We bade farewell to Maureen at Darlington Point as we began our journey back to Adelaide.
Departing Mildura at 10.30 AM, we were taken down stream to view the floating weir which is removable and is the only one of its type on the river. Also sighted was the "AVOCA" which is the second oldest paddle boat on the river.
"ROTHBURY"
The vessel was built in 1881 and was used for shipping Red Gum logs to the sawmills.
It ceased working in the early/mid 20th century and lay idle until 1968 when it was purchased for use
as a tourist vessel.
In the early 1970's the steam engine was removed and replaced with a diesel engine.
Commercial vessels on the river are required to undergo an "on-water" inspection every twelve months; every two years they are hauled out on the Buronga slipway for a complete survey.
The trip up river took approximately 1.5 hours passing a number of new and substantial residences; we were not surprised to hear that river frontage blocks were priced in the vicinity of $300,000 plus and figures for the "palaces" erected on same ranged around the $600,000 mark.
TRENTHAM WINERY
Planting started almost half a century ago, there are now twenty varieties of grapes grown.
Harry
After dusk, a small group spent some time star gazing. Four of the visible planets were identified along with several of the major constellations.
Viva Australian Olives & Olive Oil, Loxton
Soil in the Loxton area is well suited to growing olives, giving them a peppery flavour. Trees begin to bear after 2 years, and fully at 5 years. Olives are allowed to sun ripen before picking. Fully ripe olives are a deep purple in colour and should not be confused with artificially blackened green olives which are stuffed or sliced for use on pizzas.
We learnt two tips - keep oil in the pantry, not the 'fridge as it will go cloudy; after opening a container of table olives, pour a little oil on top to prevent spoiling.
The health benefits of olives and olive oil were detailed. Extra virgin olive oil has an oleic acid content less than 1% and contains mono-unsaturated fatty acids which help reduce levels of 'bad' cholesterol without the affecting the 'good', and contains polyphenols and vitamin E which are powerful antioxidants.
Very little was left on the tasting table when our tour finished.
Melody
The company started in 1993 with the Adelaide Road farm. The South Australian Olive Corporation was set up in 1998. It also owns farms at Pinaroo, Griffith NSW and Inglewood Qld. Our tour was led by the Office Manager because senior staff were in Queensland attending the early harvest (6-8 weeks) there. The Loxton harvest occurs later in the season. The Loxton plant is the only bottling factory in the group.
While olives have been grown in Australia for over 100 years, little is known about the exact water requirements and irrigation follows ad hoc rules. Many groves are still watered by overhead sprinkler systems. It is very likely that water applied is too little or too much. Research is needed as prudent water use is essential for a viable industry.
Harvesting is done in two stages.
Olives for oil are crushed on delivery. Table olives go into brine pickling vats for at least 4 weeks before processing and bottling. The range includes traditional green and black olives plus a selection of spiced olives (Lemon Garlic, Chilean Spice and others). A special process is used for green olives to leach out the bitterness while preserving the quality and colour. Tapenade spreads and various cosmetic products are also available from the sales desk.
(Abridged version)
Tour Summary
The extent of rice growing in the Riverina is frightenly extensive, evident from the west of Hay and right through to the east of Narandera. Just as extensive are the orchards, vineyards and vegetable plantings. New irrigation areas are still being developed.
Inefficient irrigation techniques were very obvious in some of the older(?) sites. Tall overhead sprinklers with very obvious wind drift and open furrow flooding were still in use. We were much happier to note that other sites were using drip feeders for vines and low under canopy sprays to flood the root zone of fruit trees.
The rice farmers have made sterling efforts to improve the efficiency of water usage, but it seems that their savings are being re-allocated to new sites, and not being allowed to increase the environmental flow we desperately need.
I could not discover how much the Murumbidgee does, or should contribute to flow into the Murray. The salinity problem is much less severe than in SA. They are thriving while our end of the River System is dying.
Most gratifying was our warm welcome as a Study Group from SA and the willingness to explain the operations and future goals for the Riverina irrigation areas. Problems in SA were known, but I got the impression that the Murrumbidgee was not considered a major cause.
As we returned to Adelaide we "informally" agreed that cotton should be our next investigative effort.
Roger
Without irrigation most of this area would be a desert. With irrigation it makes a major contribution to Australia's economy. But the distribution is via open channels and canals, many of which could be mistaken for small rivers if it were not for the lack of trees and other native vegetation. (Weeds and water reeds were quite noticeable.) Evaporation and seepage must cause a significant loss. They carefully manage run-off through a series of drains into Barren Box Swamp.
| Index | PDF copy |