Rural City of Mildura
The Rural City of Mildura is a Local Government Area in Victoria, Australia. It is located in the north-western part of the state. It has an area of 22,214 square kilometres. Towns within the LGA includes Mildura itself and the effectively merged towns of Merbein and Red Cliffs, and also Ouyen a long way south and Hattah to the east.
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 Ned's Corner in the remote northwest has the lowest average annual rainfall in the State at 240 millimetres (9.5 inches). In the south at Ouyen the average is 335 millimetres (13.5 inc h es). In all areas there can be considerable variation in annual rainfall: the range historically has been from 110 millimetres (4.5 inches) in 1967 to 605 millimetres (23.8 inches) in 1973. Temperatures are the hottest in Victoria and in summer maxima a ve rage 32°C (90°F) but often exceed 40°C (104°F). The winter is very pleasant with maxima of 16°C (60°F), but frosts are common in the morning and sometimes 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 2001 the Rural City of Mildura had a population of 48,000, most of which was located in Mildura and adjacent areas. Many of the small towns in the region have practically disappeared as service providers cut out services to save costs.