Natural Resources
The Goulburn Broken Region is located within the central North East of Victoria, Australia and covers a 2.43 million hectare area (representing 10.5% of the state). The region is so named as it is defined by the large natural water catchments of the Goulburn and Broken Rivers which make up some 2% of the Murray Darling Basin's area.
| The climate of the Goulburn Broken Region is generally mild with an average temperature of 21°C which is suited to many agricultural activities. Extreme temperatures range from an average of 4°C during winter in the high country to the south of the catchment, to an average of 30°C during summer in the riverine flats to the north. | |
| Landform is quite variable across the region. Generally the northern portion of the region is relatively flat, with a low of 95 m above sea level along the Murray River. The southern end of the region becomes quite mountainous, with the Mt. Buller summit being 1806 m above sea level. The area includes large areas of public land. The Murray River bounds the region to the north. | |
| The Goulburn Broken Region has a diversity of landuses. Just over 60% of the region supports general (dryland) agriculture, whilst about 9% of the area is under intensive irrigated agriculture. Some 28% of the region is covered by native vegetation. | |
| There are many soil types in the Goulburn Broken Region due to variations in landform, climate and geology. The irrigated region is part of the riverine plain of northern Victoria and southern New South Wales and consists mainly of Vertosols and Sodosols. A range of soil types occur in the more hilly to mountainous areas and include Chromosols, Sodosols, Kurosols, Dermosols, Ferrosols and Tenosols. | |
| The continued economic success of the region is highly dependent on the supply of high quality water for agricultural, industrial and domestic uses. Surface water is supplied through the two primary catchments (Goulburn and the Broken Rivers) and is managed through a network of storages, including Lake Eildon and the Goulburn Weir. | |
| There is a diverse range of vegetation that is native to the Goulburn Broken catchment due mainly to the varied topography of the region. There are thirteen Broad Vegetation Type’s (BVT's) located in the region including plains grassy woodlands, riverine grassy woodlands, box-ironbark forests in the north and central parts of the region, through to cool temperate rainforests and sub-alpine woodlands in the south. The amount of remnant vegetation within the region is restricted mainly to the 28% of the catchment that is classified as public land and riparian zones. The Draft Goulburn Broken Native Vegetation Management Strategy is aiming to protect, maintain, enhance and regenerate native vegetation. | |
| Major land and water management issues in the region include catchment management and planning, water quality and river health, floodplain management, salinity issues, land use restrictions, native vegetation management and hazard assessment. | |
| There are many opportunities to invest in land and water in the Goulburn Broken Region including traditional agricultural practices (both irrigation and dryland based), viticulture, horticulture, farm forestry, vegetables, tomatoes, walnuts, olives and the horse racing industries. There are many other agricultural, manufacturing and commercial enterprises that also represent investment opportunities in the region. | |
