New Chaffey Trail website

Published on 28 March 2022

The new-look Chaffey Trail website is now live, highlighting Mildura's unique place in Australia's post-settlement history as the nation's first irrigation colony.

The new website at www.thechaffeytrail.com.au allows locals and visitors to follow the story of how Mildura became an irrigated oasis and the role the Chaffey brothers and the hard-working community played in this transformation.

It has a host of features including an interactive map, itineraries, virtual tours of major heritage sites and education resources for students of all ages.

Councillor for Economic Development Stefano de Pieri said the new website made it easy to discover heritage sites, view buildings of interest and learn about the events and people who created the unique Mildura area.

"The post-settlement story of our region is fascinating and deserves to be told and understood by as many people as possible," Cr de Pieri said.

"The new-look Chaffey Trail website is a great step forward from both an economic and tourism perspective, as it will help generate interest in our region’s past, encouraging even more people to visit our region.”

Chaffey Trail Incorporated Chair Mark Eckel, who is also Councillor for Recreation and Events, said the site featured an entire section dedicated to education resources and interactive activities for children, including teacher resources for children ranging from Prep through to Grades 5 and 6.

Cr Eckel said accompanying the new website was new and updated signage at 12 heritage sites across the Mildura region, enhancing the connection between the website and the sites themselves.

"This makes it easier than ever for people to identify points of interest on the website and then go exploring and visiting these sites, which will be clearly identified around our region," he said.

"It also means locals and visitors who come across these sites while out walking or running can easily identify them and learn about our region's past on the spot."

The new website has been a major collaborative project between Mildura Rural City Council and the Chaffey Trail Incorporated.

It was funded through the Public Record Office of Victoria's Local History Grants program.

For more information visit the Chaffey Trail website, contact the Mildura Visitor Information and Booking Centre on 5018 8380 or email [email protected]

ENDS