Red Cliffs, Victoria
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2014}}
{{Use Australian English|date=September 2014}}
{{Infobox Australian place
| type = suburb
| name = Red Cliffs
| state = vic
| image = RedCliffsPostOffice.JPG
| caption = Post office
| image_alt =
| coordinates = {{coord|34|18|27|S|142|11|17|E|display=inline,title}}
| use_lga_map = yes
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| pop = 6138
| pop_year = {{CensusAU|2021}}
| poprank =
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| established =
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| postcode = 3496
| elevation =
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| dist1 = 544
| dir1 =
| location1 = Melbourne
| dist2 = 16
| dir2 =
| location2 = Mildura
| dist3 = 86
| dir3 =
| location3 = Ouyen
| dist4 = 387
| dir4 =
| location4 = Bendigo{{Cite web |url=http://www.travelmate.com.au/MapMaker/MapMaker.asp |title=Travelmate |access-date=20 June 2008 |archive-date=1 May 2001 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010501043134/http://www.travelmate.com.au/MapMaker/MapMaker.asp |url-status=dead }}
| lga = Rural City of Mildura
| region = Sunraysia
| county =
| stategov = Mildura
| fedgov = Mallee
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| near-n = New South Wales
| near-ne = New South Wales
| near-e = New South Wales
| near-se = Iraak
| near-s = Carwarp
| near-sw = Koorlong
| near-w = Cardross
| near-nw = Irymple
| footnotes =
}}
Red Cliffs is a town in Victoria, Australia in the Sunraysia region. It is located on the Calder Highway, 16 km south of Mildura and 544 km north-west of Melbourne.
At the {{CensusAU|2016}}, Red Cliffs had a population of 5,060. The main industry is the growing of grapes and citrus. Red Cliffs takes its name from the 70 m cliffs 4.5 km east of the town that have a red/orange colour.
History
Following the First World War, over 700 soldiers settled in the town, and began work on establishing the vineyards which would become the town's chief industry. The post office opened on 4 August 1920.{{Cite web
| last = Phoenix Auctions History
| title = Post Office List
| url = http://www.phoenixauctions.com.au/cgi-bin/wsPhoenix.sh/Viewpocdwrapper.p?SortBy=VIC&filter=*Red*Cliffs*
| access-date = 16 February 2021}}
The town and surrounding irrigation district was officially opened in 1921, and had its centenary celebration over the Melbourne Cup weekend in 2021.{{cite web |title=Red Cliffs Centenary 2021 |url=https://www.facebook.com/redcliffscentenary/ |website=www.facebook.com |language=en}}
The Red Cliffs Magistrates' Court closed on 1 January 1990.{{cite web | url=https://www.parliament.vic.gov.au/images/stories/committees/lawrefrom/legal_services/final_report.pdf | title=Review of Legal Services in Rural and Regional Victoria | publisher=Parliament of Victoria Law Reform Committee | date=May 2001 | access-date=12 April 2020 |pages=291–292}}
In April 2022 Red Cliffs celebrated its centenary, postponed from November 2021 due to the pandemic.[https://www.redcliffscentenary.com.au It's time to celebrate] Red Cliffs Centenary
Culture
=Schools=
Red Cliffs has three primary schools, Red Cliffs Primary School, Red Cliffs East Primary School and St. Joseph's Primary School and one secondary school, Red Cliffs Secondary College.
=Sport=
The town has an Australian rules football team competing in the Sunraysia Football League.{{Cite web |last=Full Points Footy |title=Sunraysia Football League |url=http://www.fullpointsfooty.net//sunraysia_football_league.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080502221324/http://www.fullpointsfooty.net/sunraysia_football_league.htm |url-status=usurped |archive-date=2 May 2008 |access-date=15 April 2009 |work=FullPointsFooty.net}}
Golfers play at the course of the Red Cliffs Golf Club on 22nd Street.{{Cite web |author=Golf Select |title=Red Cliffs |url=http://www.golfselect.com.au/armchair/courseView.aspx?course_id=1075 |access-date=11 May 2009 |work=GolfSelect.com.au}}
The town also has its own cricket association, the RCCA. The association has 2 grades and includes teams from the Sunraysia, Millewa and central Mallee areas.
=Big Lizzie=
File:Big Lizzie Red Cliffs Victoria.jpg
Red Cliffs features a permanent public exhibit called Big Lizzie, a large tractor. Frank Bottrill was the designer, builder and operator of "Big Lizzie". One of its features was the use of the Bottrill Dreadnaught wheel which he designed, and which he also fitted to other machines. Bottrill was inspired by his experiences in the 1800s witnessing the suffering of camels carrying heavy loads. The wheel was designed to work in sandy soils. The design was effective but was later superseded by the caterpillar track. When it was built, "Big Lizzie" was the biggest tractor in Australia, and thought to be the biggest in the world, at {{convert|34|ft|m}} high by {{convert|18|ft|m}} wide, and weighing 45 tons. It had two trailers also fitted with Bottrill wheels.{{cite web |url=http://www.abc.net.au/landline/stories/s169758.htm |title=Legendary tractor lives large in local folklore |access-date=30 April 2009 |last=Henschke |first=Ian |date=3 September 2000 |work=Landline
|publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation}}{{cite web |url=http://www.abc.net.au/dimensions/dimensions_in_time/Transcripts/s870182.htm |title=Big Lizzie |access-date=30 April 2009 |date=2 June 2003 |work=George Negus Tonight |publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation}}{{cite web |url=http://www.4wdonline.com/ClassicTrucks/BigLizzie.html |title=Big Lizzie |access-date=30 April 2009 |year=2008 |publisher=4WDonline.com |archive-date=23 September 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170923144546/http://www.4wdonline.com/ClassicTrucks/BigLizzie.html |url-status=dead }}
The tractor received an Engineering Heritage Marker from Engineers Australia as part of its Engineering Heritage Recognition Program.{{cite web
| url=https://portal.engineersaustralia.org.au/heritage/big-lizzie-1916
| title=Big Lizzie - 1916-
| publisher=Engineers Australia
| access-date=2020-04-27
}}
The machine was purchased for the town by the Big Lizzie Preservation Committee with help from Red Cliff's service clubs, transported from Glendenning Station (near Balmoral Village), and brought to an operating condition in time for the town's golden jubilee in October 1971.{{cite book|author=Ron Maslin|title=Big Lizzie: The story of a man and a machine |publisher=The Sunnyland Press, Red Cliffs, Victoria |page=80 |year=1982 |isbn=0959290311 |others=Foreword by Ern Wolfe}}
=Lunarfest=
The Red Cliffs Lunarfest was held every March to celebrate the end of the grape harvest. The event included a street parade, musical performances, street market, bicycle race and an evening outdoor film screening.{{Cite web |author=Mildura Rural City Council |title=Events 2011 |url=http://www.mildura.vic.gov.au/page/page.asp?Page_Id=3103&h=0 |access-date=3 October 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110218011618/http://www.mildura.vic.gov.au/Page/page.asp?Page_Id=3103&h=0 |archive-date=18 February 2011 |df=dmy-all }} It was organised by the Red Cliffs Rotary Club.
See also
References
{{Reflist|30em}}
External links
{{Commons category-inline}}
- [http://www.slv.vic.gov.au/miscpics/0/1/1/doc/mp011458.shtml Big Lizzie trailer] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110612131417/http://www.slv.vic.gov.au/miscpics/0/1/1/doc/mp011458.shtml |date=12 June 2011 }} with a load of two steam engines, State Library of Victoria
{{Towns in the Rural City of Mildura}}
{{authority control}}
Category:Towns in Victoria (state)
Category:Wine regions of Victoria (state)