Yelta, Victoria

Yelta is a locality in Victoria, Australia. It was for a short time in the 1870s and 1880s the Victorian administrative centre of what is now Sunraysia and the Millewa. This role was then taken over by Mildura. At the 2011 census, Yelta and the surrounding area had a population of 281.^[2]

Yelta Victoria
Entry sign
Yelta
Coordinates	34°07′S 141°59′E / 34.117°S 141.983°E / -34.117; 141.983
Population	325 (2021 census)^[1]
Postcode(s)	3505
Location	563 km (350 mi) NW of Melbourne 24 km (15 mi) W of Mildura 9 km (6 mi) NW of Merbein 3 km (2 mi) S of Curlwaa (NSW)
LGA(s)	Rural City of Mildura
State electorate(s)	Mildura
Federal division(s)	Mallee
Localities around Yelta: New South Wales New South Wales New South Wales New South Wales Yelta New South Wales Wargan Merbein West Merbein

The Abbotsford Bridge

It is notable for containing the terminus of the Melbourne-Mildura railway line.^[3]

History

Yelta Aboriginal Mission (1855–1868) was established by the Church of England^[4][5][6] on the banks of the Murray River^[7] Local aboriginal people called a small billabong near the site of the mission, Yelta.

Military history

During World War II, Yelta was the location of RAAF No.29 Inland Aircraft Fuel Depot (IAFD), completed in 1942 and closed on 14 June 1944. Usually consisting of 4 tanks, 31 fuel depots were built across Australia for the storage and supply of aircraft fuel for the RAAF and the US Army Air Forces at a total cost of £900,000 ($1,800,000).^[8]

References

1. "Yelta (Vic.) – 2021 Census All persons QuickStats". Retrieved 23 September 2022.
2. Australian Bureau of Statistics (31 October 2012). "2011 Community Profiles: Yelta (State Suburb)". 2011 Census of Population and Housing. Retrieved 5 November 2012.  
3. "Yelta".
4. Thinee, Kristy; Bradford, Tracy; New South Wales. Department of Community Services (1998), Connecting kin : guide to records : a guide to help people separated from their families search for their records (1st ed. printed September 1998 ed.), New South Wales Dept. of Community Services, ISBN 978-0-7310-4262-3
5. "Mission to the Aborigines". The Argus. No. 2648. Melbourne. 15 December 1855. p. 5. Retrieved 25 January 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
6. "Church of England Mission and the Aborigines". The Argus. No. 3323. Melbourne. 3 February 1857. p. 5. Retrieved 25 January 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
7. . Mission Voices. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on 5 January 2013. Retrieved 5 November 2012.
8. Australia. Royal Australian Air Force. Historical Section (1995), Logistics units, AGPS Press, ISBN 978-0-644-42798-2