North Central Victoria

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North Central Victoria is a rural region in the Australian state of Victoria.

Contents

[edit] Location

Sustainability Victoria, a Victorian Government agency, defines North Central Victoria as the municipalities of Buloke, Gannawarra, Loddon, Campaspe, Central Goldfields, Mount Alexander, Macedon Ranges and the City of Greater Bendigo.[1] A climate change study by LaTrobe University also includes the Shire of Hepburn within the region.[2]

The major urban centres are Bendigo, Castlemaine, Maryborough and Rochester. Smaller localities include Kyneton, Pyramid Hill, Kerang, Donald and Creswick. In 2002 the estimated population of North Central Victoria was 200,000.[2]

[edit] Climate

The climate is moderate with wet winters and warm, dry summers. Annual rainfall ranges from 350 millimetres near Swan Hill in the north, to over 1,200 millimetres in the far southeast.

Temperatures are warm in summer, typically ranging from a maximum of 31°C to a minimum of 14° in Kerang in the northwest and from 27°C to 11°C in the south. Winters are cool with minimum temperatures of 2-4°C across the region.[3]

[edit] Natural resources

Natural resource management is administered by the North Central Catchment Management Authority covering 30,000 kilometres bounded by the Great Dividing Range, the Mount Carmel Ranges to the east and the New South Wales border to the north.[4] This includes the management of rural water allocations and environmental protection for the Avon-Richardson, Avoca, Campaspe and Loddon rivers.[5]

Regional water consumption for irrigation, stock and domestic use greatly exceeds local supply. Irrigation consumes an average 1.4 million ML/year while domestic use consumes around 40,000 ML/year.[3] More than 75% of regional water needs are met from water imports from the Goulburn Valley and upper Murray River catchments to the north and west.[5].

An extensive network of natural lakes includes Lake Buloke (the terminus for the Avon-Richardson River), Lake Batyo Catyo near the town of Donald, and a northern network comprising Lakes Boort, Merna, Kangaroo, Charm, Lalbert and Boga.[3] Groundwater beneath this northern lakes network supplies approximately 80% of Australia's mineral springs, supplying the bulk of domestically-produced mineral water and providing substantial local employment.[3]

[edit] Land Use

The predominant land use is agriculture, including sheep and cattle grazing and the production of cereals, grains and legumes. The gross value of agricultural output exceeds $0.8 billion a year.[3] Forestry is also a major employer in the area surrounding the former gold rush towns of Creswick and Daylesford,[6] with a substantial output of firewood, furniture timber and Eucalyptus oil.[3]

Approximately 13% of the North Central catchment is public land, comprising flora reserves and state and national parks.[6]

[edit] References

  1. ^ North Central Victoria. Sustainability Victoria (August 2006). Retrieved on 2008-01-07.
  2. ^ a b The Energy Footprint for North Central Victoria: An Initial Step Toward Addressing Climate Change. University of LaTrobe (2002). Retrieved on 2008-01-07.
  3. ^ a b c d e f North Central Regional Catchment Strategy 2003-2007. North Central Catchment Management Authority (2003). Retrieved on 2008-01-07.
  4. ^ Welcome to the North Central Catchment Management Authority. North Central Catchment Management Authority (December 2007). Retrieved on 2008-01-07.
  5. ^ a b Natural Resource Management Assets: Water. North Central Catchment Management Authority (December 2007). Retrieved on 2008-01-07.
  6. ^ a b North Central Land Use. Department of Primary Industries, Victoria (November 2007). Retrieved on 2008-01-07.