“I often think of the courage of the old pioneers coming to a new land and very little money in their pockets and what we went through. Every soul on our ship was Scottish.”

Location and Environment Shepparton is located on the low lying and level floodplain of the Goulburn River in the north east of Victoria, Australia, approximately 181 kilometres north-east of Melbourne. According to the 2006 Census, the population of the town was approximately 28 000, while the population of the entire Shepparton-Mooroopna urban centre was about 39 000.

Shepparton began as a sheep station and river crossing before becoming a railway town. Today it is an agricultural and manufacturing centre and the centre of the Goulburn Valley irrigation system, one of the largest centres of irrigation in Australia. A network of parks, reserves and forests follow the paths of the Goulburn and Broken Rivers through Shepparton, offering good bushwalking tracks and picnic spots. There is a dense state forest between Shepparton and neighbouring Mooroopna along the river

Victoria Park Lake, constructed from a swamp, is located just south of Shepparton, fronting the main highway and featuring walking tracks, bike paths, a skate park and boating facilities. Adjacent to the lake is a health and fitness centre which has both indoor and outdoor pools.

The Aboriginal community makes up approximately 10% of the city's population. Shepparton also has a large immigrant population, with people from places such as India, Albania, Afghanistan, Iraq, Greece, Macedonia Italy and Sudan. The majority (65%)of people in Shepparton are Christian, particularly Roman Catholic. There is a small Moslem minority.

Scotland and Australia“For hundreds of years Scots have packed up their families and their belongings and sailed to Australia to start a new life.When Australia needed workers between 1832 and 1850 about 16,000 Scots became ‘assisted immigrants’. They boarded chartered ships, like the 50-ton ship Stirling Castle, chartered from Alan Kerr and Company, Greenock, alongside skilled stonemasons, engineers, carpenters, blacksmiths and even professors. In the same period more than 20,000 Scots travelled to Australia as unassisted immigrants.Between 1947 and 1981 more than a million Britons took advantage of an assisted passage scheme introduced by the Australian Government. Around 170,000 Scots left Britain to become ‘Ten Pound Poms’ and start a new life Down Under

ClimateShepparton has a semi-arid climate, with hot summers and cold winters. The hottest summer month is January, when the average temperature reaches 32 degrees Celsius. In winter, the weather becomes coldest in July when the minimum averages 3 degrees Celsius C and the maximum gets to 13 degrees. (remember Australia is in the southern hemisphere, so the seasons are reverse of ours)The rainfall in Shepparton is fairly sparse. Even with the wettest month being in November, the rainfall still averages at 53.2mm. The weather is driest at the beginning of Autumn with the rainfall averaging at 17.2mm.

Shepparton has a latitude of 36 Celsius south. To give you an idea, this is as far south of the Equator, as Gilbraltar or Tunisia are north of the equator. The reason there is so little rain is that Shepparton is far inland, away from the sea and moist air.

EducationAlmost all children in Australia go to school, although in some remote rural areas children are home schooled. A larger proportion of pupils go to independent schools than in Scotland.Our partner school is Goulburn Valley Grammar School. GVGS is an independent school situated on a17 hectare site 6 km north of the centre of Shepparton. Students from across Victoria and southern New South Wales attend, many from outlying rural communities such as Echuca. The school's motto is Semper Ulterius, (“always further”), suggesting there is always something more to know or experience. The school role is about 650. Pupils enter in Year 5 (our P6) and continue to Year 12. They sit the Victoria Certificate of Education, which is similar to our SQA exam system. Each year a small group of our Fourth Year students take part in an exchange programme with GVGS.Year 8 is the equivalent of our S2. They undertake a core curriculum of the following subjects:  English, Mathematics, Humanities, Science, Health & Physical Education, Music, Art, and Sport. Information and Communication Technologies are integrated across the curriculum. While we learn French or Spanish, pupils in GVGS learn Indonesian. You can see why if you look at how close Indonesia is to Australia. The most popular sports are hockey, football and netball.. There are fewer after school clubs, because many children live at least an hour away in the outlying rural communities. Most pupils go to university

The communityThe Goulburn Valley is part of the Murray-Darling Basin, Australia’s main river network. The Goulburn Valley is bordered on the south by the mountains of the Great Dividing Range and to the north by the Murray River, the state border with New South Wales.

The Goulburn Valley is often referred to as the "Food Bowl of Australia" making up 25% of the total value of Victoria's agricultural production. The region is one of Australia's most productive and intensively farmed areas and is well irrigated, to help grow a variety of fruits.

Industries in the Goulburn Valley include agricultural activities such as fruit growing and dairying. The SPC Ardmona plant in Shepparton ( above) is one of the world's largest fruit canneries. Other important agricultural activities include wool and crops. Water for irrigation is sourced from lakes and rivers. Owing to the long

hours of sunshine, dry weather and warm summers, the Goulburn Valley is also a significant wine region. Major wine varieties grown today include Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz

Standards of living and Quality of lifeShepparton, Victoria

Glasgow (UK)

Average income per person per year

$40 000 $36,901

Life expectancy M 78; F 84 80 yearsAverage number of calories eaten per day

3190 3440

Literacy rate 99% 99% (source: http://docs.health.vic.gov.au/docs/doc/13F75137942EAC90CA257BB900792387/$FILE/Shepparton%20-%20Population%20Health%20Profile%20July%202013.pdf

Ways of lifeShepparton may appear to be a perfect location, with its long hours of sunshine and peaceful setting. However there are some serious issues in the region.

Natural HazardsLike many parts of Australia, Victoria suffers from several natural hazards, mostly related to extreme weather conditions. Heat waves in the populated south east of Australia are common. The worst hazards are probably bush fires and floods. In 2009, 180 people died and 200 homes were destroyed on one of the worst ever wildfires the state has

experienced. No one in Shepparton lost their lives, but many people in the school knew friends or family who had suffered or lost property. 2011 saw severe flooding caused by torrential rain. Huge areas of settlement and farmland were under water and 30 people died. The floods were reckoned to be Australia’s costliest ever natural disaster

Social ProblemsShepparton has the problems of many rural areas. Owing to natural hazards and the ever present fear of drought, farming has been hit hard and many farmers have sold up. Ironically, some farmers have needed to get help from food banks. Within the Shepparton region there are pockets of extreme socio-economic disadvantage. Indigenous groups, newly arrived migrants and teenagers find it harder to get jobs

than elsewhere in Victoria. Most children want to move to larger towns and cities when they finish school.

Scots and Australia

http://www.educationscotland.gov.uk/scotsandaustralia/

Go to Education Scotland’s Website to discover more about Scotland’s past and present links with Australia. Also, look out for the GVGS exchange photos on our Flickr page.

IndonesianHere are some Indonesian phrases that pupils in Year 8 at GVGS will learn. Try them, too.

Welcome Selamat datang

Hello Hi / Apa kabar?

How are you?I'm fine, thanks. And you?

Apa kabar? (What news?)

Baik-baik saja, terima kasih. Bagaimana dengan Anda?

Long time no see Lama tidak bertemu / Lama tidak berjumpa

What's your name?My name is ...

Siapa nama anda?

Nama saya ...

Where are you from? Anda berasal dari mana?

I'm from ... Saya dari ...

Pleased to meet you Senang bertemu dengan Anda

Good morning Selamat pagi

Good afternoon Selamat siang

Good evening Selamat sore

Good night Selamat malam

Goodbye Selamat tinggal

Have a nice day Hari baik!

How do you say ... in Indonesian?

Bagaimana cara mengatakan ... dalam bahasa Indonesia?

Excuse me Maaf / Permisi (to get past)

How much is this? Berapa harganya?

Sorry Maafkan saya / Maaf

Thank you

Response

Terima kasihTerima kasih banyak

Makasih (vinf)

KembaliSama-sama

Dengan senang hati