Anyone who has grown up in the Mallee will tell you that it’s tough. The entire area is covered in sand that sits over limestone. Rainfall in the Mallee is minimal. On average, the area only receives around 250 mm of rain a year. Then, there’s the tough Mallee scrub and the Mallee gums that the area is named after.
But, if you were to have a conversation with the locals, there’s nowhere else that they’d rather be. And, don’t believe the stories that say that the Mallee is flat. It’s actually undulating, which is why flumes rather than open channels had to be built in the early days to transport water.
A little mallee history
Before European settlement, the Wergaia and Ngarkat people inhabited this harsh and unforgiving landscape. Once the area was settled by Europeans, many of the local indigenous people were moved to the Ebenezer Mission.
Edward John Eyre was the first white man to visit the Mallee in 1838. It wasn’t until the 1870s that the Mallee was pronounced as good agricultural country, ideal for cereal crops. So, the huge task of clearing the Mallee scrub began.
Back in those days, farmers who were clearing the land sent the huge mallee stumps (that felt to them impossible to remove) to Melbourne to be processed as firewood. The money that they received for these stumps helped them to fund the development of their farms.
Irrigation schemes were created in 1887 by the Chaffey brothers to provide water for other types of crops such as stone fruits, citrus and grapes. In 2010, the original irrigation channels and flumes were replaced with pipelines. This has enabled the region to be well-known for its crop production.
Towns in the Victorian Mallee
Some of the towns close to Swan Hill in the Mallee include Nyah, Nyah West, Ouyen, Sealake, Chinkapook and Rainbow. These towns all have their own story to tell about life in this hot and dry region in Victoria.
Speaking to locals, you’ll hear stories of resilience and strong community spirit that drives the love of this region. Even though the landscape is constantly changing and the land can be unforgiving, these local residents, both in the towns and on the farms, display a deep love for the area and for the communities who live here. Here are some interesting glimpses about a few of the towns in this region.
Ouyen, the home of the Big Mallee Stump. The town also boasts a manmade lake that has been built by the community to offer water sport activities and a place for the locals to relax and unwind. This town has a vibrant community that works together to make the area a great place to live.
Chinkapook, on one side of Lake Tyrrell. Lake Tyrrell is a large salt lake that is completely dry in summer, with the name ‘Tyrrell’ is derived from the local Wergaia word for ‘sky’. The local Indigenous people are noted for their interest in stars and the heavens.The changing environment of the lake is a constant inspiration for Indigenous artists who have a deep connection with the land.
Sealake, on the other end of Lake Tyrrell. Another tiny town that has a strong community spirit.
Rainbow, home of the Rainbow Innovation Centre. This is an arts and craft hub for the local community and mainly run by volunteers.
Manangatang, the heart of wheat and sheep country. Known widely for its historic buildings, Manangatang is also legendary for its October country racing event.
One common thing that you’ll notice when visiting most of these communities is the abundance of gorgeous painted murals on many of the buildings.
Literature about the Mallee
Because this area is so distinct, you would imagine that there have been many books and other literary works written about it and you would be correct.The harsh country has inspired writers, poets and artists. Here’s just a short list of published works about the Mallee.
- Mallee Country: Land, People, History by Richard Broome, Charles Fahey, Andrea Gaynor and Katie Holmes.
- The Mice of Chinkapook, a poem by Douglas Stewart about the mice plague in 1917.
- The Bull Ant Country (1980) by Ben Eggleton, a ranger in the national park near Hattah.
- Against the Odds (1979) by Mary Chandler about the history of the soldier settlements in the area.
- Lost in the Mallee (1884), a poem by CA Sherard
- Mallee Farmer (1950), a poem by Nancy Cato
- Mallee Sky by Kerry McGinnis (one of two Mallee sky titles)
And if you’ve ever read Nancy Cato’s All the Rivers Run trilogy, you’ll be familiar with the ‘monotonous flats of mallee scrub, a sea of dark-green leaves and thin branches. As is sometimes noted, though, the Mallee is as much a state of mind as a landscape and region.
Photo: © Wheels Media, a division of Are Media Pty Limited
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