Woorinen South, Victoria
Encyclopedia
Woorinen South is a town in Victoria, Australia. It is situated within the Rural City of Swan Hill
within the Mallee
region of north-west Victoria. At the 2006 census
, Woorinen South had a population of 315. The town is located 350 kilometres (217 mi) north-west of Melbourne
and 10 kilometres (6 mi) km north-west of the regional centre Swan Hill
. The town contains a number of small businesses and is in the centre of a prosperous and diverse agricultural area which produces wine, stone fruit, vegetables, wool, and cereal crops. The town hosts the annual Vintage Steam Rally.
region for thousands of years. The language groups living in the Central Murray area at the time of European contact were the Wemba-Wemba
and the Wati-Wati people.
The first European
settlers arrived in the area in the late nineteenth century and began clearing the land of its Mallee
Scrub and planted crops. In the early years there was very little infrastructure. Transport and crop production was achieved through horse power or bullock teams.
The Woorinen irrigation area was started largely as a soldier settlement
following the end of World War I
. The Woorinen Central School (No. 3945) opened for classes in 1917 at Reserve Road. Woorinen South Post Office opened on 11 August 1921.
The Woorinen Soldiers Memorial Hall was constructed in 1923 at the corner of Chillingollah Road and North South Road. It was used as a meeting place for local people and was used for a number of years for RSL club meetings. The next school to open in the area was the Woorinen North School (No. 4148) at Monash Drive in 1925. The Woorinen South School (No. 4456) opened in 1930 in the Woorinen South township, which had gradually sprung up along Palmer Street on the north side of the Swan Hill to Piangil railway line which was finished in 1915.
Due to dwindling class numbers and the Victorian state government cost cutting, the Woorinen Central School and the Woorinen North School both closed at the end of 1993. At this time, the Woorinen South School changed its name to Woorinen District School to reflect its new status as the only school left open in the area. Post-primary aged students attend one of the secondary schools in nearby Swan Hill.
(some 10 kilometres away) to vineyards to produce table grapes, wine grapes and sultanas. The areas around the Woorinen South township have traditionally been used for dry land farming for the production of wheat and barley crops using natural rainfall. Recent decades have seen the large scale expansion of stone fruit and vegetables in all of the Woorinen areas. Accommodating this has been the construction of a number of large fruit packing sheds throughout the wider Woorinen area.
Since the mid 1990s, vineyards have also seen a corresponding increase particularly Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon
grape varieties. Grapes are now largely harvested by mechanical harvesters. The closest winery is Buller Wines, located in the adjacent district of Beverford.
In 2002, a new grain depot was opened on the railway line at Woorinen South for the storage of large amounts of grain from cereal crops in the area. It is operated by Australian Bulk Alliance. Grain from the storage is sent to the southern Victorian ports by rail for export and shipment abroad. Stone fruit, vegetables and grapes produced in the region are sent to national supermarket chains and some is exported to Asia
.
In 2006 construction began on the Woorinen Ethanol
plant located on the railway line slightly to the west of the Woorinen South township. It is to be Australia's first ethanol plant using locally grown corn, wheat and barley for the production of ethanol fuel
. This plant will be the first major industrial complex in the Woorinen area.
club, started in the Swan Hill Football Association with its first club colours being black and white. The club changed its colours to the current yellow and black colours in 1937. From 1946 Woorinen was part of the Mid Murray Football League. Woorinen Football Club has won a number of premierships over the years with its most recent in 1993 and 2003. The home ground is located at Reserve Road next to the former Woorinen Central School. Woorinen is one of the founding members of the Central Murray Football League
which began in 1997. This league was formed out of the existing Mid Murray Football League which ceased to exist after the end of the 1996 season.
Woorinen Netball Club has operated for many years and games are played at the Woorinen Netball Courts next to the football oval. Game times and teams are the same as those of the Woorinen Football Club.
Woorinen also had a tennis club for many years in the Lake Boga and District Tennis Association. Home games were played at the Woorinen South tennis courts.
Rural City of Swan Hill
The Rural City of Swan Hill is a Local Government Area in Victoria, Australia. It is located in the north-western part of the state. It has an area of 6,103 square kilometres. In 2001 it had a population of 21,000...
within the Mallee
The Mallee
The Mallee is the most northwesterly district in the state of Victoria, and also encompasses the agricultural district of South Australia. Definitions vary, however all are based on the Victorian distribution of mallee eucalypts...
region of north-west Victoria. At the 2006 census
Census in Australia
The Australian census is administered once every five years by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The most recent census was conducted on 9 August 2011; the next will be conducted in 2016. Prior to the introduction of regular censuses in 1961, they had also been run in 1901, 1911, 1921, 1933,...
, Woorinen South had a population of 315. The town is located 350 kilometres (217 mi) north-west of Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
and 10 kilometres (6 mi) km north-west of the regional centre Swan Hill
Swan Hill, Victoria
Swan Hill is a city in the northwest of Victoria, Australia. It is located on the Murray Valley Highway, on the south bank of the Murray River, downstream from the junction of the Loddon River. At the 2006 census, Swan Hill had a population of 9,684.-History:...
. The town contains a number of small businesses and is in the centre of a prosperous and diverse agricultural area which produces wine, stone fruit, vegetables, wool, and cereal crops. The town hosts the annual Vintage Steam Rally.
History
Aboriginal people have lived in the wider Murray RiverMurray River
The Murray River is Australia's longest river. At in length, the Murray rises in the Australian Alps, draining the western side of Australia's highest mountains and, for most of its length, meanders across Australia's inland plains, forming the border between New South Wales and Victoria as it...
region for thousands of years. The language groups living in the Central Murray area at the time of European contact were the Wemba-Wemba
Wemba-Wemba
The Wemba-Wemba are an Indigenous Australian group in north-Western Victoria and south-western New South Wales, Australia, including in the Mallee and the Riverina regions. They are also known as the Wamba-wamba....
and the Wati-Wati people.
The first European
European ethnic groups
The ethnic groups in Europe are the various ethnic groups that reside in the nations of Europe. European ethnology is the field of anthropology focusing on Europe....
settlers arrived in the area in the late nineteenth century and began clearing the land of its Mallee
Mallee Woodlands and Shrublands
Mallee Woodlands and Shrublands is a Major Vegetation Group which occurs in semi-arid areas of southern Australia. The vegetation is dominated by mallee eucalypts which are rarely over 6 metres high...
Scrub and planted crops. In the early years there was very little infrastructure. Transport and crop production was achieved through horse power or bullock teams.
The Woorinen irrigation area was started largely as a soldier settlement
Soldier settlement (Australia)
Soldier settlement refers to the occupation and settlement of land throughout parts of Australia by returning discharged soldiers under schemes administered by the State Governments after World Wars I and II.- World War I :...
following the end of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. The Woorinen Central School (No. 3945) opened for classes in 1917 at Reserve Road. Woorinen South Post Office opened on 11 August 1921.
The Woorinen Soldiers Memorial Hall was constructed in 1923 at the corner of Chillingollah Road and North South Road. It was used as a meeting place for local people and was used for a number of years for RSL club meetings. The next school to open in the area was the Woorinen North School (No. 4148) at Monash Drive in 1925. The Woorinen South School (No. 4456) opened in 1930 in the Woorinen South township, which had gradually sprung up along Palmer Street on the north side of the Swan Hill to Piangil railway line which was finished in 1915.
Due to dwindling class numbers and the Victorian state government cost cutting, the Woorinen Central School and the Woorinen North School both closed at the end of 1993. At this time, the Woorinen South School changed its name to Woorinen District School to reflect its new status as the only school left open in the area. Post-primary aged students attend one of the secondary schools in nearby Swan Hill.
Economy
Traditionally, the areas of Woorinen and Woorinen North have been irrigation districts with water piped from the Murray RiverMurray River
The Murray River is Australia's longest river. At in length, the Murray rises in the Australian Alps, draining the western side of Australia's highest mountains and, for most of its length, meanders across Australia's inland plains, forming the border between New South Wales and Victoria as it...
(some 10 kilometres away) to vineyards to produce table grapes, wine grapes and sultanas. The areas around the Woorinen South township have traditionally been used for dry land farming for the production of wheat and barley crops using natural rainfall. Recent decades have seen the large scale expansion of stone fruit and vegetables in all of the Woorinen areas. Accommodating this has been the construction of a number of large fruit packing sheds throughout the wider Woorinen area.
Since the mid 1990s, vineyards have also seen a corresponding increase particularly Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon
Cabernet Sauvignon
Cabernet Sauvignon is one of the world's most widely recognized red wine grape varieties. It is grown in nearly every major wine producing country among a diverse spectrum of climates from Canada's Okanagan Valley to Lebanon's Beqaa Valley...
grape varieties. Grapes are now largely harvested by mechanical harvesters. The closest winery is Buller Wines, located in the adjacent district of Beverford.
In 2002, a new grain depot was opened on the railway line at Woorinen South for the storage of large amounts of grain from cereal crops in the area. It is operated by Australian Bulk Alliance. Grain from the storage is sent to the southern Victorian ports by rail for export and shipment abroad. Stone fruit, vegetables and grapes produced in the region are sent to national supermarket chains and some is exported to Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
.
In 2006 construction began on the Woorinen Ethanol
Ethanol
Ethanol, also called ethyl alcohol, pure alcohol, grain alcohol, or drinking alcohol, is a volatile, flammable, colorless liquid. It is a psychoactive drug and one of the oldest recreational drugs. Best known as the type of alcohol found in alcoholic beverages, it is also used in thermometers, as a...
plant located on the railway line slightly to the west of the Woorinen South township. It is to be Australia's first ethanol plant using locally grown corn, wheat and barley for the production of ethanol fuel
Ethanol fuel
Ethanol fuel is ethanol , the same type of alcohol found in alcoholic beverages. It is most often used as a motor fuel, mainly as a biofuel additive for gasoline. World ethanol production for transport fuel tripled between 2000 and 2007 from 17 billion to more than 52 billion litres...
. This plant will be the first major industrial complex in the Woorinen area.
Sport
In 1919, the Woorinen Football club, an Australian rules footballAustralian rules football
Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...
club, started in the Swan Hill Football Association with its first club colours being black and white. The club changed its colours to the current yellow and black colours in 1937. From 1946 Woorinen was part of the Mid Murray Football League. Woorinen Football Club has won a number of premierships over the years with its most recent in 1993 and 2003. The home ground is located at Reserve Road next to the former Woorinen Central School. Woorinen is one of the founding members of the Central Murray Football League
Central Murray Football League
The Central Murray Football League is a major country Australian rules football competition based in northern Victoria, Australia and southwest New South Wales, Australia.-History:...
which began in 1997. This league was formed out of the existing Mid Murray Football League which ceased to exist after the end of the 1996 season.
Woorinen Netball Club has operated for many years and games are played at the Woorinen Netball Courts next to the football oval. Game times and teams are the same as those of the Woorinen Football Club.
Woorinen also had a tennis club for many years in the Lake Boga and District Tennis Association. Home games were played at the Woorinen South tennis courts.