however.

Geography

It covers the triangular area north of the

Sunset Country Sunset Country is a desert situated in remote north-west Victoria in the Sunraysia region. By road, the area is about 4 kilometres north from Manya and 30 kilometres south from Berrook. Sunset Country is near the south-west corner of the Murray- ...

and south of the diagonal

Murray River The Murray River (in South Australia: River Murray) ( Ngarrindjeri: ''Millewa'', Yorta Yorta: ''Tongala'') is a river in Southeastern Australia. It is Australia's longest river at extent. Its tributaries include five of the next six longe ...

that grows

wheat Wheat is a grass widely cultivated for its seed, a cereal grain that is a worldwide staple food. The many species of wheat together make up the genus ''Triticum'' ; the most widely grown is common wheat (''T. aestivum''). The archaeolog ...

and other dryland crops. The part of this triangle that is irrigated is known as

Sunraysia Sunraysia is an illdefined district, sometimes incorrectly referred to as an economic region, located in northwestern Victoria and southwestern New South Wales in Australia. The region is renowned for its sunshine, intensive horticulture inc ...

. The major centres of the region are

Werrimull Werrimull is a small town and locality in the Rural City of Mildura, part of the Sunraysia region of Victoria. The place by road, is situated about 10 kilometres west of Karawinna and 10 kilometres east of Bambill. It is west southwest of Mild ...

Meringur Meringur is a farming settlement to the west of Mildura in northwestern Victoria, Australia. At the 2016 census, Meringur and the surrounding area had a population of 67 down from 128 in 2011. It is located in the Millewa region at the end o ...

and Hattah. Sometimes Nangiloc and Colignan are included in the region.

Culture and sport

The main binding force of the region is the

Millewa Football League The Millewa Football League is an Australian rules football league with teams based in north-western Victoria and south-western New South Wales, Australia. The clubs are mostly based within the same area as the clubs in the Sunraysia Football ...

, which still has clubs named for many towns in the region. However, many of their players now come from

. There is also a cricket team that plays in the Red Cliffs Cricket Association, and a newsletter.

Notable people

Notable people from or who have lived in Millewa include: *

Jacinta Duncan Jacinta Duncan is an Australian science educator who grew up on marginal farming land in the Millewa area in the top North West of Victoria. Working alongside her father, Duncan learned animal husbandry, and how to crop wheat and barley while he ...

, science educator and molecular biologist

External links

Millewa Community Plan 2016-2020
from Mildura Rural City Council {{coord missing, Victoria (Australia) Regions of Victoria (Australia)