NA ="Waterford, Wuk Wuk, Lindenow, Brigalong, Maffra, Stratford, Sale, Longford, Letts Beach, Golden Beach,";
FE1[0]=" Gippsland is one of Victoria's most important agricultural and fisheries areas. It produces wool, meat, dairy products, fruit, berries and vegetables and seafood, wild and farmed. Gippsland is a unique Wine Zone recognised by the ";
FE2[0]="EEC for export that offers its winemakers the opportunity to produce premium cool climate wines. Gippsland is a large track of country extending from the NSW/Victorian border, along the coast to Wonthaggi just below Melbourne then";
FE3[0]=" sweeping west to the edge of the Great Dividing Range. Gippsland is a wine zone with no officially designated wine regions. As the zone is so big it is common to refer to South Gippsland, East Gippsland and West Gippsland. As one";
FE4[0]=" would expect the topography, soils and climate range significantly, however, it can be said that the climate is cool, affected by cold winds from Bass Strait and elevation that extends to the Victorian snowfields. Such a cool cli";
FE5[0]="mate is suitable for Chardonnay and Pinot Noir and it is these wine styles that have made their mark. Gippsland comprises of 3 distinct geographic regions: South Gippsland - An area south of the Strzelecki Ranges down to the Bass ";
FE6[0]="Strait, it includes Phillip Island and Wilson's Promontory. A truly cool climate area, it is wetter and windier than other parts of Gippsland. It is traversed by the South Gippsland and Bass Highways. West Gippsland - An area made";
FE7[0]=" up of the Gourmet Deli area around Warragul and the Latrobe Valley and surrounding hills. It stretches as far as Rosedale in the east. Cooler than East Gippsland, it usually has a warm, dry autumn which allows for the ripening of";
FE8[0]=" most grape varieties. It is traversed by the Princess Highway. East Gippsland - Beyond Rosedale, including the cities of Sale, Bairnsdale and Lakes Entrance. A more Mediterranean style climate is experienced with lower rainfalls ";
FE9[0]="than the rest of Gippsland. Gippsland is blessed with amazingly rich soils, reliable rainfall and the cleanest of environments all adding to the mix that is a joy to discover. The region is still very much the realm of the family ";
LA1[0]=" East Gippsland contains coastal plains, river valleys, foothills, tablelands and mountains up to 1400 metres elevation in the far east of Victoria. It stretches from near Stratford in the west to Cape Howe in the east, and from La";
LA2[0]="kes Entrance and the coast in the south to Swifts Creek and the 'straight line' part of the Victorian border in the north. East Gippsland is considered to contain two bioregions - East Gippsland Uplands and East Gippsland Lowlands";
LA3[0]=". The area is characterised by extensive, essentially continuous areas of forest and other native vegetation, with small isolated 'islands' of settlement in the river valleys, coastal plains and tablelands. The rainfall in most of";
LA4[0]=" the area is from 800 to over 1200 mm, however some areas, such as around Swifts Creek and Deddick, lie in rain-shadows with average rainfall of less than 700 mm. Several major and many minor streams drain the area, notably the Mi";
LA5[0]="tchell, Nicholson, Tambo, Buchan, Snowy, Brodribb, Bemm, Cann, Thurra, Wingan and Genoa rivers. The continuity of native vegetation over a very extensive area makes East Gippsland one of the great reservoirs of biodiversity in Aus";
LA6[0]="tralia; there are no other regions on mainland Australia where native vegetation is continuous from alpine environments to the coast. The area is also biogeographically important at the continental scale as the area of overlap bet";
LA7[0]="ween southern cool temperate and eastern warm temperate zones; thus it has many species of plants and animals which are absent from, or rare in, the rest of Victoria.";
LA8[0]="";
LA9[0]="";
CL1[0]=" The climate in East Gippsland is temperate, with patterns of precipitation and temperature influenced by geography, topography, altitude and proximity to the coast. Temperature varies according to proximity to the coast and altitu";
CL2[0]="de. The plains and coastal areas are subject to mild temperatures. For example, Bairnsdale averages temperature highs of 20.6°C throughout the year, with annual average lows of 9.1°C. In January, Bairnsdale averages maximums of 25";
CL3[0]=".8°C and lows of 15°C. During July, Bairnsdale averages a maximum of 13.7°C and a low of 3.8°C. Temperatures at Cann River (the northernmost BoM weather station in the region) are similar to Bairnsdale, only it is typically a litt";
CL4[0]="le warmer during the day and cooler than Bairnsdale at night. Average temperature highs of 20.5°C are experienced throughout the year, with annual average lows of 7.8°C. In January, Cann River averages a maximum of 25.9°C and a lo";
CL5[0]="w of 12.4°C. During July, Cann River averages a maximum of 14.3°C and a low of 2.1°C (BoM). Mild winters are experienced on the plains and in coastal areas. Higher winter temperatures compared with other parts of the region are a ";
CL6[0]="result of winds becoming warmer when descending from the mountains. The Great Dividing Range is the dominant landform feature in the north of the region, and has a significant influence on weather patterns. Dry 'rainshadow' valley";
CL7[0]="s contrast with adjacent mountains that are characterised by wet montane forests and, at higher elevations, sub-alpine woodlands and alpine herbfields. Rainshadows caused by the ranges occur in the Mitchell and Tambo River valleys";
CL8[0]=", and on the plains. Rainshadow effects are evident when comparing average annual rainfall of 659 mm at Tabberabbera in the Mitchell River valley with Bullumwaal in the bordering high country which receives an average of 1 080 mm ";
CL9[0]="per annum. Mean annual rainfall at Bairnsdale is 716 mm and at Cann River is 1 008 mm (BoM). Precipitation mainly falls as rain, except at high altitudes, where areas over 1 500 m elevation remain snow-covered throughout winter. M";
HI1[0]=" Archibald MacLeod was the first settler to take up land in the area now covered by the present town of Bairnsdale. He called his run 'Bernisdale' after his birthplace on the Isle of Skye. Legend has it that the name was changed to";
HI2[0]=" its present spelling when MacLeod was surprised by the number of 'bairns' (children) which had appeared in the settlement. However, it seems more likely that the spelling was merely altered to fit local pronunciation. In the 1850";
HI3[0]="s and 1860s the town grew as a result of its location on the river and its access to the sea. It became a supply port for the East Gippsland goldfields until the railways were established later in the century. Goods were shipped i";
HI4[0]="nto Lake King, up the Mitchell River to Bairnsdale then hauled overland. Ships were then loaded with cattle products and wool from the surrounding area for the return trip to Melbourne. The hops cultivated in the Mitchell Valley b";
HI5[0]="etween 1868 and 1916 were also transported to Bairnsdale for shipment to the hop kilns. A bridge over the Mitchell River was commenced in 1870 and completed in 1875. A lift bridge was originally envisaged so that ships could conti";
HI6[0]="nue along the Mitchell River to the original wharf. A police station was established in 1862, a courthouse, school and post office were built six years later and the railway arrived in 1888. Barges conveyed wattle bark down the ri";
HI7[0]="ver to Jackson's tannery which commenced operations in 1876. A factory producing mining tools was opened the following year, an ice and butter plant in 1891, and a fruit cannery in 1907. Attempts were also made to develop an oil s";
HI8[0]="eed industry between 1890 and 1910.";
HI9[0]="";