Cullulleraine in the Mallee between Mildura and Renmark

Culleraine (Victoria). Great little oasis between Mildura and Renmark

On the Sturt Highway between Renmark/Paringa and Mildura you'll pass through Lake Cullulleraine. Although a small town with minimal services there is a great lakeside Caravan Park and rest stop.

You can also drive to Lock 9 with access via Lake Cullulleraine. This is approximately 15km of dirt road. If you're driving through make a little detour down the picnic area of the lake and you'll be surprised a bit of a haven in what seems like a harsh, semi-arid landscape.

From around 1923, the lake was a dry natural depression, only filled when the Murray River was in very high flood.

A.G. Lawson was sent by S.R. & W.S.C. to survey and open up the Millewa via a channel to each farm. The water was pumped from the Murray River, above Lock 9, through a wide channel into the natural lake and then through a channel scheme embracing about 1600 kilometres of ditching. These channels operated until 1974, when the electric pumps and the pipeline were switched on.

Over 500 men were employed on the construction of these channels and the main pumping station, and they and their families lived at Lake Cullulleraine where several stores and a Post Office opened. A school building was erected by the S.R. & W.S.C. in 1924.

Today Cullulleraine is a small, but thriving community, supporting a beautiful freshwater lake, two caravan parks along its foreshore, and a wide range of water activities. The lake also features a well marked Walking Trail, that is approximately 10.4 kilometres around its perimeter. A large Sporting Complex, football grounds and tennis courts are set in scenic park surroundings.