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Home>The Place
| Towong Shire is located in North East Victoria covering an area stretching from the peaks of the Alpine National Park to the free-flowing Murray River. The many communities in the Shire reflect the diversity of the landscape and the climate. Diverse living choices are available to the 6000 people in an area of 6,600 sq km.
Significant settlements in the Shire include:
• Tallangatta, Bellbridge and Bethanga; providing village living opportunities close to the regional centre of Albury Wodonga;
• Talgarno, Granya, Walwa, Tintaldra and Towong; providing lifestyle choices on the banks of the Murray River;
• Communities at Corryong, Dartmouth, Eskdale, Mitta Mitta are remote and very self sufficient; and
• Cudgewa, Koetong and Tallangatta Valley are other unique places.
Corryong and Tallangatta are the Shire’s largest urban centres with populations of approximately 1,300 and 1,000 respectively.
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| The economy of the region revolves around a rich agricultural sector, tourism and timber production and processing. Nearly 65% of the 836 businesses located in the Shire are in the agriculture and forestry industries. Beef grazing, dairying and sheep are the major areas of activity. The high quality agricultural land, with access to good water supply, is suitable for more intensive agriculture and a number of alternative crops are being explored including peppermint, cut flowers and vegetable seed. Other emerging agricultural industries include grass seed production and a range of horticultural and viticultural activities. Rural Residential lots or ‘Hobby Farms’ are dispersed throughout the rural area. There are also extensive pine plantations that are generally located in the higher terrain.
The natural environment of the Shire has a significant influence on lifestyles. Approximately two thirds of the municipality is forested public land with a significant proportion being in National and State Parks.
The climate is temperate with a temperature range from an average winter minimum of 3 degrees Celsius to an average summer maximum of 30 degrees. Most of the larger streams are permanent and rainfall is within the 800-1500 mm average with most rain falling in the spring and winter.
The Murray River forms the northern and eastern boundaries of the municipality and the Mitta Mitta traverses the south-western side of the municipality. The entire municipality is within the catchment of either the Hume or Dartmouth Dams. The water in these storages forms a critical link in the water supply and irrigation network of southern Australia. It is also extensively used for recreation purposes such as boating and fishing.
Events within the municipality attract considerable numbers of visitors, such as the Man from Snowy River Bush Festival, Mighty Mitta Muster, the Tallangatta 50’s Festival, the Tallangatta Expo and the Nariel Creek Folk Festival.
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