Lalbert
Lalbert is a town in the Shire of Gannawarra, Victoria, Australia. Lalbert is situated west of Kerang on the Swan Hill-Donald Road. At the, Lalbert had a population of 151 declining from 224 just five years earlier.
History
Named by Major Mitchell during his trek through the area in 1836, the name Lalbert is thought to derive from an Aboriginal word for the creeper that grew on the mallee trees at the time. The first white people to live in the district were the Ham brothers who took out a pastoral lease there in 1846. By 1850, their sheep run had been subdivided into three separate pastoral properties: the Lalbert, Titybong and Towaninnie runs. The 1865 gazetteer recorded that there were only around 40 white people in the district at the time, all of whom were employed on the sheep stations. The district around Lalbert, moreover, was said to be "fit for nothing except sheep grazing for which purpose the entire available land is taken up".Lalbert is in the middle of the Mallee wheat growing area, which is renowned for its crops of wheat barley, oats, canola and legumes. It is 3 kilometres north of Tittybong.
Situated 50 km west of Kerang, Lalbert is a mallee town. The town once had a cafe, two general stores, bakery, hotel, school, hall and recreation reserve; one cafe/store remains, the hotel, bakery, school and hall are gone. It is a major grain receiving centre.
Lake Lalbert, a few kilometres from town, is a flood filled lake and a significant environmental showpiece.
The nearest large town is Swan Hill.