Visitors to Carrathool Shire will find it hard to visualise what the area was like before the advent of irrigation.
First settled in the middle and late 1880’s by “squatters” (people who took up large tracts of land for grazing) the region was a sheep and wool growing area. Not until the late 1920’s did people settle smaller areas and begin wheat growing.
The Shire now has approximately 3.500 people settled in four villages and the town of Hillston in an area of almost 19,000 square kilometres.
Once dependent upon sheep and wool, the area has diversified over the years, especially with the advent of additional water. The locals say, “Just add water”.
Irrigation and reticulated water supply schemes produced a remarkable change and growth in an area with historic links to the first exploration of the lower Lachlan by Governor Macquarie in 1817. Amazing the impact of technology, considering the first explorers thought that man would never inhibit the area.
Once, the regular droughts made life almost unbearable, the area now has irrigated crops, gardens, greened sporting facilities and village verges. Over 1,500,000 hectares are now used in rural pursuits, including more than 60,000 hectares in wheat, rice, vineyards, cotton, potatoes, vegetables and orchard trees. More recent developments include walnuts, olives, cherries and mangos.
The use of underground water was first investigated in the 1950’s by Dr Sol Goldberg who owned a property near Hillston. Dr Goldberg sent his manager to Israel to investigate the use of underground water. Most of the agricultural development has been made possible by the widespread use of river and underground water.
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