RAINBOW, VICTORIA

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Like most towns in the area, Rainbow was practically uninhabitable before irrigation turned it into a prsperous farming area. The town serves a large area focused largely on farming although there are a number of stud farms in the district and a butter factory.
Location: 392 km north-west of Melbourne and 57 km north of Dimboola. Map
Origin of name: the town was named after an old property called 'Rainbow Rise' which, in turn, was named after a crescent-shaped ridge nearby upon which colourful wildflowers grew.
Brief history: once occupied by the Wotjobaluk people, the first land grant in the area was Halbacutya station, established by John Coppock in 1846. It stretched from Lake Hindmarsh to the northern end of Lake Albacutya. Bushranger 'Mad' Dan Morgan held up the station in 1868 after Coppock's death. Closer settlement of the area began when the property was subdivided in the late 1880s for agricultural development. A railhead was established in 1900, around which the township grew.
Natural features: Lake Hindmarsh (the largest freshwater lake in Victoria); Lake Albacutya; Wyperfeld National Park; Little Desert National Park; Ross Lake; Lake Hindmarsh; Lake Brambruk; Duck Swamp; Lake Coorong
Built features: Pella's St John's Lutheran Church (1911), erected by pioneering Lutherin families of German descent.
Heritage features: Yurunga Homestead (1910); Pasco's Cash Store (1928); Lake Hindmarsh historic fishermans hut; St John's Lutheran Church, Pella (1901)