The Shire of West Wimmera is a local government area in the western part of the Wimmera region of Victoria, Australia, located in the western part of the state. It covers an area of 9,108 square kilometres (3,517 sq mi) and in June 2018 had a population of 3,862. It includes the towns of Apsley, Edenhope, Goroke, Gymbowen, Harrow, Kaniva, Minimay, Nurcoung and Serviceton. It was formed in 1995 from the amalgamation of the Shire of Kaniva and parts of the Shire of Kowree, Shire of Arapiles and Shire of Glenelg.
The Shire of Yarriambiack is a local government area of Victoria, Australia, located in the north-western part of the state. It covers an area of 7,326 square kilometres (2,829 sq mi) and, in June 2018, had a population of 6,658, having fallen from 7,438 in 2008. It includes the towns of Hopetoun, Murtoa, Rupanyup and Warracknabeal. It was formed in 1995 from the amalgamation of the Shire of Warracknabeal, Shire of Karkarooc, and parts of the Shire of Dunmunkle and Shire of Wimmera.
Stawell ( "stall"), is an Australian town in the Wimmera region of Victoria 237 kilometres (147 mi) west-north-west of the state capital, Melbourne. Located within the Shire of Northern Grampians local government area, it is a seat of local government for the shire and its main administrative centre. At the 2021 census, Stawell had a population of 6,220.
Nhill is a town in the Wimmera, in western Victoria, Australia. Nhill is located on the Western Highway, halfway between Adelaide and Melbourne. At the 2016 census, Nhill had a population of 1,749. "Nhill" is believed to be a Wergaia word meaning "early morning mist rising over water" or "white mist rising from the water".
Dimboola is a town in the Shire of Hindmarsh in the Wimmera region of western Victoria, Australia, 334 kilometres north-west of Melbourne.
Ararat is a town in the Central Highlands region in Victoria, Australia, about 198 kilometres (120 mi) west of Melbourne, on the Western Highway on the eastern slopes of the Ararat Hills and Cemetery Creek valley between Victoria's Western District and the Wimmera. Its urban population according to 2021 census is 8,500 and services the region of 11,880 residents across the Rural City's boundaries. It is also the home of the 2018/19 GMGA Golf Championship Final.
Warracknabeal is a town in the Australian state of Victoria, located in the Victorian wheatbelt. Situated on the banks of the Yarriambiack Creek, 330 km northwest of Melbourne, it is the business and services centre of the northern Wimmera and southern Mallee districts, and hosts local government offices of the Shire of Yarriambiack. At the 2021 census, the Warracknabeal township had a population of 2,359.
St Arnaud is a town in the Wimmera region of Victoria, Australia, 244 kilometres north west of the capital Melbourne. It is in the Shire of Northern Grampians local government area. At the 2021 census, St Arnaud had a population of 3,453.
Kaniva is a town in Victoria, Australia. It is located on the Western Highway, north of Little Desert National Park, in the Shire of West Wimmera local government area. It is located roughly 25 kilometres (16 mi) east of the South Australian border and 43 kilometres (27 mi) east of Bordertown. At the 2016 census, Kaniva had a population of 803. The town is commonly used as a rest point for those travelling between Melbourne and Adelaide. The Kaniva region has some rare flora and fauna. The rare south-eastern red-tailed black cockatoo is found in the region. The Shire of West Wimmera prohibits the felling of dead trees to ensure that they have adequate nesting sites.
Lake Retba, also known as Lac Rose, lies north of the Cap Vert peninsula in Senegal, some 35 km (22 mi) north-east of the capital, Dakar, in northwest Africa. It is named for its pink waters caused by Dunaliella salina algae and is known for its high salt content, up to 40% in some areas. Its colour is usually particularly strong from late January to early March, during the dry season; however, flooding in September 2022 not only disrupted salt harvesting activities on the lake, but because it caused the lake to lose its colour, had a negative effect on tourism.
Horsham is a regional city in the Wimmera region of western Victoria, Australia. Located on a bend in the Wimmera River, Horsham is approximately 300 kilometres (190 mi) northwest of the state capital Melbourne. As of the 2021 census, Horsham had a population of 20,429. It is the most populous city in Wimmera, and the main administrative centre for the Rural City of Horsham local government area. It is the eleventh largest city in Victoria after Melbourne, Geelong, Ballarat, Bendigo, Wodonga, Mildura, Shepparton, Warrnambool, Traralgon, and Wangaratta.
Donald is a town in Victoria, Australia, located on the Richardson River, at the junction of Sunraysia Highway and Borung Highway, in the Shire of Buloke. At the 2021 census, it had a population of 1,472.
The Wimmera River, an inland intermittent river of the Wimmera catchment, is located in the Grampians and Wimmera regions of the Australian state of Victoria. Rising in the Pyrenees, on the northern slopes of the Great Dividing Range, the Wimmera River flows generally north by west and drains into Lake Hindmarsh and Lake Albacutya, a series of ephemeral lakes that, whilst they do not directly empty into a defined watercourse, form part of the Murray River catchment of the Murray-Darling basin.
The Shire of Arapiles was a local government area in the Wimmera region of western Victoria, Australia. The shire covered an area of 2,342.62 square kilometres (904.5 sq mi), and existed from 1888 until 1995.
Lake Hillier is a saline lake on the edge of Middle Island, the largest of the islands and islets that make up the Recherche Archipelago in the Goldfields-Esperance region, off the south coast of Western Australia. It is particularly notable for its pink colour. A long and thin shore divides the Southern Ocean from the lake.
A pink lake is a lake that has a red or pink colour. This is often caused by the presence of salt-tolerant algae that produces carotenoids, such as Dunaliella salina, usually in conjunction with specific bacteria and archaea, which may vary from lake to lake. The most common archaeon is Halobacterium salinarum.
The Jardwadjali (Yartwatjali), also known as the Jaadwa, are an Aboriginal Australian people of the state of Victoria, whose traditional lands occupy the lands in the upper Wimmera River watershed east to Gariwerd (Grampians) and west to Lake Bringalbert.
Pink Lake is a salt lake in the Goldfields-Esperance region of Western Australia. Although historically the water in the lake was visibly pink, as of 2017 it had not been pink for over ten years. Salt concentration is vital to Pink Lake's pink hue, and Pink Lake may turn pink again as conditions change. It lies about 3 kilometres (2 mi) west of Esperance and is bounded to the east by the South Coast Highway.
The Barengi Gadjin Land Council was formed in 2005 to represent the Wotjobaluk, Jardwadjali, Wergaia and Jupagalk peoples. The Council manages native title rights across Western Victoria in an area "roughly described as the Wimmera River from the head of the Yarriambiack Creek through to Outlet Creek at the northern end of Lake Albacutya". The Council is governed by a board of directors representing various family groups and has offices in Wail and Horsham. The current chairperson is Dylan Clark.
Mount Zero, also known as Mura Mura in the Jardwadjali language is the northernmost mountain of the Grampian range. Its prominent conical shape is visible from the Western Highway south of Horsham. Scottish explorer Sir Thomas Livingstone Mitchell named and then described the mountain as "Mount Zero, a name I applied to a remarkable cone at the western extremity of the chain of mountains." While the peak is inside the National Park, the Mount Zero Olive Farm runs along its northern approaches. Scrub covers the sandstone slopes, with a track running up to the summit from the Mt Zero Picnic Area.
