Shepparton

Shepparton is a regional city in northern Victoria, Australia, on the floodplain of the Goulburn River. It is the center of the Goulburn Valley irrigation district, whose orchards supply much of the country's canned fruit.

The Yorta Yorta people call the place Kanny-goopna, after the deep waterholes where people camped, and the country of their Kailtheban clan covers the town site. In 1838 the overlanders Joseph Hawdon and Charles Bonney stopped at the river crossing with a herd bound for Adelaide, and the sheep run of Sherbourne Sheppard later gave the town its name. Patrick Macguire set up a punt across the Goulburn and built the first building of the settlement, the punt house. Irrigation channels dug from the late 19th century turned the dry plains into orchards and dairy farms.

SPC, the fruit processing company of the valley, cans peaches, pears and tomatoes at its plant in Shepparton. Dairy farms around the city send their milk to local factories that make cheese and milk powder.

The Shepparton Art Museum, in a building beside Victoria Park Lake, holds a large collection of Australian ceramics. Moooving Art, a public art project of painted life-size fibreglass cows, places colorful cows on the streets and parks of the city. Kidstown, an adventure playground beside the river, has a miniature railway and play towers. The Goulburn River and Broken River flow through red gum forests at the edge of the city, where fishermen catch Murray cod.