Murrayville

The town of Murrayville, with a population of about 350, is situated on the Mallee Highway 22 kilometers from the South Australian Border and 20 kilometers from the Kow Plains Homestead. To the north of the town is the Murray Sunset National park and to the South the Big Desert State park; Murrayville is an ideal place to stay and explore the wonders of the Mallee. July to early November is the best time to view the many wild flowers that can be seen along the Mallee Highway and side roads.

Settlement of the Murrayville District began from the South Australian border in 1908 and the eastern side in 1911. In an area of low rainfall Murrayville is fortunate in having good underground water. The district has always been predominately a grain growing and sheep area but recent years have seen farming enterprises such as olives, goats, permaculture and potatoes become part of the rural scene.

The first town blocks were auctioned at No1 Bore, Panitya on the 6th June 1910 and the development of the town began soon after.

Murrayville relies on its rural sector but tourism is becoming more important as four wheel drivers, naturalists and visitors discover what the Mallee has to offer.

Large fires raged through 180,000 hectares of the Big Desert before Christmas 2002, many of the favourite spots were burnt. Heavy rains of over 2 inches fell on the 20th February 2003, but because of two dry seasons, the re-growth was  slow. Never the less there was a good display of wildflowers during September 2005 .

The wildflowers were very good in 2007 and again in 2010, but there were very few orchids

Community Services

• Murrayville Community College: Prep to Year 12
• Murrayville  Preschool Centre
• Murrayville Bush Nursing Centre District Nurse on call
• Nurse Practitioner visits 2 days a week
• Murrayville Neighborhood House.
• Murrayville Pioneer Park, Play Ground and Barbecue
• Lions Park, Picnic area and Information boards.
• Solar heated swimming pool- open November to March

Local Businesses

• Friendly Grocer Supermarket (EFTPOS) , Post office,CBA & Bendigo Bank agencies
• Chemist
• Pat’s Shop-Gift-ware & Craft Supplies
• Cobb & Co Takeaway
• A&J Super Services. Mechanical repairs & services
• Stuff & Nonsence

Emergency Services

• Police; Ambulance; Fire Brigade; SES

Accommodation

• Murrayville Mallee Fowl Hotel Motel (03) 5095 2120
• Murrayville Caravan Park powered sites, on site cabins, excellent facilities
• Camping sites in Big Desert & Sunset Country
• Jacob’s Well Retreat & Conference Centre; Back packer accommodation

Recreation & Sporting Clubs

• Basketball; Football; Netball; Cricket;  Tennis; Bowls; Swimming; Golf

Clubs & Associations

• Day Care meet each Tuesday at Mallee Track Health & Community Services
• CWA at Cowangie, meetings 1st Wed of the month at Cowangie Fire Station
• Senior Citizens meet each Friday at Senior Citizens Building

Town Attractions

Take the Murrayville Historic Walk around the town and admire the old shop fronts. View the window in what was Nana’s Deli and the display of antiques from the Murrayville Museum.  Interpretive signs have been erected where shops and halls once stood and where commemorative trees were planted in honour of the men from the district who served in the 1914-18 War.

The Murrayville Museum established 2004 is housed in the old Buffalo Lodge Building at the corner of Gray Street & Sharrock Street. The museum houses a collection of items which give a picture of the development of the district.

Murrayville Museum

Contact Numbers are on door.

Pine Hill Walk Collect a leaflet on Pine Hill Walk and the Flora Reserve from the box  in Lions Parkt and if time permits take a leisurely walk.

The following is a list of plants that can be found on the walk

Pine Hill Walk

Mulga Acacia brachybotrya	Hakea Wattle Acacia hakeoides
Small Cooba Acacia ligulata	Umbrella Wattle Acacia Osswaldii
Hard-leaf Wattle Acacia sclerophylla	Bladder Salt bush Atriplex vesicara
Turpentine Bush Beyeria lechenaultii	Sweet Appleberry Billardiera cymosa
Variable Daisy Brachyscome ciliaris	Scrub Cypress Pine Callitris preissi
Desert Cassia Cassia nemophila	Dodder Cassytha melantha
Small-leaf Clematis Clematis microphylla	Common Billy-button Craspedia glauca
Black Anther Lily Dianella revoluta	Desert Hop Dodonaea stenozya
Narrow Leaf Hop Dodonaea viscosa	Ruby Salt Bush Enchylaena tomentosa
Common Emu Bush Eremophila glabra	Dumosa Mallee Eucalyptus dumosa
White Mallee Eucalyptus gracilis	Slender Leaf Mallee Eucalyptus foecunda
Satin Everlasting Helichrysum leucapsidum	Creamy Honey Myrtle Melaleuca acuminata
Moonah Melaleua lanceolata	Showy Daisy Bush Olearia pimeloides
Mueller Daisy Bush Olearia mueller	Weeping Pittosporum Pittosporum phylliraeoides
Podolepis Podolepis	Rabbit Tails Psilotus seminudus
Midget Greenhood Pterostylis mutica	Prickly Salt Bush Salsola kali
Sweet Quandong Santalum acuminata	Camel Bush Teucrium sessiliflorum
Scented Sun-orchid Thelymitra nuda	Common Sunray Triptilodiscus pygmaeus
Wooly New Holland Daisy Vittadinia cuneata	StiffWestringia Westringia rigida
Early Nancy Wurmbea dioica	Shrubby Twin-leaf Zygophyllum aurantiacum
Pale Twin-leaf Zygophyllum glaucum

Photos

Desert cassia, Early Nancy, Sweet Appleberry, Podoleps

 

Pine Hill Walk – Birds

The following is a list of Birds that have been observed between 1998 and 2002 by Raymond Brereton and Rodney Thurlow. Most of these bird can be observed throughout the Mallee, along roadsides and in gardens and bush land.

 

Babbler-White browed	Bee-eater
Budgerigar	Butcherbird-Grey
Chough – White winged	Cockatoo-Pink
Cockatiel	Cuckoo Shrike-blackfaced
Currawong-Grey	Dove-Peaceful
Falcon-Brown	Fantail- Grey
Frogmouth – Tawny	Galah
Goshawk – Brown	Lorikeet – Purple crowned
Honeyeater – New Holland	Honeyeater – Spiny Cheeked
Honeyeater- Yellow plumed	Kestrel-Australian
Magpie Australian	Magpie Lark
Martin – Tree	Miner – Noisy
Nightjar – Australian Owlet	Owl – Barn
Owl – Boobook	Parrot- Blue Bonnet
Parrot- Mallee Ringneck	Parrot -Mulga
Parrot – Red-rumped	Parrot-Regent
Pigeon -Common Bonzewing	Pigeon- Crested
Robin – Hooded	Robin – Red capped
Swallow – Welcome	Sparrowhawk – Collared
Thrush -Grey Shrike	Tree Creeper – Brown
Wagtail – Willy	Wattlebird – Red
Whistler -Golden	Whistler – Rufous
Woodswallow – Dusky	Woodswallow Masked
Woodswallow – Whitebrowed	Wren -Fairy Splendid
Wren -Fairy Variegated	Kite- black shouldered
Jacky winter

 

Flora Reserve

(situated at the west end of town)

Approximately 70 species of plants have been identified in this area. The following are an example of ones flowering in the Spring .

A controlled burn was carried out at this reserve in May 2010

Flower photos

A large information board at Lions park shows maps and places of interest around the district

Information boards in the Gazebo opposite the Take Away on the Highway tell of the history of the town and show pictures of the Flora & Fauna of the Big Desert and list plants that can be seen on the Pine Hill Walk and in the Flora Reserve.