The main street of Kaniva with the Bakery in the foreground

Kaniva (including Miram)
Small service centre which promotes itself as 'Victoria's Premier Smaller Town'.
Kaniva announces itself as 'Victoria's Premier Smaller Town'. Small is correct. It is a wool-and-wheat service town of some 900 people located 18 km from the South Australian border, 414 km north-west of Melbourne and 80 km west of Dimboola on the Western Highway between Melbourne and Adelaide. The town also has a cement works. The main street is divided by a large central plantation and lined with old buildings and verandah-fronted pubs.

Squatter Heighway Jones of South Australia discovered the country around Kaniva in 1845. He claims to have had sheep grazing here by 1846 and the Tattyara run was gazetted in 1851. The homestead was only a few kilometres from the present townsite. Tattyara was named after the Tyatyalla Aborigines who inhabited the district.

The first township in the area was Lawloit which developed in the 1860s. The first selector arrived in 1875 and many others followed, particularly from 1879. They established wheat farms and 'mullenised' the land, which is to say it was cleared with a red-gum roller invented by a South Australian named Mullens. Three metres long and one metre in diameter it was hauled over the land by a team of 10 bullocks. This process squashed the mallee trees, after which the land was burnt then ploughed.

The township of Lillimur South developed in the late 1870s and was soon followed by Lillimur North. Another settlement, initially named 'Budjik', as it was situated on Budjik Hill, began to develop when a flour mill and grain shed was built there in 1881. The opening of a post office on the site in April 1882 saw the nascent town officially change its name to Kaniva. The word's origins are uncertain. It may derive from Kinnivie in Durham, England or from an Aboriginal word.

Several stores, two hotels, a mechanics institute, a school, a Wesleyan church and numerous businesses soon followed so that a thriving country town quickly developed while Lawloit and the two Lillimurs went into decline, much to the resentment of their inhabitants. Kaniva was gazetted in 1885 and benefited further from the arrival of the railway in 1886.

The town's most famous son was cartoonist, painter, illustrator and teacher Percy Leason who may have used Kaniva as the basis for his cartoon strip which took place in the mythical town of 'Wiregrass'. He died in the USA in 1959.

The Kaniva Lawn Tennis Tournament is held each year on the Australia Day weekend.

Things to see:  

Tourist Information
Local information is provided at Apricot House, located adjacent the roundabout in the middle of town, tel: (03) 5392 2418. It is open from 9.00am - 5.00pm Monday to Thursday and 9.00am - 8.00pm Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Alternatively you can try the Kaniva Council offices at 25 Baker St, tel: (03) 5392 2260.

The Kaniva Historical Society Building

Kaniva Museum
The Kaniva Local History Museum is located at 111 Commercial St (the Western Highway), on the eastern side of town. It contains material relating to colonial European and Aboriginal history. The horse trough was donated by Annis and George Bills. The story (according to folklore) is that the Bills bequeathed something like 70 000 horse troughs. The result is that they were used all over Australia. The museum is open by appointment only, tel: (03) 5392 2613 or (03) 5392 2734.

Fauna Park
Just west of the roundabout on the Western Highway (towards Adelaide) there is a fauna reserve to the left where there are some electric barbecues and some emus and kangaroos in an enclosure.

Billy Ho Bushwalk
If, at the roundabout, you turn south into Madden St (towards Lillimur South) and continue on for about 5 km there is a signposted turnoff on the right to Billy Ho Reserve where there is a self-guided and signposted bushwalk (3 km return). Numbered pegs enable the identification of various species of desert flora such as scarlet bottlebrush, Mallee honey, flame heath, myrtle and desert banksias. Orchids are in flower from April to December (the relevant brochure is available from the information centre).

Mooree Reserve
Mooree Reserve is a picturesque picnic area situated around dark green lagoons and shaded by huge red gums. A range of wildlife inhabits the reserve. In the 19th century, locals carted water from the lagoons to the early township of Lillimur South. A number of canoe trees indicate that the water supply was also appreciated by Aborigines. To get there head west from Kaniva along the Western Highway. After 10 km you will come to Lillimur. Just west of Lillimur the Leeor Rd heads off to the left and it will lead you to the reserve.

Little Desert National Park
Kaniva calls itself the 'Wildflower Capital of the Little Desert'. This refers to its proximity to the Little Desert National Park which is noted for its sandy ridges and springtime wildflower displays. It is the second-largest national park in Victoria. This area was ignored during the European settlement of the Wimmera. The first reserve was created in 1955 to protect the mallee fowl and the park was declared in 1968.

Despite its name, the dry hot summers and sandy soil, this is not a true desert so don't expect Sahara-like landscapes. The park receives 400 mm of rainfall per annum (mostly in winter) and supports a range of fauna and 670 plant species. With its scrubby woodland of yellow and red gum, as well as swamps and clay flats of bull-oak and melaleuca, it represents a remnant of the Wimmera's pre-colonial vegetation.

The park is essentially divided into three sections.The road to Goroke and Edenhope, which heads south off the highway just east of Kaniva, divides the western and middle sections of the park. Any exploration off this road will require a 4WD. Just east of the road is Broughton's Water Hole which features rare orchids and an abundance of native wildflowers in spring. If you wish to explore the many 4WD tracks contact a ranger for advice on routes and camping areas as some tracks are closed at certain times of the year, tel: (03) 5389 1204.

Also to the east of this road is the School Bush Walk (one hour). However, the track that leads to the walk is not signposted, it is 4WD-only, and the walk itself is now quite old and may not be in good shape.

Little Desert Tours offer accommodation and guided and educational 4WD tours into the park from Little Desert Lodge south of Nhill (see entry on Nhill), tel: (03) 5391 1714.

Miram
Miram, 11 km north-east, developed when the railway line went through. One of the town's early buildings, Wheaton's General Store (c.1888) is still in operation.

	Motels
	Kaniva Colonial Motor Inn 134 Commercial St Kaniva VIC 3419 Telephone: (03) 5392 2730 Rating: ***
	Kaniva Midway Motel 14 Commercial St Kaniva VIC 3419 Telephone: (03) 5392 2515 Rating: **
	Hotels
	Commercial Hotel Commercial St Kaniva VIC 3419 Telephone: (03) 5392 2230
	Bed & Breakfast/Guesthouses
	Parlawidgee Guesthouse Edenhope Rd P.O. Box 104 Kaniva VIC 3419 Telephone: (03) 5392 2613 Rating: ***
	Caravan Parks
	Kaniva Caravan Park Baker St Kaniva VIC 3419 Telephone: (03) 5392 2418
	Restaurants
	Apricot House Windmill Cnr Kaniva VIC 3419 Telephone: (03) 5392 2418
	Club Hotel Commercial St Kaniva VIC 3419 Telephone: (03) 5392 2280
	Commercial Hotel Commercial St Kaniva VIC 3419 Telephone: (03) 5392 2230
	Fig Jam Cafe 51-53 Commercial St Kaniva VIC 3419 Telephone: (03) 5392 2285
	Kaniva Midway Motel 14 Commercial St Kaniva VIC 3419 Telephone: (03) 5392 2515