Shepparton is the fifth largest city in Victoria, Australia. The population of the municipality of City of Greater Shepparton in 2005 was estimated to be at 60,403 residents.The population of Shepparton-Mooroopna is estimated at 38,773.It is located approximately 200 km North-East of Melbourne.

It houses the central administration of the City of Greater Shepparton and is central to the Greater Shepparton urban area, which includes the surrounding suburbs/townships of Tatura, Merrigum, Mooroopna, Murchison, Dookie, Grahamvale and the Goulburn Valley.

History

The town developed adjacent to the Goulburn River, at a crossing point for miners travelling from the Bendigo goldfields to the new finds in the Beechworth area. As there was no bridge to link rich pastures on either sides of the Goulburn River, a punt was quickly established and the settlement became known as "McGuire's Punt".

The name Shepparton comes from a squatter called Sherbourne Sheppard who held the Tallygaroopna Station. From about 1855 it appears in various documents as a dual name "Shepparton or McGuire's Punt". The initial spelling was Sheppardtown or Sheppardton, before coming to its present spelling when the town was surveyed. A Post Office opened on 1 February 1854 and closed in July of that year, reopening on 1 May 1858.It is sometimes imagined the name is from Shepperton in England, but this is not the case.

The railway from Seymour reached the town in 1880,and the town was soon the hub of a number of branch lines, and rail served industries.

The Royal Australian Navy has a ship HMAS Shepparton named after the city, and the 8th/7th Battalion Royal Victoria Regiment has a base in the cites south-east.

Economy

Australia's largest processor of canned fruits, SPC Ardmona, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Coca-Cola Amatil, has production facilities in Shepparton, Mooroopna and nearby Kyabram. Seasonal fruits, such as peaches, pears and apricots, are preserved into a variety of packaging. A factory sales outlet where damaged goods can be purchased at discounted prices is also located in Mooroopna. Manufacturing industry has evolved to cater for the needs of local primary producers. Shepparton is a major centre for road transport and also has a variety of educational facilities.

Culture and leisure

Shepparton Cow Parade.The city is also notable for its Moooving Art project, which involves local artists painting fibreglass cows, which are then displayed in tourist locations throughout the city and surrounding townships. The project is an artistic representation of the strong dairy industry prevalent in the Shepparton area.

Kidstown, one of the largest outdoor playgrounds in Australia, is said to have over 200 children visiting each day. Located between Shepparton and Mooroopna, it has two giant slides, a 35 metre flying fox and a train that goes right around the playground. Entry is free (with the exception of the train ride). The playground and the on-site café which has a great variety of foods.

The city is home to a large swimming centre called Aquamoves, two performing arts centres, one in Mooroopna named WestSide, a fitting tribute to a musical theatre standard and Its geographical location and Eastbank in Shepparton which houses the centres' box office. Collectively the centres are called Riverlinks, which also incorporates the Shepparton Art Gallery.

Shepparton is also home to Shepparton Theatre Arts Group Inc. (STAG), the city's premier theatrical group. STAG was formed in 1975 after an amalgamation between the Shepparton Dramatic Society and the Shepparton Light Music Company. The group presents one dramatic/comedic play, one musical and one rock revue each year. Past Presidents of STAG have included Erna Werner, Rob Robson, Ric Birkett and Aaron-David Palmer.

Shepparton has a 24 hour integrated (staff and volunteers) fire brigade with the station being located in Maude Street in the CBD. Shepparton Fire Brigade is part of Country Fire Authority (CFA) Region 22 which has its administrative headquarters also in Shepparton located in the northern end of the city on Numurkah Road.

Education

Shepparton has numerous primary schools, such as state schools Bouchier Street Primary, Gowrie Street Primary, Guthrie Street Primary, St Georges Road Primary School, Grahamvale Primary, Kialla West Primary, Kialla Primary, Wilmot Road Primary, Shepparton East Primary and Orrvale Primary. Catholic primary schools include St. Brendan's, St. Mel's and St. Lukes. It also has a school catering for students with disabilities, called Verney Road School.

There are five secondary schools in the Shepparton Region, Mooroopna Secondary College, McGuire College, Shepparton High School and Wanganui Park Secondary College, as well as the Catholic Notre Dame College, Shepparton and the private school Goulburn Valley Grammar School.

The University of Melbourne's School of Rural Health and Rural Clinical School of the Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences are also based in Shepparton.

La Trobe University also has a campus, offering a range of degree programs, including Arts, Business/Commerce, Nursing and Education. Approximately 400 students attend the university which provides day, evening, part-time and full-time study options. A proposed new campus building is expected to be completed in 2010.

Goulburn Ovens Institute of TAFE has two campuses, one in Fryers Street which hosts the organisation's administration department as well as many teaching departments, and the William Orr Campus, a 120 hectare property in Wanganui Road.

Sports

Baseball

Baseball isn't as well known as other sports to the people of Shepparton. In 1997 the Goulburn Valley Baseball Association was formed due to the rising interest in the sport. There were only four teams when the association first started they were the Colts, Patriots, Benalla, Mooroopna and Broadford. Patriots had folded after the 2006 season. At he start of the 2008 season the GVBA was unable to fill in the required teams, this meant that Broadford went to the Melbourne associtation and the Colts went to the Bendigo Baseball Association. Mooroopna folded at the start of the 2008 season due to not having enough numbers to fill the required teams and Benalla have not folded but were unable to compete in the 2008 season.

Australian rules football

The town has a major football league, called the Goulburn Valley Football League (GVFL), which includes 3 teams from Shepparton. There are also other smaller leagues, such as the Murray Football League, Kyabram & District Football League and the Picola & District Football League which have teams from in and around Greater Shepparton. There is also a junior league in the schools (SDJFA). The city plays a major role in a team where the Australian Football League (AFL) frequently scouts for new talents to AFL clubs, which is the Murray Bushrangers.

Soccer

The North Eastern Soccer League hosts three clubs from Shepparton; Shepparton (formerly Lemnos), Shepparton South and Shepparton United. The three clubs field sides in men's, women's, boys' and girls' divisions.

The Shepparton Junior Soccer Association is a youth (under-6 to under-14s) league based around the local schools. There is a strong rivalry with the North Eastern Soccer League, in particular at country championships. SJSA won its first ever country championship in 2008 in Ballarat in its first attempt at the tournament.

Some high profile matches which includes the Round 21 2008 Victorian Premier League match between the AIS and the Preston Lions FC was played at Rumbalara Oval, Shepparton. This was designed to promote the competition and bring the top state league competition to new areas.

Basketball

The Shepparton Lady Gators represent the Shepparton and Mooroopna region in women's basketball playing in the Big V division two competition. The men's team has gone into recess after being one of the most successful country-based basketball teams in Australia, winning the CVIBL title in 1994 and the 2000, 2001 and 2003 Big V Championship ABA titles under the tutelage of Russell Parker.

Rugby union

Shepparton Rugby Union Club, nicknamed the Lakers, compete in the Victorian Rugby Union Country Division.

Cycling

The Goulburn Valley Hospice runs the annual Shepparton Fruit Loop Ride for cyclists. A velodrome is located in the city's north and there is an extensive range of bike paths throughout the city and surrounding areas.

Horseracing

Shepparton Harness Racing Club conducts regular meetings at its racetrack in the city.

Greyhounds

The Shepparton Greyhound Racing Club holds regular meetingsat its track on the Goulburn Valley Highway, Kialla.

Transport

Shepparton station and goods yardShepparton railway station is serviced by V/Line rail services on the Shepparton line to and from Melbourne, as well as coach services to Wangaratta, Bendigo and Griffith in New South Wales.

The city is located at the junction of the Midland Highway and the Goulburn Valley Highway, the latter which is being progressively converted to freeway standard.

A dedicated bus service to Shepparton from Melbourne Airport is also run twice daily passing through Seymour and Nagambie by Airport Direct.

Suburbs

Shepparton has three nearby towns which could be considered as suburbs. They are Mooroopna to the west, and Kialla to the south, and Shepparton East to the east. To the east on the way to the town of Dookie is the housing estate known as Dobson Estate, in the locality of Grahamvale.

Mooroopna

Mooroopna is the premier residential town to the west of Shepparton, on the opposite bank of the Goulburn River. Mooroopna is connected to the Shepparton by the Peter Ross-Edwards Causeway.

V/Line services originating from and returning to Shepparton stop at the Mooroopna railway station.

Kialla Lakes

A major housing estate, known as Kialla Lakes, is found in northern Kialla. Three man-made lakes provide scenery. Houses with lake frontage sell for a premium price. With the demand for land in the residential area growing rapidly, newly developed vacant blocks sell for little under AU$100,000.

Media

Newspapers

Newspapers in Shepparton include The Shepparton Adviser which is a family owned and operated independent newspaper and Shepparton's largest circulating established free newspaper. The Shepparton Adviser is delivered free to letterboxes every Wednesday throughout the Goulburn and Murray Valleys.Distribution includes delivery to 3000 farms via Australia Post.

Other newspapers include the daily Shepparton News, published by the McPherson Media group, which is sold for $1.10, $1.40 on Fridays (May 2006). The SN Weekly, which is a free newspaper that is delivered to house's letterboxes is also owned by the McPherson Media Group. The Country News, which is aimed at the farming community of the Shepparton area, is included in the Shepparton News on a Tuesday, as well as other newspapers in the Goulburn Valley, which are published by McPherson Media.