Dimboola and Jeparit

Visit www.dimboola.com.au to learn more about Dimboola.

Dimboola and its sister city Jeparit, and their surrounding districts, are the main towns from which our students come. They are both in Hindmarsh Shire. Their site has further information on the area.

Where to find them...

What's there?

Dimboola is situated on the banks of the Wimmera River. Jeparit is about 30 km downstream near the shores of Lake Hindmarsh. Before the European settlers arrived, the area around Dimboola and Jeparit was inhabited by the Wotjobaluk aborigines.

Dimboola

Established in 1859 and originally known as Nine Creeks, Dimboola is named after a place in Sri Lanka, 'Dimbula', which means 'land of figs'.

Click on the adjacent icon to see a larger map of Dimboola.

The present population is around 1500 and the district is serviced by a very wide variety of small businesses. The major employers are:

There is a branch of the Wimmera Regional Library based in the old shire hall. The town also has a wide variety of sporting, social and service clubs which will cater for most interests. A more detailed listing of Dimboola's attractions is here.

One of the major sporting attractions is the annual rowing regatta, held in November. For a commentary on its social attractions try here. To find out the dates then look at the Mercantile Rowing Club site.

Bushwalking, particularly in the nearby Grampians, is a popular pastime. Wimmera Bushwalkers are based in Horsham and organise walks regularly.

Accommodation in Dimboola is available at the following places:

Further information can be found at Travel Assistant.

The major attractions around Dimboola are:

• Little Desert National Park
• Ebenezer Mission

Little Desert National Park

The main attraction around Dimboola would be the Little Desert National Park. One of Victoria's largest with an area of 132 000 hectares, the Park extends 100 km westward from Dimboola to the South Australian border.

With over 670 species of native plants and more than 220 species of bird, including the beautiful and intriguing malleefowl, it's hardly a desert. A careful walk along the Park's many tracks will also show a rich diversity of reptiles, marsupials and other native fauna.

At the moment, only the eastern block of the Park has facilities for walkers. There are three self-guiding walks (see the map for locations):

1. Sanctuary Nature Walk south of Kiata;
2. Stringybark Walk south of Nhill; and
3. Pomponderoo Hill south of Dimboola.

Four-wheel drive tracks also criss-cross the Park (with a closed season in Winter).

The best time to visit the park is in Spring - the magnificent wildflower displays will make the trip well worthwhile.

For further information contact the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources:

Ebenezer Mission

The Mission was officially commenced on 2 May, 1859 by Friedrich Spieseke and Friedrich Hagenaur who were Morovian missionaries. They established the mission on land donated to them by Horatio Ellerman at Antwerp, 18 km North of Dimboola. Their main aim was to Christianise the aborigines, although they also had a philanthropic approach towards them. They quickly established a school so that the Aborigines could learn English. As a mission, it only had limited success. It closed down in 1902. Visitors can now see the ruins of the homestead, church and cemetery. Return to 'Dimboola'

Lake Hindmarsh from space

The following picture comes from NASA. It shows the Lake Hindmarsh area in March 1994. Lake Hindmarsh is in the centre of the picture and Lake Albacutya is at the top. Wyperfeld National Park and the Big Desert is the dark area at the top left. For full details, including a high resolution picture, click here. In 2001 Lake Hindmarsh was dry after we've had a series of droughts.

 

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