North Central Victoria

North Central Victoria is a rural region in the Australian state of Victoria. The region lies to the south of the Victorian/New South Wales border as defined by the Murray River, to the southwest of the Hume region, to the west of the Great Dividing Range contained within the Central Highlands and Victorian Alps, to the north of Greater Melbourne, to the northeast of the Wimmera, and to the east of the Mallee region.

Towns in this region include Bendigo, Echuca, Swan Hill, and Castlemaine. North Central Victoria is known for its historical significance, as well as its contributions to agriculture, tourism, and industry within the state. It's also an important electoral region in Victorian politics.

As at the 2016 Australian census, the North Central region had a population of 249,660, representing the aggregate population of the eight local government areas that comprise the region.

Location
Sustainability Victoria, a Victorian Government agency, defines North Central Victoria as the municipalities of Buloke, Gannawarra, Loddon, Campaspe, Central Goldfields, Mount Alexander, Macedon Ranges and the City of Greater Bendigo. A climate change study by La Trobe University also includes the Shire of Hepburn within the region.

The major urban centres are Bendigo, Castlemaine, Maryborough and Rochester. Smaller localities include Kyneton, Pyramid Hill, Kerang, Donald and Creswick. In 2002 the estimated population of North Central Victoria was 200,000.

Political representation
For the purposes of Australian federal elections for the House of Representatives, the North Central region is contained within the Division of Bendigo, a southwestern portion of the Division of McEwen, the westernmost portion of the Division of Murray, the northeasternmost portion of the Division of Mallee, and the northeasternmost portion of the Division of Wannon,

For the purposes of Victorian elections for the Legislative Assembly, the North Central region is contained within the electoral districts of Bendigo East, Bendigo West, Macedon, Murray Plains and Ripon.

Local government areas
For administration purposes the region is divided into eight local government areas:

Environmental protection
The North Central region contains the Greater Bendigo National Park, Gunbower National Park, Heathcote-Graytown National Park, and the Terrick Terrick National Park.

Climate
The climate is moderate with wet winters and warm, dry summers. Annual rainfall ranges from 350 mm near Swan Hill in the north, to over 1200 mm in the far southeast.

Temperatures are warm in summer, typically ranging from a maximum of 31 C to a minimum of 14 C in Kerang in the northwest and from 27 C to 11 C in the south. Winters are cool with minimum temperatures of 2 - 4 C across the region.

Natural resources
Natural resource management is administered by the North Central Catchment Management Authority covering 30000 km bounded by the Great Dividing Range, the Mount Carmel Ranges to the east and the New South Wales border to the north. This includes the management of rural water allocations and environmental protection for the Avon-Richardson, Avoca, Campaspe and Loddon rivers.

Regional water consumption for irrigation, stock and domestic use greatly exceeds local supply. Irrigation consumes an average 1.4 GL per annum, while domestic use consumes around 40000 ML per annum. More than 75% of regional water needs are met from water imports from the Goulburn Valley and upper Murray River catchments to the north and west.

An extensive network of natural lakes includes Lake Buloke (the terminus for the Avon-Richardson River), Lake Batyo Catyo near the town of Donald, and a northern network comprising Lakes Boort, Merna, Kangaroo, Charm, Lalbert and Boga. Groundwater beneath this northern lakes network supplies approximately 80% of Australia's mineral springs, supplying the bulk of domestically produced mineral water and providing substantial local employment.

Land use
The predominant land use is agriculture, including sheep and cattle grazing and the production of cereals, grains and legumes. The gross value of agricultural output exceeds $0.8 billion a year. Forestry is also a major employer in the area surrounding the former gold rush towns of Creswick and Daylesford, with a substantial output of  firewood, furniture timber and Eucalyptus oil.

Approximately 13% of the North Central catchment is public land, comprising flora reserves and state and national parks.