Mildura

Mildura is a vibrant and exciting Victorian/New South Wales border town that makes the most of its position on the mighty Murray River. Mildura sits on the banks of the vast Murray River, with its paddle steamers and houseboats. Wine bars and restaurants cluster on Langtree Avenue, and wineries dot the surrounding area. Known for its produce, Mildura has a thriving cultural scene featuring restaurants and boutique shops. The town supplies 80% of the State's dried fruit. Mildura is a diverse landscape of Mallee scrub, red desert and rich irrigated farmlands. In the late 1800s, Canadian irrigation pioneers William and George Chaffey put Mildura on the map when they set about making the area arable; in the same way they had done in the Californian desert. Although the scheme experienced many ups and downs, a dried fruit industry was established by the mid 1890s.The Chaffey Trail traces the city's irrigation history, passing the Old Mildura Station Homestead, a recreation of the 19th-century original, and the 1889 Rio Vista Historic House.