King Valley

The King Valley is a wine-producing and agricultural region centred on the King River in north-eastern Victoria, Australia between Wangaratta and the Alpine National Park. There are a number of small towns within the region including Cheshunt, Whitfield, King Valley, Edi, Claremont, Moyhu, Byrne, Docker and Oxley.

The fertile valley area has been used since the 1880s to grow a variety of crops including hops and tobacco. A narrow-gauge railway was built between Wangaratta and Whitfield in 1889 and a government tobacco research farm was established in Edi and moved to Whitfield in 1902. Following the end of World War II, a large number of Italian, Yugolsav and Spanish migrants settled in the area and established tobacco farms. Following a decline in the tobacco industry in the late 70s, local farmers branched out into other crops such as chestnuts, hops and berries. In recent years, a number of vineyards have been established.

External links

* [http://web.archive.org/web/20040511090130/www.arts.monash.edu.au/ncas/multimedia/gazetteer/list/chesthunt.html Australian Places - Cheshunt] [http://web.archive.org/web/20040511075222/www.arts.monash.edu.au/ncas/multimedia/gazetteer/list/moyhu.html Moyhu] [http://web.archive.org/web/20040511082023/www.arts.monash.edu.au/ncas/multimedia/gazetteer/list/oxley.html Oxley] [http://web.archive.org/web/20040511091748/www.arts.monash.edu.au/ncas/multimedia/gazetteer/list/whitefield.html Whitfield]

* [http://whitfieldrail.netc.net.au/intro.html Wangaratta to Whitfield Railway]