Birchip, Victoria

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Birchip
Victoria

Location of Birchip in Victoria (red)

Population:

822 (2006)^[1]

Postcode:

3483

Elevation:

102 m (335 ft)

Location:

312 km (194 mi) NW of Melbourne
172 km (107 mi) NW of Bendigo
137 km (85 mi) NE of Horsham
116 km (72 mi) SW of Swan Hill
65 km (40 mi) NW of Warracknabeal

LGA:

Shire of Buloke

State District:

Swan Hill

Federal Division:

Mallee

Mean Max Temp	Mean Min Temp	Rainfall
22.2 °C ^{72 °F}	8.6 °C ^{47 °F}	374.1 mm ^{14.7 in}

Birchip is a town in the Wimmera region of Victoria, Australia on the Sunraysia Highway north of Donald. The town is located in the Shire of Buloke Local Government Area. At the 2006 census Birchip had a population of 822. It has a P-12 school, and an Australian rules football club, "The Bulls", also known as the Birchip-Watchem Bulls.

Closer settlement began in the area known as Wirrimbirchip around 1882 and a Post Office under that name opened on July 2, 1883 (Birchip from January 1, 1890). ^[2]The town was surveyed as Birchip in 1887 though known by the inhabitants by the original name for quite some years later.

The farms in the area typically grow wheat, barley, canola, and other cereals. Some people have pig sheds, though most livestock in the district are sheep. There is a hospital which shares a lodge for elderly care.

Five main roads enter the town. It is located approximately 312 kilometres northwest of Victoria's capital city Melbourne. A road passes through Birchip that divides the Wimmera region of Victoria (to the south) from the Mallee region of Victoria (to the north). To travel to Birchip from Melbourne there are two preferred routes, one through Ballarat via the Sunraysia Highway and one through Bendigo via the Calder Highway. Each route's travel times are similar and the Ballarat route is more mountainous in some areas. There is an aerodrome for light aircraft.

Birchip is also home to the BCG (Birchip Cropping Group and Wimmera Farming Systems) - a farmer-driven agricultural organisation operating as a not-for-profit incorporated association, conducting applied research and extension on all the major crops grown in the Wimmera and Mallee. BCG aim to improve the profitability and long-term viability of Mallee and Wimmera communities through research, demonstration and exchange of ideas amongst farmers and industry groups. ^[3]