ON THIS DAY

From The Weekly Advertiser archives: January 16, 2003 –

Meeting Dr John Powell, manager of the Wimmera-mallee pipeline project, is like meeting an old friend. Having lived in Victoria for 40 years before work took him elsewhere, most recently to Queensland, gives Dr Powell an edge on settling into his new community. He will face many challenges in the next 18 months, with perhaps the most significant being listening to the community. “This is a community-driven project and the end result will be something that works for the region as a whole,” Dr Powell said. “It must benefit the Wimmera-mallee community in the long term. And by long-term I mean the next 100 years.”

10 years ago: January 15, 2014

A name change, an increase in student enrolment and an investigation into delivering tertiary agricultural courses make for exciting times at Federation University Australia’s Wimmera campus. Federation University Australia became official on January 1, following the merger of the University of Ballarat with Monash Universities’ Gippsland campus. As first round offers for placements are made public, Federation University head of Wimmera campus Geoff Lord is expecting a nearly 25 percent increase in higher education students.

Five years ago: January 23, 2019

Wimmera Catchment Management Authority chief executive David Brennan says it is inevitable, in a drier and hotter future, that sections of the Wimmera River system would come under serious stress. Mr Brennan was responding to questions about whether the Wimmera River system was at risk of similar conditions that led to a mass algal bloom and dramatic fish kill on the Darling River.

One year ago: January 11, 2023

Abundant water and a summer of COVID-19 restrictions have combined forces to energise Wimmera and southern Mallee tourism, as visitors revel at the region’s natural attractions. Months after heavy spring rain and the gradual easing of COVID-19 restrictions, new anecdotal and recorded data continues to demonstrate a crucial economic link between water and tourism in the region. Gwmwater reports significant tourist-attracting storages including Lake Bellfield, at 99 percent full, Taylors Lake, 96 percent, and Lake Lonsdale, 103 percent.