ŒThe Lowan or Mallee Fowl builds a mound of sand and debris in which its eggs are incubated.¹ a sculpture in front of the Nhill Shire Offices

Nhill
Important service centre in the heart of the Wimmera wheatbelt.
Nhill is a small town of some 2000 people on the Western Highway, 40 km west of Dimboola and 374 km north-west of Melbourne (halfway to Adelaide). It promotes itself as a centre of merino grazing although it is very much a part of the Wimmera wheatbelt. In fact the large grain silo in the centre of town is reputedly the largest single-bin silo in the Southern Hemisphere. There is also a poultry farm and a flour mill.

Nhill possesses a pleasant and attractive main street with an enormous median strip which has creatively been transformed into a lovely park. When full (which is not that often) Lake Nhill offers boating, birdlife and a boardwalk.

Squatters Dugald Macpherson and George Belcher were the first white men to venture into the immediate area at the very outset of 1845. They encountered a group of indigenous people camped by a swamp which was their spirit place and corroboree ground. The squatters understood the place to be called 'nhill', although the word probably reflected an identification between the swamp and the people - the sub-group Nyill of the Tyatyalla tribe. Macpherson thus established the 'Nhill' run and many others followed in his footsteps.

The transformation from grazing to wheat-growing occurred when selectors began to take up land from 1874. The Nhill townsite developed at the intersection of a number of squatters' tracks and by the swamp which was commonly used by travellers as a camping ground and rest area.

A mill was established in 1879 and a survey was conducted. The first hotel, a general store and drapery were constructed in 1880. A police report indicated 80-100 people at the townsite in July 1880 with another 450-600 people within a radius of about 7 km. 1881 saw the addition of a police station, post office, Wesleyan Church, some shops, two more hotels and a town well. The next few years saw rapid development with the addition of a bank, mechanics' institute, foundry, shire offices, the Nhill Free Press, a cordial factory, more churches and hotels, a state school, a land office, an hospital, an agricultural equipment manufactory, a courthouse, a brewery and many private residences. Rabbit plagues and wild dogs followed by wheat rust frustrated the efforts of many local pioneers in the 1880s, although Nhill benefited from the arrival of the railway in 1886.

A pub at Nhill covered with grapevines

An 1891 census recorded the town population at 1102. In 1892 Nhill became one of the first Victorian country towns to acquire electric street lighting. Vineyards, a butter factory and related creameries were established as a response to the economic depression and low wheat prices of the early 1890s. Drought also favoured the town in the 1890s and a major tornado destroyed much of Nhill in 1897. However, matters greatly improved after the turn of the century.

Noted Australian test cricketers J.W. Trumble and Hugh Trumble were local boys. Poet John Shaw Nielson and his family moved to a spot just west of Nhill in 1889. He and his father were employed in various guises and both had poems published in local newspapers during the early 1890s. The family moved briefly to Nhill itself before leaving the area in 1895, no more prosperous than when they arrived.

Things to see:  

Tourist Information and Goldsworthy Park
Nhill possesses a pleasant and attractive main street with an enormous median strip within which is Goldsworthy Park, a delightful spot with seats and well-maintained lawns, trees and bushes, electric barbecues, a playground and a memorial statue to the Clydesdale which did so much of the leg-work in rendering the Wimmera fit for agriculture. It is also home to the Nhill Information Centre, tel: (03) 5391 3086.

Historical Museum
Located in McPherson St, the museum has displays relating to local history. It is open Thursday mornings, every second Sunday and by appointment, tel: (03) 5391 3086.

The John Shaw Neilson National Memorial Cottage

John Shaw Neilson Cottage
The John Shaw Neilson National Memorial Cottage can be located by proceeding down the main street past the Wesley Hall and the Nhill Uniting Church to Shaw Neilson Park on the western side of town. The cottage comes from Penola in South Australia where Nielson was born in 1872. It contains documents connected to the life of the lyric poet. Owing to drought he moved with his family from Minimay (see entry on Goroke) to a spot just west of Nhill in 1889. He and his father worked at various jobs in the area and both published their poetry in local papers. Nielson left town in 1895.

Adjacent to the cottage is an old wheat wagon, formerly common throughout the area. A couple of kilometres out of Nhill, on the way to Kaniva, there is a roadside memorial indicating where the original Neilson cottage stood.

Craft Shop
Lowana Craft Shop sells local arts and crafts, as well as cakes, jams and all-sorts.

Post Office
One of the town's few remaining pre-1897 tornado survivors is the fine two-storey brick post office (1888) which features window arches and decorative woodwork within the gables.

Lake Nhill
Lake Nhill, adjacent the town, was originally part of Nhill Swamp. When full there is boating, a boardwalk and plenty of birdlife. However, a porous lake bed and unpredictable rains mean that it may be dry.

Tourist Walk
Hermans Hill Tourist Walk is located to the north-east of town. It offers a stroll through mallee scrub and heathland to a hill overlooking the surrounding district. There is a bird-hide and an information bay. The Nhill Information Centre can give you precise directional details.

Mallee Dam
There is another bird-hide at Mallee Dam which is located 13 km west of town. It is supposed to be signposted off the Western Highway but it may again be advisable to contact the Nhill Information Centre for precise details.

The Wimmera River in Little Desert National Park

Little Desert National Park
To the south of Nhill is Little Desert, 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. It is essentially divided into three sections. The road from Nhill south to Harrow divides the central and eastern sections of the park.

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. The eastern block is the most interesting and the only one with facilities. It has extensive heathlands with tea-trees, banksia and sheoak and many spring wildflowers. Stringybark is more common in the central section.

Wildlife includes possums, the black-faced kangaroo, the silky desert mouse, reptiles such as the bearded dragon and the short-tailed snake, and 220 bird species, including the mallee fowl which is indigenous to this semi-arid portion of Victoria. Its presence is signified by a mound up to five metres in diameter and one metre high.It lays its eggs inside the mound which is adjusted daily to maintain its temperature at 33 degrees Celsius. The chicks emerge already self-sufficient.

The Little Desert National Park

14 km east of Nhill on the Western Highway is Kiata. Turn right here onto the Kiata South Rd (bitumen). After 7 or 8 km there is a signposted turnoff onto a gravel road on the left which leads to Kiata Campground (fees apply) where there are shelter sheds, picnic areas, toilets, fireplaces, caravans, drinking water and family walks.

For devout and hardy bushwalkers the Kiata Campground is a good place to start exploring the Desert Discovery Walk (marked with signposts and track markers), at least in winter and spring. 84 km in all, it is essentially a circular track which heads east to the Horseshoe Campground on the Wimmera River (see entry on Dimboola). However, there are many ways to subdivide and shorten a prospective walk. You can obtain a related pamphlet outlining the track by ringing 131 963.

If you continue along the bitumen road, past the turnoff to the Kiata Campground, you will soon come to a signposted and very short side-road on the right that leads to the Sanctuary Nature Walk and Picnic Ground where there is drinking water, toilets and fireplaces.

Just west of Nhill there is a turnoff to the left onto the Harrow Rd which heads south to Winiam (9 km from Nhill). Just past Winiam there is a T-intersection. Turn left to stay on the Harrow Rd. A few more kilometres along, on the left-hand side of the road, is the starting point for the short Stringybark Walk which is an excellent spot to see wildflowers, particularly in spring and early summer.

The park also has numerous 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.

For further information on the far eastern section see the entry on Dimboola and, with regards to the western section, see the entry on Kaniva.

Little Desert Tours and Lodge
Little Desert Tours offer guided and educational 4WD tours into the park from the private accommodation centre known as Little Desert Lodge located 16 km south of Nhill on the Harrow Rd. They also have a Mallee fowl aviary and an environmental study centre. The Little Desert Wildflower Exhibition is held here each year in September-October, tel: (03) 5391 1714.

Big Desert Wilderness Park
Big Desert Wilderness Park is an arid area of sandstone ridges, sand dunes, mallee scrub and heath. The infertility of the terrain has ensured that it has not been substantially altered by Europeans. Nonetheless there is wildlife aplenty - lizards, snakes, birds, the pygmy possum, the hopping mouse and other small mammal species.

Access is by the Nhill-Murrayville Rd which runs parallel to, but 5 km east of, the park boundary. It is only suitable for two-wheel drives in dry weather (check road conditions before departing) and, as there is no vehicular access within the park, this is as close as you get. You will have to walk from the road through a strip of public land into Big Desert. Only experienced and entirely self-sufficient campers and walkers with a map and compass should try but, even then, there are times in summer when it is definitely too hot for walking.

There are no facilities of any kind within the park. However, there are two camping areas with washing water (not for drinking) on the Nhill-Murrayville Rd. The Broken Bucket Tank Reserve is 55 km north of Nhill and the Big Billy Bore is 107 km north. The former has pit toilets, an information shelter, picnic and barbecue facilities. For further information ring (03) 5395 7221.

	Motels
	Halfway Motel Western Hwy Nhill VIC 3418 Telephone: (03) 5391 1888 Rating: **
	Nhill Oasis Motel Dimboola Rd Nhill VIC 3418 Telephone: (03) 5391 1666 Rating: ***
	Wimmera Motel 103-105 Victoria St Nhill VIC 3418 Telephone: (03) 5391 1444 Rating: ***
	Zero Inn Motel 31 Nelson St Nhill VIC 3418 Telephone: (03) 5391 1622 Rating: ***
	Hotels
	Commercial Hotel 105 Nelson St Nhill VIC 3418 Telephone: (03) 5391 1500 Rating: *
	Farmers Arm Hotel 2 Victoria St Nhill VIC 3418 Telephone: (03) 5391 1955
	Union Hotel 41 Victoria St Nhill VIC 3418 Telephone: (03) 5391 1722 Rating: *
	Lodges & Chalets
	Little Desert Lodge Nhill-Harrow Rd Winiam Nhill VIC 3418 Telephone: (03) 5391 5232 or (02) 5391 1714
	Caravan Parks
	Little Desert Lodge Nhill-Harrow Rd Winiam Nhill VIC 3418 Telephone: (03) 5391 5232 Rating: **
	Nhill Caravan Park Western Highway Nhill VIC 3418 Telephone: (03) 5391 1683
	Restaurants
	Commercial Hotel 105 Nelson St Nhill VIC 3418 Telephone: (03) 5391 1500
	Halfway Motel Western Hwy Nhill VIC 3418 Telephone: (03) 5391 1888
	Little Desert Lodge Nhill-Harrow Rd Winiam Nhill VIC 3418 Telephone: (03) 5391 5232
	Nhill Oasis Motel Dimboola Rd Nhill VIC 3418 Telephone: (03) 5391 1666
	Union Hotel 41 Victoria St Nhill VIC 3418 Telephone: (03) 5391 1722
	Zero Inn Motel 31 Nelson St Nhill VIC 3418 Telephone: (03) 5391 1622