Western District

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For other uses, see Western District (disambiguation).

The Western District is a region in the south-west corner of Victoria (Australia), extending to Ballarat in the east and as far north as Ararat. The district is well-known for the production of wool.

It consists of a nearly flat volcanic plain created by a number of quite recently active volcanoes, the best known being Mount Eccles, Mount Richmond and Mount Gambier. Whilst some of them (eg. Mount Richmond) have given rise to cemented pyroclastic rocks that do not produce fertile soils, others have given rise to fertile Andisols that make the region the best grazing land in Australia, as well as highly suitable for the production of vegetable crops. Away from the volcanoes, soils are of moderate to low fertility and many are sandy, supporting heathland flora like the Grampians. Drainage is very poor and most rivers flow only after prolonged periods of steady rain, resulting in remarkably variable flow when the low variability of the climate is taken into account. The major mountain range is the Otway Ranges, which are an ancient sedimentary range rising to over 600 metres.

The climate is mild to warm and generally humid to sub-humid. Summer temperatures are warm, ranging from 13 to 22 °C (55 to 72 °F) at Portland to 14 to 26 °C (57 to 79 °F) in the northern part of the plain. Rainfall in summer is not uncommon but is only rarely heavy; though in March 1946 astonishingly heavy rains of up to 300 millimetres (12 inches) in a week constitute easily the heaviest falls in the region. In winter, temperatures typically range from minima of around 5 °C (41 °F) to pleasant maxima of 14 to 15 °C (57 to 59 °F), and rainfall is very frequent and reliable, averaging from 55 millimetres (just over 2 inches) in the driest area around Lake Bolac to 110 millimetres (4.4 inches) near Portland and Port Campbell. In the Otway Ranges, summers are mild, averaging around 20 °C (68 °F), whilst winters are cold and very wet, with maxima averaging around 9 to 10 °C (48 to 50 °F) and rainfall averaging about 225 millimetres (9 inches) with extremes in June 1952 as high as 538 millimetres (21 inches) at Weeaproinah and a Victorian record 891 millimetres (35.1 inches) at nearby Tanybryn.

In the early 1800s, whalers operating along the coast occasionally grew crops for their own use. In 1834 the Henty brothers settled at Portland and in 1836 Captain Griffiths settled at Port Fairy, combining whaling and farming. The district was explored by Thomas Mitchell in 1836 who identified the area's potential for grazing. Charles Tyers was the first to survey the area in 1839. By 1840 squatters occupied almost all the district. Sheep were first brought to the district in 1836 by Thomas Manifold at Port Henry, near Geelong, and rapidly occupied the whole district. Wheat was grown in the drier northern part of the region for some time until more easily managed soils in the Wimmera were developed. Dairying was developed as a major industry in the wetter southern parts during this period, as was the cultivation of potatoes and onions on the best soils.

In the Otway Ranges, forestry became the major industry, especially after the building of the Great Ocean Road which opened up these very wet regions. Because of the change in focus since the late 1960s to woodchipping, many timber mills are now defunct as jobs have moved to Geelong. Tourism is the dominant industry in towns such as Lorne and Apollo Bay, which fill up during the summer as Melburnians are drawn by the stunning scenery and milder weather. In towns like Heywood and Nelson, pine plantations have been the dominant industry since the 1950s but the industry, even as plantations mature, is under threat due to poor prices.

The principal centres of the district are: Warrnambool, Hamilton, Colac, Portland, Casterton, Port Fairy, Camperdown, and Terang.

Other cities and towns in the district include: Coleraine, Merino, Heywood, Dunkeld, Penshurst, Macarthur, Koroit, Allansford, Ararat, Willaura, Beaufort, Learmonth, Ballarat, Snake Valley, Skipton, Linton, Derrinallum, Lismore, Mortlake, Noorat, Cobden, Timboon, Beeac, Cororooke, Birregurra, Apollo Bay, and Lorne.