For thousands of years the Wotjobaluk Aboriginal Community would gather at a special billabong adjacent to the Wimmera River to the sounds of croaking frogs and busy waterbirds. Majestic river Red gums shaded the clear waters where they would swim and fish. This place is The Ranch, not far from Dimboola.
In more recent times The Ranch has had reduced inflows from the Wimmera River and from a small tributary flowing from the west. For a lot of the time, the billabong was extremely salty and discoloured – and this haven for local wildlife and treasured gathering place for the Wotjobaluk Aboriginal Community suffered in silence.
A first small watering event a year ago, followed by two small top-ups in autumn and spring this year, have seen the billabong gradually come back to life. It has again become a cultural hub for the Wotjobaluk Aboriginal Community.
Read more in our Water for the Environment Summer Update.
