NA ="Echuca, Moama,";
FE1[0]=" The Goulburn Valley, less then one and a half hours north of Melbourne is most famous for its fruit producing industry. The area is also diverse in landscape and thus farming styles. From lush green pastures supporting the Kyabram";
FE2[0]=" dairy industry, to the wheat and sheep belt in Benalla and surrounding districts. The valley is home to fabulous wineries, country hotels, bed and breakfasts and restaurants. The area was first opened up by the explorer Thomas Mi";
FE3[0]="tchell who forged the first crossing of the Goulburn River at Mitchellstown. An early settlement was established but later abandoned for a safer crossing at Seymour further south. The Goulburn Valley region in the Central Victoria";
FE4[0]="n Zone borders New South Wales along the Murray River to its north and extends south in a narrow corridor to just above Broadford in the south. It includes one sub-region Nagambie Lakes. The Goulburn River, a tributary of the Murr";
FE5[0]="ay, flows through the centre of the region. Key towns are Shepparton, Echuca, Murchison and Seymour in the south. The region is warm and dry in summer and depends on irrigation from the Goulburn River and aquifers. Outside the Nag";
FE6[0]="ambie sub-region the number of wineries and vineyards are both limited in number and scattered. The region has been afflicted by phylloxera requiring a new rootstock planting program. The region has an international reputation for";
FE7[0]=" quality fresh and processed fruit and dairy products. At one time Echuca was the Victoria's most substantial inland river port. It is this aspect of its history that has become the basis for the town's reorientation as a tourism ";
FE8[0]="centre, particularly since the restoration of the old port area began in 1973. Paddle-steamers again travel the local waters, albeit for purely recreational and nostalgic purposes. Echuca is located 205 km north of Melbourne via t";
FE9[0]="he Hume and Northern Highways and 96 m above sea-level in a largely irrigated pastoral and agricultural district. The Riverboats, Jazz, Food and Wine Festival is held in February.";
LA1[0]=" The Goulburn Valley is situated north of the Great Divide in Central Victoria and starts south of Seymour and stretches north where the Goulburn River meets the Murray at Echuca. To the west it is bordered by the Central Victorian";
LA2[0]=" Goldfields and Rushworth State Forest and to the east lies the Strathbogie Ranges. The contrast between the flat Goulburn River valley, with its maze of billabongs and massive river gums on the one hand, and the high country of t";
LA3[0]="he Strathbogie Ranges on the other is absolute. In the valley, site selection will depend primarily on soil type; in the high country it will depend on slope, aspect and altitude. Almost any combination of site and variety is feas";
LA4[0]="ible. The soils vary widely, falling in three principal groups: the usual red and brown sandy clay loams of south eastern Australia; yellow-brown clay loams; and gritty/gravely, quartzose sands laid down by the prehistoric wanderi";
LA5[0]="ngs of the Goulburn River. It is those sandy soils, often outcropping, which have held phylloxera at bay in an area infested by the pest, and protect the 1860 Shiraz vines at Chateau Tahbilk.  Soil type is typically a duplex red-b";
LA6[0]="rown alluvial loam over a heavier clay loam. Most vineyards are in close proximity to the picturesque Goulburn River or the mighty Murray River.";
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CL1[0]=" The eastern part of the region is a typical inland, valley floor climate, with substantial diurnal temperature ranges, mitigated only by the abundance of lakes, billabongs and creeks associated with the meandering Goulburn River. ";
CL2[0]="Abundant water for irrigation and loose textured sandy/gravelly soils typically produce generous yields without compromising colour or flavour. The eastern, high country of the neighbouring Strathbogie Ranges Region is very much c";
CL3[0]="ooler, with summations strictly altitude dependant. At higher elevations fine, light-bodied Chardonnay and Pinot Noir can be produced, much of it destined for sparkling wine. The climate is best described as temperate to warm with";
CL4[0]=" an annual rainfall ranging between 550 and 700mm. Location: 36°47'S, 145°10'E; Annual rainfall: 600 mm; Mean January temp: 21.2°C; Sunshine hours per day: 9.       ";
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HI1[0]=" The first vineyards in the Nagambie Lakes Sub-region of the Goulburn Valley were planted in 1850s and in 1860 a successful group of landowners formed the 'Tahbilk Vineyard Proprietry' purchasing 260 hectares of land for the purpos";
HI2[0]="e of establishing a winery and vineyard. Tahbilk is still one of the most successful vineyards and wineries in the region and it is one of the few wineries in Victoria to have remained continuously in production. At the turn of th";
HI3[0]="e century the Goulburn Valley had a thriving wine industry that was devastated by the vine louse phylloxera. There are still vines in the valley that date back to the 1860's, saved by the sandy soil they were planted in that retar";
HI4[0]="ds the effect of Phylloxera. Prior to European settlement the Goulburn Valley area was occupied by the Yorta-Yorta Aborigines. Explorer Charles Sturt passed through the district while overlanding cattle from Sydney to Adelaide in ";
HI5[0]="1838 but the first European in the immediate area was a British-born ex-convict named James Maiden, who took up the Perricoota station c.1843-45. The area became known as Maiden's Punt when he established a punt service and an inn";
HI6[0]=" on the northern bank of the river around 1845. It was the first cattle crossing on the Murray River and thus became a major access route. A settlement grew as other businesses began to cluster around the inn and thus Moama came t";
HI7[0]="o be gazetted in 1851. In 1852 the Mary Ann became the first paddlesteamer to trade on the Murray; Moama being the outermost stop on its maiden voyage. However, it was Henry Hopwood who ran a hotel and punt in the area, who capita";
HI8[0]="lised on the event and laid the foundations of Echuca's success by suggesting the government establish a river port on the southern bank. In 1854 the government surveyor approved the site chosen by Hopwood and renamed it 'Echuca',";
HI9[0]=" a Yorta-Yorta term said to mean 'meeting of the waters'. Land sales proceeded in 1855 and by 1856 Echuca had become dominant over Moama. In the subsequent years Echuca emerged as the colony's largest inland port.";