Kerang | |
|---|---|
 Main street of Kerang | |
  Kerang | |
| Coordinates:35°43′0″S143°55′0″E / 35.71667°S 143.91667°E /-35.71667; 143.91667 | |
| Country | Australia |
| State | Victoria |
| LGA | |
| Location | |
| Government | |
| • State electorate | |
| • Federal division | |
| Elevation | 78 m (256 ft) |
| Population | |
| • Total | 3,960 (2021 census)[2] |
| Postcode | 3579 |
| Mean max temp | 22.8 °C (73.0 °F) |
| Mean min temp | 9.4 °C (48.9 °F) |
| Annual rainfall | 368.9 mm (14.52 in) |
Kerang is a town on theLoddon River in north-centralVictoria,Australia. It is the commercial centre to an irrigation district based on livestock, horticulture,lucerne and grain. It is located 279 kilometres (173 mi) north-west ofMelbourne on theMurray Valley Highway a few kilometres north of its intersection with theLoddon Valley Highway, elevation 78 metres (256 ft). At the2021 census, Kerang had a population of 3,960.[2]Kerang is believed to be anAboriginal word forCockatoo. It is home to Australia's largest solar and battery farm, which was opened in June 2019. The 50-megawatt battery system is located outside of Kerang and stores 100 per cent renewable energy. The 2,000 solar panels have become a tourist attraction and are drawing many businesses to the town.[3]
TheWemba-Wemba and Barapa BarapaAboriginal people are the original owners and the area's first occupants.Thomas Mitchell was the first European to visit the area, in 1836.Squatters began to settle in the area in 1845 and in 1848 Richard Beyes opened a public house at a river crossing near the future townsite. The gold rush of 1850 in Australia attracted the miner's sons, Peter and Anders Pettersson from Herrnäs to Australia in 1853. They emigrated with 4 other miners' sons, among them Lars Fredrik Pettersson who later took the name Westblad. A couple of hired hands also went with this first group. Lars Fredrik Westblad returned to Sweden to visit his home inBjurtjärn socken.[4] When he returned to Australia in 1857, two brothers went with him and later two more brothers joined them along with a cousin and a nephew.
Lars Fredrik Westblad became a justice of the peace and the owner of an inn in Mia Mia which became a gathering spot for the Swedes. With three of his brothers and four sons he operated a farm of more than 40,000 acres at Kerang, northeast of Melbourne. He did well in the cattle business.
The Westblad family in Australia reached considerable numbers and in 1976 about 300 descendants of Lars Fredrik gathered for a reunion in Kerang.
This was followed by a saddlery and a church. In 1857 Woodford Patchell built a bridge upriver from the settlement which drew traffic from the earlier settlement. He built a store, house and hotel that became the centre of what was to become Kerang. Patchell was the first farmer in the state to useirrigation and experimented with oats, barley, maize, millet, tobacco, beet, cotton and sugarcane. The Post Office opened on 29 July 1858; the currentKerang Post Office building dates from 1886 and is heritage-listed. An earlier Kerang office, quite distant, was renamedWedderburn on the same day.[5]
Kerang was declared a shire in 1871; at the time the settlement's population was 109. The arrival of the railway fromBendigo in 1884 and the construction of atramway to Koondrook in 1888 led to expansion; by 1891 the population had increased to over a thousand. The spread of Patchell's irrigation ideas improved local productivity and the town continued to expand.
TheBurke and Wills expedition passed through Kerang on their journey to cross Australia from Melbourne to the Gulf of Carpentaria. On Sunday, 2 September 1860 the expedition camped at Booth & Holloway's Tragowel Station to the south of Kerang. On Tuesday, 4 September 1860 they passed through Kerang, crossed the Loddon and camped at Mr. Fenton's Reedy Creek Run, making Camp XIII (their thirteenth camp since leaving Melbourne).[6]
Kerang's symbol is a flyingibis. The area around Kerang is dotted with lagoons and lakes (includingLake Tutchewop) and is believed to have the most populous ibis rookeries in the world with an estimated 200,000 ibis using the area for breeding each year, along with many other waterbirds. It is also a popular recreational destination. Many of the wetlands have been recognised by inclusion in theNorth Victorian WetlandsImportant Bird Area and as being of international significance through listing under theRamsar Convention.[7]
Kerang is located at the junction of theLoddon Valley andMurray Valley Highways. Air transport is provided byKerang Airport.
The town is also on theSwan Hill railway line, served byV/Line trains fromKerang station toMelbourne, as well as coach services toBalranald. TheKerang-Koondrook Tramway once linked the town toKoondrook from 1889, being closed to passengers in 1976,[8] and closed 1981.[9] On 5 June 2007,a semi-trailer collided with a passenger train at a level crossing, 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) north of the town, killing 11 people.[10] This was the worst train disaster in Victoria since 1969.[11]
The town has anAustralian Rules football team competing in theCentral Murray Football League.[12]
Kerang has ahorse racing club, the Kerang Turf Club, which schedules two race meetings a year including the Kerang Cup meeting in March.[13]
Golfers play at the course of the Kerang Golf Club on Koondrook Road.[14]
Kerang also has a thriving skatepark community, with freestyle BMX and skateboarding enthusiasts regularly honing their skills at the park.
Kerang has acold semi-arid climate (BSk) with hot, dry summers and cool, mostly cloudy winters. An exceptionally cold summer's day had occurred on 3 February 2005, where a maximum of 11.7 °C (53.1 °F) was registered.
| Climate data for Kerang (35°45′S143°56′E / 35.75°S 143.94°E /-35.75; 143.94, 78 m AMSL) (1903–2025) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 47.6 (117.7) | 46.9 (116.4) | 42.1 (107.8) | 39.1 (102.4) | 28.7 (83.7) | 25.6 (78.1) | 25.7 (78.3) | 28.1 (82.6) | 36.6 (97.9) | 40.0 (104.0) | 44.0 (111.2) | 46.6 (115.9) | 47.6 (117.7) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 31.8 (89.2) | 31.3 (88.3) | 27.9 (82.2) | 22.8 (73.0) | 18.1 (64.6) | 14.7 (58.5) | 14.1 (57.4) | 16.1 (61.0) | 19.2 (66.6) | 22.9 (73.2) | 26.8 (80.2) | 29.8 (85.6) | 23.0 (73.3) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 15.3 (59.5) | 15.2 (59.4) | 12.9 (55.2) | 9.4 (48.9) | 6.7 (44.1) | 4.6 (40.3) | 4.0 (39.2) | 4.9 (40.8) | 6.6 (43.9) | 8.8 (47.8) | 11.4 (52.5) | 13.5 (56.3) | 9.4 (49.0) |
| Record low °C (°F) | 5.6 (42.1) | 5.6 (42.1) | 3.3 (37.9) | 0.6 (33.1) | −3.1 (26.4) | −3.9 (25.0) | −4.6 (23.7) | −3.2 (26.2) | −1.1 (30.0) | −1.1 (30.0) | 2.6 (36.7) | 4.1 (39.4) | −4.6 (23.7) |
| Average rainfall mm (inches) | 24.6 (0.97) | 23.1 (0.91) | 26.8 (1.06) | 26.4 (1.04) | 35.6 (1.40) | 35.7 (1.41) | 34.4 (1.35) | 36.5 (1.44) | 35.2 (1.39) | 37.4 (1.47) | 30.0 (1.18) | 27.8 (1.09) | 373.3 (14.70) |
| Average rainy days(≥ 0.2 mm) | 3.6 | 3.3 | 3.8 | 4.8 | 7.3 | 8.8 | 9.8 | 9.6 | 8.0 | 7.0 | 5.3 | 4.3 | 75.6 |
| Average afternoonrelative humidity (%) | 31 | 32 | 36 | 43 | 56 | 64 | 63 | 55 | 49 | 39 | 34 | 33 | 45 |
| Source: Australian Bureau of Meteorology[15] | |||||||||||||
Media related toKerang, Victoria at Wikimedia Commons