Sunraysia is an illdefined district, sometimes incorrectly referred to as an

economic An economy is an area of the Production (economics), production, Distribution (economics), distribution and trade, as well as Consumption (economics), consumption of Goods (economics), goods and Service (economics), services. In general, it is ...

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...

, located in northwestern Victoria and southwestern

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. The region is renowned for its sunshine, intensive

horticulture Horticulture is the branch of agriculture that deals with the art, science, technology, and business of plant cultivation. It includes the cultivation of fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, herbs, sprouts, mushrooms, algae, flowers, seaweeds and no ...

including grapes and oranges, and grain farms. Its main centre is Mildura, Victoria.

Etymology

The name ''Sunraysia'' derives from a contest that entrepreneur

Jack De Garis Clement John ("Jack") De Garis (22 November 188417 August 1926) was an Australian entrepreneur and aviator. He worked in the dried fruits industry in the Sunraysia area around Mildura in the early 20th century, and was noted for his vibrant perso ...

held in 1919, as part of a promotion on behalf of the Australian Dried Fruits Association. The public were invited to submit a name to describe the dried fruits grown in the Mildura area. The winning name was ''Sun-Raysed'', which was modified as ''Sunraysia'' to describe the district as a whole. In 1920, De Garis started a newspaper in Mildura called the '' Sunraysia Daily'', helping to establish the name. The area of Victoria to the west of Sunraysia is known as the Millewa, the main distinction being that Sunraysia is the irrigated area and the Millewa is the dryland cropping area.

Pest Free Area

The Greater Sunraysia district forms part of the Fruit Fly Free Exclusion Zone, a Pest Free Area (PFA) that was created in 2007 located between north-west Victoria and south-west New South Wales. It is renowned for the production of high value horticultural crops including citrus, table grapes and stone fruit. The PFA is aligned to this production area to provide greater fruit fly control measures. The Victorian Department of Environment and Primary Industries (DEPI) and

New South Wales Department of Primary Industries The New South Wales Department of Primary Industries (DPI) is an agency of the New South Wales Government, responsible for the administration and development for agriculture, fisheries, aquaculture, forestry, and biosecurity in New South Wales. ...

(DPI) have implemented stringent legislative controls on the movement of host fruit and vegetables into the PFA to keep it free from the

Queensland fruit fly The Queensland fruit fly (''Bactrocera tryoni'') is a species of fly in the family Tephritidae in the insect order Diptera. ''B. tryoni'' is native to subtropical coastal Queensland and northern New South Wales. They are active during the day, b ...

(QFF) and maintain high value markets, which are worth millions of dollars to local industries. The PFA enables commercial horticultural products to be marketed without postharvest chemical treatments for QFF. The PFA follows the course of the Murray River from

Kerang Kerang is a rural town on the Loddon River in northern Victoria in Australia. It is the commercial centre to an irrigation district based on livestock, horticulture, lucerne and grain. It is located north-west of Melbourne on the Murray V ...

to and the Darling River from Wentworth to Pooncarie. Sunraysia is mostly contained in the

Murray Darling Murray Darling is a wine region and Australian Geographical Indication which spans the Murray River and its confluence with the Darling River in northwestern Victoria and southwestern New South Wales. It was registered as a protected name on 16 ...

wine region.

Major centres and towns

In addition to Mildura, the other major centres and towns in the district are Merbein (Vic), Red Cliffs (Vic), Irymple (Vic),

Wentworth Wentworth may refer to: People * Wentworth (surname) * Judith Blunt-Lytton, 16th Baroness Wentworth (1873–1957), Lady Wentworth, notable Arabian horse breeder * S. Wentworth Horton (1885–1960), New York state senator * Wentworth Miller (born 1 ...

(NSW) and

Robinvale Robinvale is a town on the south bank of the Murray River in north western Victoria, Australia. It is connected by a bridge to Euston on the other side of the river in New South Wales. At the , Robinvale had a population of 3,313, however a p ...

(Vic).

Education facilities

The

Sunraysia Institute of TAFE The Sunraysia Institute of TAFE, also known as SuniTAFE is a provider of vocational education and training services in north-west Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1980, its first campus is located in Mildura, Victoria, with additional campuses ...

and the Sunraysia campus of the

La Trobe University La Trobe University is a public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Its main campus is located in the suburb of Bundoora. The university was established in 1964, becoming the third university in the state of Victoria an ...

, are located on Benetook Ave between 11th and 14th Streets.

Media

The main newspaper that services the region is the '' Sunraysia Daily'', and is published on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday. Sunraysia is also serviced by two free papers; the ''Sunraysia Life'' and the ''Mildura Weekly'' both published on Fridays. The ''Mildura Independent'' was another free weekly, published from 1982 to 2007. ''My Mildura'' is a free monthly magazine. There are also a number of paid weeklies covering smaller areas within Sunraysia. Local radio stations include ABC Local Radio, RIVER1467 (1467AM 3ML), 97.9 3MA FM, 99.5 Star FM, and Hot FM. Localised television stations in Sunraysia include a local relay of the ABC's Melbourne television station, WIN Television Mildura, PTV (a

Seven Network The Seven Network (commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is a major Australian commercial free-to-air Television broadcasting in Australia, television network. It is owned by Seven West Media, Seven West Media Limited, and is one of ...

O&O) and MDV (a Network 10 affiliate owned by Seven and WIN).

Gallery

Image:Fruit Fly exclusion zone.jpg, Fruit disposal bins and warning signs along the Calder Highway, approaching Mildura. Image:Silo Merrinee.jpg, Storage silo at

Merrinee, Victoria Merrinee is a locality situated in the Sunraysia region. It is situated about 7 kilometres west of Pirlta and 11 kilometres east of Karawinna, on the Red Cliffs-Meringur Road. The Morkalla railway line The Morkalla railway line was a railw ...

Notes

References

{{coord, 34, 12, 22.17, S, 142, 08, 08.61, E, display=title, region:AU_type:city_source:GNS-enwiki Regions of New South Wales Regions of Victoria (Australia) Mildura Murray-Darling basin