Mildura has a long history of orange and grape farming.
Toponomy
There are several theories as to the origin of the name Mildura. While it was the name of the sheep station, without precedent in the English language, most historians believe it to have originated from Indigenous Australian words. However the etymology of Mildura is not entirely certain as in several of the local dialects the words have different meanings. The word "dura" is generally thought to mean "earth", "sand" or "rock", at least in Latje Latje language. However, usage of the word 'mill' can vary in dialect and is used to mean "red" or "water", and thus, interpretations of the name can vary from "red earth" to "water rock".
Prehistory and European settlement
Many Aboriginal people lived around the site of Mildura because of the abundant food. Local tribes included the Latje Latje and Yerre Yerre.
The first Europeans in the area arrived in 1857 and sheep to graze the rich pastures.
Irrigation settlement
A major drought in Victoria from 1877 to 1884 prompted Alfred Deakin, then a minister in the State Government and chairman of a Royal Commission on water supply to visit the irrigation areas of California. There he met George and William Chaffey.
In 1886 George Chaffey came to Australia and selected a derelict sheep station known at Mildura as the site for his first irrigation settlement signing an agreement with the Victorian government to spend at least �300,000 on permanent improvements at Mildura in the next twenty years.
After much political wrangling, the settlement of Mildura was established in 1887. The Post Office opened on 23 January 1888.
Growth
The nearby towns of Wentworth, Gol Gol, Curlwaa and Yelta sprang up in the mid-to-late 19th century. In the 1890s came the scourge of the rabbit. This devastated the sheep farmers, especially south of the Murray. There was also a financial recession at
