The Ranch Billabong just out of town received another top up last week, refreshing the quality of water in the important wetland.

This site is owned by Barengi Gadjin Land Council (BGLC) on behalf of Traditional Owners. The water was pumped across from the Wimmera River, in partnership with the Wimmera CMA and the Victorian Environmental Water Holder.

BGLC acknowledged the work of the Wimmera CMA’s Aboriginal Water Officer Ben Muir in coordinating this top-up.

This billabong has seen much improvement over recent years. December 2018 saw water return to the billabong and this event was marked with an event at the site attended by around 50 people .

Stuart Harradine said at the time that water plays an important role in restoring native plant and animal habitats at the site.

“Restoration of the billabong has been something our community has been keen to see for many years.”
The Ranch Billabong area has been home to many generations of Wotjobaluk people, long before European settlement and increasingly after Ebenezer Mission at Antwerp closed. The cultural connection to the site remains and the land was sold to Barengi Gadjin Land Council in 2005.