Donald, Victoria

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Donald
Victoria

Main street passing through Donald

Population:

1,697 (2006) ^[1]

Location of Donald in Victoria (red)

Postcode:

3480

Elevation:

114 m (374 ft)

Location:

282 km (175 mi) from Melbourne
144 km (89 mi) from Bendigo
90 km (56 mi) from Horsham

LGA:

Shire of Buloke

State District:

Swan Hill

Federal Division:

Mallee

Mean Max Temp	Mean Min Temp	Rainfall
21.3 °C ^{70 °F}	8.8 °C ^{48 °F}	366.7 mm ^{14.4 in}

Donald is a town in Victoria, Australia, located on the Richardson River, at the junction of Sunraysia Highway and Borung Highway, in the Shire of Buloke. The town is named after William Donald a Scottish pastoralist who was the first settler in the area in 1844. At the 2006 census Donald had a population of 1,697.

The earliest township was known as Richardson Bridge until surveyed as Donald in 1866. The Donald Post Office opened on August 1, 1870 ^[2] replacing that of nearby Mount Jeffcott which had operated since 1860. The town grew steadily boosted by the closer settlement of the surrounding countryside and the arrival of the railway in 1882. ^[3]

The town hosts a Scottish Dancing Country Weekend in June, and a lawn tennis championship on Labour Day weekend. It also hosts a Baby Boomers festival annually, a town event that is held over three days. Donald has a hockey club called the Donald Hockey Club, and an Australian Rules Football club called the Donald Royal Blues.

Recently the township bid on one of three faux fish used in the 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth games ceremony, and was successful. Donald has a local newspaper called the Buloke Times which is published each Tuesday and Friday.

An attraction in the township is the Bullock's Head Tree, a tree which has a growth on it in the shape of a head of a bullock. Waterskiing and camping facilities are available at the nearby Lake Batyo Catyo.

On 26 September 2006, Donald was the scene of the Borung Highway collision, in which seven people died. [1]

[edit] References

^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (25 October 2007). Donald (State Suburb). 2006 Census QuickStats. Retrieved on 2007-10-01.
^ Premier Postal History, Post Office List, <https://www.premierpostal.com/cgi-bin/wsProd.sh/Viewpocdwrapper.p?SortBy=VIC&country=>. Retrieved on 11 April 2008
^ Donald the heart of Victoria, History of Donald, <http://www.donald.org.au/>. Retrieved on 30 May 2008

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