text:
Riverina

The Riverina is an agricultural region of southwestern New South Wales, Australia. The Riverina is distinguished from other Australian regions by the combination of flat plains, warm to hot climate and an ample supply of water for irrigation. This combination has allowed the Riverina to develop into one of the most productive and agriculturally diverse areas of Australia. Bordered on the south by the state of Victoria and on the east by the Great Dividing Range, the Riverina covers those areas of New South Wales in the Murray and Murrumbidgee drainage zones to their confluence in the west.

Home to Aboriginal groups including the Wiradjuri people for over 40,000 years, the Riverina was colonised by Europeans in the mid-19th century as a pastoral region providing beef and wool to markets in Australia and beyond. In the 20th century, the development of major irrigation areas in the Murray and Murrumbidgee valleys has led to the introduction of crops such as rice and wine grapes. The Riverina has strong cultural ties to Victoria, and the region was the source of much of the impetus behind the federation of Australian colonies.

Major population and service centres in the Riverina include the cities of Wagga Wagga, Leeton, Griffith and Albury. Wagga Wagga is home to a campus of Charles Sturt University and two major Australian Defence Force establishments. La Trobe University has a campus in Albury–Wodonga, located just across the state border in Wodonga, Victoria.

Government agencies and other bodies
The delineation of the Riverina region varies by government agency or body. Common official boundaries include the Australian Bureau of Statistics' Statistical Area Level 4 Riverina region, Australian Electoral Commission's Federal Election Boundary called Riverina, Natural Resource Management Regions Riverina region, Regional Development Australia's Riverina region and Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia's Riverina region.

Common usage
In common usage the Riverina generally comprises the agricultural and pastoral areas of New South Wales, west of the Great Dividing Range and in the drainage basin of the snow-fed Murray and Murrumbidgee Rivers. The northern boundary beyond the Riverina is determined by the Lachlan River catchment area and is referred to as the Central West. Along the Murray to the south, the Riverina borders the state of Victoria. West of the confluence of the Murray and Murrumbidgee is the beginning of the more arid Far West region.

In general, the Riverina is an alluvial plain formed by deposition carried from the Great Dividing Range by streams between 30,000 and 15,000 years ago. The terrain includes rolling hills to the east but then becomes flatter to the west with most of that plain reaching less than 200 m above sea level. The western Riverina consists largely of featureless saltbush plain.

Landform and hydrology
The geology of the Riverina comprises several troughs and sedimentary basins. The western Riverina is presumed to be a continuation of the Ballarat and Bendigo geological zone while eastern sections are underlain by western portions of the Lachlan Fold Belt. There is potential for the Riverina to host several mineral deposit types including coal, petroleum, coal seam methane, gypsum, orogenic gold, Cobar style polymetallic systems, heavy mineral sands and possibly diamonds in these fold belt rocks and basins. Riverina soils are generally sandy along the river channels, with more saline grey and brown clays found on rarely flooded areas on the perimeter of the floodplain. As the Murrumbidgee passes downstream, the water and soil become more saline.

The Riverina is drained by the large Murray-Darling Basin. Rivers and streams in the Riverina generally flow east to west. As well as the Murray, Murrumbidgee and Lachlan, other streams include Billabong Creek and the Edward River, an anabranch of the Murray. Much of the water carried by these streams is diverted. In 2001–2002, 52% of the Murray and Murrumbidgee water runoff was diverted, 77% of which was used for irrigation.

Climate
The Bureau of Meteorology classify the Riverina in the Hot Dry Zone (with cooler winters) climatic zone. Places in this zone can be very hot in the summer months while in the winter, nights can be considerably cold with cool to mild days. Mean daily maximum temperatures in the Riverina range from 31.0 °C in January and 12.4 °C in July in Wagga Wagga to 33.2 °C in January and 14.8 °C in July in Hillston. Under the Köppen climate classification, the region predominantly falls in the hot-summer Mediterranean climate (Csa) zone, although areas in the southwest of the region would feature the semi-arid (BSk) climate and those in the east would have a humid subtropical (Cfa) climate, though still with Mediterranean climate tendencies when it comes to the rainfall pattern.

Rainfall levels in the Riverina are generally low with the median annual rainfall over most of the region between 250 - 500 mm, rising to between 500 - 800 mm on the eastern fringe. Because the region is situated on the upwind side of the Great Dividing Range, winter would receive the most rainfall in the year, with areas in the southern Riverina (around Albury), having the wettest winters, while in the north rainfall patterns are fairly consistent throughout the year. Corowa, in the south eastern Riverina has an average rainfall of 539.4 mm per year while mean annual rainfall at Hay is 367.2 mm. Drought in 2006 saw the lowest ever recorded rainfall in towns such as Lockhart, Tarcutta and Narrandera.

Riverina bioregion
One method of classification of boundaries for the Riverina is the Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia that defines the bioregion as an area comprising 9704469 ha, with biogeographic sub-regions covering each of the Lachlan, Murrumbidgee, Murray Fans, Victorian Riverina, Robinvale Plains and Murray Scroll Belt.

The NSW National Parks & Wildlife Service has divided New South Wales into 17 distinct bioregions. Bioregions are quite large areas of land that capture a geophysical pattern which is linked to fauna and flora ecosystems. The Riverina bioregion is an area of land that comprises part of the larger Riverina area but also extends into Victoria. It has been defined by the New South Wales Parks and Wildlife Service as extending from Ivanhoe in the Murray Darling Depression Bioregion south to Bendigo, and from Narrandera in the east to Balranald in the west. 74.03% of the bioregion is in New South Wales, the remainder in Victoria.

In another mapping the World Wildlife Fund has made this area part of the larger Southeast Australia temperate savanna ecoregion that covers the western plains of New South Wales. River channels in the region support River Red Gum (Eucalyptus camaldulensis) and River Cooba (Acacia stenophylla) communities. Nearby higher areas contain Black Box (Eucalyptus largiflorens) woodlands and a salt-tolerant grass, saltbush and daisy understorey. Yellow Box (Eucalyptus melliodora) and Grey Box (Eucalyptus microcarpa) occur along with Cypress Pine (Callitris glaucophylla) on areas rarely subjected to flooding. The area away from the rivers often consists of treeless plains, consisting of various saltbush (Atriplex) species, Cotton Bush (Maireana aphylla) and varieties of Danthonia and Austrostipa native grasslands.

Significant mammals endemic to forests in the bioregion include various species of glider, such as Sugar Gliders (Petaurus breviceps), Feathertail Gliders (Acrobates pygmaeus) and Squirrel Gliders (Petaurus norfolcensis) as well as Koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus) A wide variety of birdlife makes its home in wetlands in the Riverina, including many migratory species. Competition from introduced species and the effect of clearing, grazing and pasture improvement has led to a decline in the diversity of native flora and fauna in the area.

History
Aboriginal people are thought to have inhabited the Riverina for at least 40,000 years. The Wiradjuri people were the original inhabitants of much of south western New South Wales including much of the Riverina region along the Murrumbidgee and Lachlan rivers. Other groups living along the Murrumbidgee included the Nari-Nari on the western plains where the town of Hay, the Muthi-Muthi along the Lowbidgee, Gurendji and the Yida-Yida of Oxley. Along both sides of the Murray River lived the Yorta Yorta people inhabiting the area of the Riverina as far east as the present day city of Albury and as far north as the Finley and Deniliquin districts. The Murray was also home to other groups such as the Bangerang, Baraba-Baraba, Wemba-Wemba, Wadi-Wadi, Dadi-Dadi and Paarkantji communities.

The rivers played a leading role in the lifestyle of the Aboriginal people, acting as a source of food and a means of communication and trade. Murray cod and shellfish were gathered for food and bark canoes were used for travel along the rivers. Scars on many trees alongside the rivers are evidence of this extensive use of canoes. In the summer it is likely that the Bangerang and Wiradjuri joined the Monaro groups in the Bogong moth feasts in the alpine country to the east.

Exploration and pastoral settlement

The first European explorer in the Riverina was John Oxley in 1817 following the Lachlan River to what is now the town of Booligal. Oxley was followed by Charles Sturt, who followed the Murrumbidgee downstream to Lake Alexandrina in South Australia between 1828 and 1831 and Major Thomas Mitchell in 1836 on his way to the Wimmera and the Western District.

Pastoral settlement followed soon after, with grazing runs established along the Murray and Murrumbidgee as far west as Hay by 1839. At the time, the area was known as the Murrumbidgee District."Cocketgedong" Station, between Jerilderie and Urana, was established in the 1840s by Messrs Brock & Hardie. A map, dated 1864, held by the State Library of Victoria shows them still in possession. At that time, there was little fencing and the sheep were brought back to camps each night by the shepherds. The camps named on the map include Stockyard Camp, Mick's Hill Camp, Columba Camp, The Gums Camp, Coonong Camp, and Sydney Gate Camp. Messrs Watt & Thomson, the owners of an adjoining property, "North Urana", subsequently purchased "Cocketgedong" from Brock & Hardie, giving them a total area of approximately 65,000 acres. In 1904 D & W Gibb, Wool Brokers in Melbourne, purchased "Cocketgedong" which comprised 45,000 acres freehold and approximately 20,000 acres Crown Leasehold. After World War I, the leasehold was resumed for Soldier Settlement blocks, leaving "Cocketgedong" with 36,000 acres and "North Urana" 9000 acres divided by several holdings. The latter part was sold in the early 1950s, leaving the approximate area originally taken up by Brock & Hardie, held by the D & W Gibb Estate. The Woolshed constructed in 1910 consisted of 20 stands, although by 1970 when it was demolished after a new Woolshed was constructed, only 10 stands were being used. The Estate of D & W Gibb sold "Cocketgedong in 1972. Moulamein, in the western Riverina, appears to make legitimate claims as the oldest town in the Riverina, and indeed to being older than Melbourne. The settlers often came into conflict with the indigenous inhabitants. In the Narrandera district, a battle took place between settlers and the local Narrungderra clan at a location now known as Massacre Island, reportedly leaving only one survivor.

Cattle raising was the major industry in the 1840s with sheep becoming predominant in the 1860s. At this time many Victorians settled in the Riverina to breed sheep and cattle to feed the miners taking part in the Victorian Gold Rush. The herds were considered inferior at first, but these pastures were good for stock, and the land which seemed a desert was actually good fattening country. In the 1860s and 1870s, German settlers from the Barossa Valley travelled upstream to settle in the eastern Riverina. Because of their religious distinctiveness as Lutherans, they preferred to form clustered German settlements. In 1867 and 1868 several land parcels were taken up in the Jindera area. 56 German farmers, in 1869, took six weeks to travel six hundred miles in covered wagons to establish the town of Walla Walla. Nearby Holbrook was originally named Germantown after these settlers until changing its name in 1914 as a result of tensions caused by World War I.

The name "Riverine", coined from the Entre Ríos Province (between two rivers) in Argentina, South America, was in use as early as 1857: a long letter under the caption "Riverine Colony" appeared in the Albury Border Post of 24 January that year. The name was coined by Dunmore Lang who translated it from the Spanish.

Dunmore Lang was also involved with the short lived Riverina secession movement which was active in the 1860s. The movement was inspired by the success of the Victorian and Queensland secession movements and motivated by a desire to draw more public funds to the region and maintain the favourable land tenure the "squatter" pastoralists enjoyed. With the movement strongest in Deniliquin and Albury, Dunmore Lang, squatter and parliamentarian Gideon Lang (unrelated) and other influential pastoralists joined with local newspaper editors, George Mott and David Jones in the campaign. This culminated in presenting petitions to the Governor of New South Wales, Sir John Young and the Colonial Secretary, Edward Cardwell. Soon after the movement fell apart due to the differences between the squatters on one side and the small farmers and townspeople on the other causing its objectives to become obscured by other associated issues such as inter-colonial tariffs and rail links.

Riverboats and railways

From 1853, the Riverina was linked to markets through a series of riverboats along the Murray and Murrumbidgee to the river ports of Mannum and Goolwa in South Australia and from 1864, to Echuca connected by rail to Melbourne. Riverboats reached as far upstream as Gundagai and Albury and towns such as Darlington Point, Narrandera and Moulamein became important river ports. The riverboat era peaked in the twenty years from 1870 to 1890, declining with the coming of the railway and finally ending with the disruption to the workforce caused by World War I.

From Melbourne, broad gauge railway lines opened to Deniliquin in 1876 and west to Moulamein and Balranald in 1926. The Moulamein–Balranald section closed in the 1980s. The North East line reached Wodonga in 1873, and was connected to Albury at a break-of-gauge in 1883, and the Melbourne-Shepparton line was extended to Tocumwal in 1908.

The number of cross border railways expanded with the passing of the 1922 Border Railways Act, with the Benalla – Yarrawonga branch line extended to Oaklands in 1938, both lines meeting standard gauge lines that were subsequently closed. Victorian Railways commenced construction of a railway from Robinvale to Koorakee and Lette in New South Wales in 1924 (the Lette railway line), but this railway was never completed. The Murray River bridge between Robinvale and Euston was instead converted to a road bridge, which will be demolished when the new road bridge currently under construction is completed. The Stony Crossing railway line was built from Kerang to Murrabit in 1924 and Stony Crossing (originally called Poonboon) in 1928 under an agreement with New South Wales. No passenger services were carried on the section beyond Murrabit after 1932 and it was closed about 1943.

Standard gauge rail services from Sydney came with the extension of the Main Southern line to Cootamundra and Junee in 1878 and the construction of the Murrumbidgee River Railway Bridge in 1881 allowed the line to be extended past Wagga Wagga to Henty and Albury later that year. A branch line was constructed to Temora in 1893 and extended to Barellan in 1908, Griffith in 1916 and Hillston in 1923. Further south, a branch line was completed from Junee to Narrandera in 1881 and extended to Hay by 1882. Another branch pushed south from Narrandera toward the Victorian border reaching Jerilderie in 1884 and the Murray at Tocumwal in 1898.

Bushrangers
Transport links assisted the development of the Riverina economy, at the same time areas of the region found themselves under threat from robbery and murder by various bushrangers. Between 1862 and 1865, the eastern Riverina between Wagga Wagga and Albury saw the depredations of Dan "Mad Dog" Morgan. Having previously been convicted of armed robbery, Morgan came to the attention to authorities in the Riverina when he bailed up a police magistrate, Henry Baylis, near Urana in 1863. In 1864, Morgan bailed up Round Hill station, a large sheep farm near Morven, killing a station hand. Later that year, the bushranger shot dead a policeman in cold blood near Tumbarumba. The reward placed on his head reached £1,000 before, in April 1865, he was shot dead near Wangaratta, Victoria.

The infamous Australian bushranger, Ned Kelly, made possibly his most daring raid in the Riverina, at Jerilderie in 1879. After riding overland from north east Victoria, Kelly and his gang in a brazen move captured two local policemen and stole their uniforms. Impersonating the police, they then proceeded to rob the Bank of New South Wales and held the town captive for several days. While in Jerilderie, he sought to have his manifesto published, the famous Jerilderie letter, a rambling 8,000-word condemnation of the colonial administration in Victoria and specifically the treatment of the Irish. Being unable to find the local newspaper editor, he left the letter with a member of the bank staff and returned to Victoria £2,000 richer.

Riverina and federation

The close geographic and cultural ties between the Riverina and northern Victoria, combined with continuing frustration with inter colonial tariffs, made the Riverina a fertile area for ideas for uniting the various colonies in an Australian federation. This would see the southern Riverina in particular take a leading role in bringing about federation.

Prior to federation, the various Australian colonies could, and often did, charge tariffs on goods from the other colonies, ostensibly for the protection of their domestic manufacturing industries, mainly based in the larger cities such as Sydney and Melbourne. For a border community such as the southern Riverina, these tariffs were a sore burden, making goods purchased from Melbourne, the closest large city, more expensive and reducing the competitiveness of these towns supplying the Melbourne and Adelaide markets. In addition, crossing the border on the Murray River was a tiresome experience as each border crossing had customs posts inspecting goods and luggage to ensure all duty was paid and to reduce smuggling, a popular activity. Another item of concern was the lack of adequate river crossings. Along the Riverina the Murray was—and remains—part of New South Wales, who had no interest in assisting border residents to access goods and services in Victoria that may otherwise have been sourced from Sydney.

In the early 1890s, for mainly patriotic reasons, the Australian Natives' Association helped establish the Federation League, a society dedicated to the creation of a federal nation. Following a series of addresses by the future Prime Minister, Edmund Barton to large crowds, some 15 League branches were established in the towns along the southern border. One of these towns, Corowa, was the location for the first conference of the Australian Federation League in 1893. At this conference, Dr John Quick, a delegate from Bendigo, proposed a resolution calling for the colonial legislatures to pass an act providing for the election of representatives to a convention to develop a federal constitution. This has been seen as the turning point in the push for Federation. The momentum generated from this point lead to a series of conventions and elections and finally, the inauguration of a federal constitution on 1 January 1901.

Irrigation and closer settlement
Large scale irrigation commenced with the establishment of the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area (MIA) in 1912 which diverted water from the Murrumbidgee River near Narrandera. The River Murray Waters Agreement of 1915 allowed 26 weirs to be constructed with locks to provide permanent riverboat access to Echuca. When riverboat transport was no longer significant, the weirs supported irrigation. Irrigation in the region continued to develop with the construction of the Hume Dam between 1919 and 1931, the Burrinjuck Dam built in 1928 and Blowering Dam built in 1968.

Development and promotion of the MIA led to large scale settlement on land described by Oxley 100 years earlier as "country which, for barrenness and desolation, can I think, have no equal." Settlers came from a diverse range of backgrounds and nationalities. In particular, the Italian community prospered in the Area, owning nearly half of all the farms around Griffith by 1954. Later, further irrigation was developed for areas in the Murray valley starting with the Wakool Irrigation District in 1932, then the Deniboota and Denimein Irrigation Districts in 1938, the Berriquin Irrigation District in 1939 and the Tullakool Irrigation Area in 1942. The Coleambally Irrigation Area, established in 1968, was the last of the major government-sponsored irrigation developments in New South Wales.

Agriculture

The high soil fertility and abundance of water in the Riverina floodplain has made the Riverina region one of the most productive farming regions in Australia with rice, wheat, maize, canola, citrus and wine grapes being grown in the area. The Riverina contains many irrigation schemes including the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area. 182000 ha are under irrigation in the region.

For the first few decades following the 1830s, European pastoral activity focused in the main on cattle production but by the 1860s sheep were the predominant stock.

At the beginning of the twenty-first century, the region's agricultural and horticultural production was worth more than A$1 billion. The region produces: In 1991–92 sheep and lamb numbers in the region were close to seven million and there were 500,000 meat cattle. The Riverina is also a significant almond growing region.
 * over 25% of the state's fruit and vegetables
 * 90% of NSW citrus products
 * 80% of NSW wine/grape production
 * livestock feedlots, sales and processing facilities
 * nearly 20% of all NSW crop production and two-thirds of its total value.

Wool
Much of the dryland areas of the Riverina contain large sheep stations, producing medium class wool. The Peppin Merino sheep was first bred in the area around Wanganella. As many as 70 percent of today's Australian Merinos are said to be directly descended from the Peppin-developed sheep. The Riverina is home to many Merino studs and the saltbush plains are regarded as one of Australia's best wool growing regions.

Rice
The Riverina produces the vast majority of rice grown in Australia, particularly in the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area (MIA), but also around the Finley, Coleambally and Deniliquin areas. The first commercial rice crops in the Riverina were grown in the Leeton and Yanco district in 1924, expanding to Wakool during World War II, the Denimein and Deniboota Irrigation Areas in the 1950s and Coleambally and Finley in the 1960s. In recent years, rice is also grown in the Hay, Carrathool and Hillston areas.

Historically, well over one million tonnes of Australian rice has been produced each year and exported to over 70 countries, generating A$500 million in export income and supporting 63 towns in the Riverina and northern Victoria. More recently, drought has drastically reduced this quantity to less than 30,000 tonnes with resultant economic effects. Recent rains however will see this volume increase. The headquarters of Ricegrowers Limited, who trade under the SunRice name, is located in Leeton, Australia's rice capital. Major rice mills are located in Leeton, Coleambally and the largest rice mill in the southern hemisphere in Deniliquin.

Wine
The area generally known as "the Riverina" is broader than the area legally defined as the Riverina wine region Australian Geographical Indication (AGI) as registered in the Register of Protected GIs. The Riverina GI is centred on Griffith and is roughly circular with towns on the boundary including Mossgiel, Condobolin, Temora, Junee, Culcairn, Berrigan, Finley, Deniliquin and Moulamein. It does not extend as far south as the Murray River.

The Riverina region is one of the most prosperous grape growing regions in Australia (particularly in Griffith), along with the Barossa Valley in South Australia. The region grows 55% of wine grapes in New South Wales and 15% of the total grape production within Australia and 80% of wine/grape production of New South Wales; the region is Australia's largest producer of wine. Over 50% of the Riverina's wine production is exported. As a producer of specialist wine grapes, its wine style of international importance is Botrytised Semillon and the outstanding speciality made from these grapes is a "sauternes-style" dessert wine.

Irrigation made it possible to grow grapes for wine. The first grapes were planted at Hanwood in the spring of 1913 by John McWilliam and his eldest son Jack who had come to the district from their winery in Junee. Irrigation was by carting of water until the irrigation channels were opened a few months later. The first grapes were picked in 1916 and sent to Junee for processing. Penfolds established its winery in the region in 1919.

Cities, towns and settlements
At the 2016 census, the population of the Riverina (ABS SA4 Region) was 155,934, 5.4% of whom were indigenous and 18.4% born outside Australia. In common usage the Riverina often includes parts of the Murray SA4 region, as of 2016 the population of Murray was 115,803, 3.4% of the population were indigenous and 17.7% were born outside of Australia.

The Riverina includes two cities; Wagga Wagga and Griffith. Other large towns include Leeton, Finley, Deniliquin, Cootamundra, West Wyalong, Narrandera, Junee and Temora. Wagga Wagga is the largest inland city in New South Wales with an estimated resident population of 56,675 people in 2019 and serves as an important employment, educational, cultural, social and entertainment centre for surrounding towns throughout the Riverina. Wagga Wagga's facilities are of metropolitan standards with shopping, cafes, recreational facilities and nightlife present within the city. The two largest centres in population in the region after Wagga Wagga are Griffith and Leeton and they provide advanced services to the outlying farming regions.

Parts of the Riverina experienced substantial population growth in the late 1990s and early 2000s; in the five-year period between 1996 and 2001, Griffith's population increased by 10.8%. Until recently Wagga Wagga's population was declining slowly and ageing with strong growth in age groups 40 and over. This has now changed and Wagga Wagga has become one of Australia's leading examples of the "sponge" city phenomenon, attracting residents from smaller towns in the Riverina such as Urana. In the year ended 30 June 2006, the population of Wagga Wagga grew by 1.3%, driven by its role as the regional centre for the Riverina and its hosting of a campus of Charles Sturt University and Australian Defence Force bases.

The Local Government Area of Temora experienced a population decline in the early 2000s, dropping from 6288 people in 2001 to a low of 5936 in 2009. Since then the LGA has grown steadily. As of 2019 the estimated resident population of Temora has now expanded to 6307 people.

Politics
The Riverina is politically conservative and leans towards the National Party on both the federal and state level.

The Riverina is represented at the federal level in two divisions of the Australian House of Representatives, the Division of Riverina, covering the Murrumbidgee valley; and the Division of Farrer, the area along the Murray River. As of the 2019 Federal Election, Riverina is held by the National Party and Farrer by the Liberal Party, who, in coalition, are the governing parties. At the state level, the electoral districts of Albury, Cootamundra, Murray and Wagga Wagga cover the Riverina region.

There are a range of local government authorities in the region, ranging from the cities of Wagga Wagga and Griffith; to the municipalities of Edward River, Federation, Cootamundra-Gundagai, Murray River, Murrumbidgee and Snowy Valleys; and the shires of Balranald, Berrigan, Carrathool, Coolamon, Greater Hume, Hay, Junee, Leeton, Lockhart, Narrandera, Bland and Temora. These councils are arranged into Regional Organisations of Councils (ROC)s: Riverina and Murray ROC and Riverina Eastern ROC.

Health
In 2015, 33.1% of the region's population was obese, somewhat higher than the national average.

Facilities and services

Higher education in the Riverina is provided by Charles Sturt University (CSU), with campuses serving the Riverina in Albury and Wagga Wagga. The university was established in 1989 with the amalgamation of the Albury and Wagga Wagga campuses of the Riverina-Murray Institute of Higher Education with the Mitchell College of Advanced Education in Bathurst. CSU provides specialist services to the Riverina in areas such as viticulture and winemaking.

Other educational facilities in the region include TAFE NSW, providing technical and vocational training at a number of campuses throughout the region including in West Wyalong, Cootamundra, Griffith, Hay, Leeton, Narrandera, Tumut, Temora, and Wagga Wagga. Most larger centres have public high schools and most smaller centres are serviced by a public primary school.

The health service in the Riverina is administered by Murrumbidgee Local Health District. Base Hospitals are located at Albury, Wagga Wagga and Griffith while Deniliquin, Hillston, Henty and Narrandera among others are home to regional hospitals.

Situated between the large cities of Melbourne, Sydney and Adelaide, the Riverina is a transportation hub. Major transportation links in the region include the Hume Highway, Newell Highway and Sturt Highway; all part of the Australian National Highway. Other highways include the Riverina Highway, Cobb Highway, Olympic Highway, Kidman Way, Irrigation Way and Burley Griffin Way.

NSW TrainLink rail services from Sydney to Griffith and Melbourne serve the Riverina with connecting buses reaching smaller communities. V/Line provide services linking Griffith, Deniliquin and the towns along the Murray with public transport access to Melbourne.

The Riverina is host to two major Australian Defence Force training facilities. The Army Recruit Training Centre is located at Kapooka, 9.5 km south west of Wagga Wagga and RAAF Base Wagga is the home of the RAAF Ground Training Wing base. These bases along with a Royal Australian Navy Defence Communications Station play an integral role in the local economy.

Sports
The Riverina is well known for the quality and range of its sports activity and many famous sportsmen and women have hailed from the Riverina. These include:
 * Tennis champions Margaret Court and Evonne Goolagong Cawley
 * Cricketers Mark Taylor, Geoff Lawson and Michael Slater
 * Rugby league players Peter Sterling and Laurie Daley and the Mortimer brothers: Chris Mortimer, Peter Mortimer and Steve Mortimer
 * Australian rules footballers Haydn Bunton Senior, Paul Kelly, Brett Kirk, Shane Crawford, Wayne Carey
 * Soccer players Archie Thompson and Joshua Kennedy.
 * Jockeys Arthur "Scobie" Breasley and Roy Higgins.
 * Basketball great Lauren Jackson.

The "Wagga Effect" is a term that has been used frequently in the Australian media to describe the disproportionately large number of elite sportsmen and women that originate from the town. It is speculated that the phenomenon may arise in rural areas where the population is large enough to sustain the presence of a large number of sporting codes, but small enough to ensure that talented individuals are exposed to adult-level competition at an earlier age.

Unusually for New South Wales, Australian rules football is quite popular in the Southern Riverina as it is south of the Barassi Line, and there are many clubs and leagues in the district, including the Riverina Football League, Farrer Football League, Hume Football League, Northern Riverina Football League and Coreen & District Football League. In addition, many clubs along the border play in Victorian leagues such as the Ovens & Murray Football League, Murray Football League, Picola & District Football League and the Golden Rivers Football League.

In the northern part of the Riverina, Rugby league and Rugby Union are both strong, with rugby league being the most popular sport. Rugby League competitions in the district include Group 9 (Wagga Wagga and districts), Group 17 (Hillston and districts) and Group 20 (Griffith and districts). Teams from Corowa and Albury play in the Goulburn Murray Rugby League. Rugby Union in the district is run by the ACT and Southern NSW Rugby Union, with clubs from Albury, Wagga Wagga, Cootamundra, Temora and Hay as well as many others competing in the Southern Inland Rugby Union.

Other popular sports in the Riverina include cycling, bowls, cricket, netball, tennis and horse racing. The Riverina is home to many racecourses and picnic race meetings are held regularly at places such as Corowa, Berrigan, Carrathool, Tumut and Lockhart.

Culture

The Riverina was the setting for some of Australia's great artistic and literary works of the 19th and early 20th century. Most of these works reflected the rural lifestyle and agricultural pursuits common in the Riverina at that time and projected an image of Australia and Australians that would later change rapidly.

The writer Joseph Furphy worked as a bullocky for 10 years in the area around Hay from 1872. Later, using the pen name Tom Collins, Furphy wrote Such Is Life set in the Riverina during the drought and depression of the 1890s and drawing on his experiences as a bullocky. Although a slow seller, the novel was described as "fitted to become an Australian classic" by A.G. Stephens, the literary critic of The Bulletin.

Published in 1921, Around the Boree Log and Other Verses was written by Patrick Joseph Hartigan, under the pen name John O'Brien. A Roman Catholic priest, after early stints at Thurgoona and Berrigan, in 1917 Hartigan was appointed as the parish priest of Narrandera where he stayed until 1944. His poems recorded the everyday lives and mateship of the people of the Riverina. His friend and well-known poet C. J. Dennis hailed them in The Bulletin as in 'the direct Lawson-Paterson line mainly—unaffected talk about Australians, much as they would naturally talk about themselves'. Around the Boree Log ran to five editions and 18,000 copies by 1926.

The artist and key member of the Heidelberg School, Tom Roberts spent some time on a sheep station near Brocklesby prior to and during the painting of his most celebrated artwork, Shearing the Rams. The painting was criticised in its time for the depiction of strong manual labour rather than the common "high art" themes of the day. It is seen now as reflecting Australia's largest industry at the time and the work of ordinary Australians. The painting is now in the collection of the National Gallery of Victoria.

Scots of the Riverina, a poem written by one of Australia's most renowned writers, Henry Lawson, is set in Gundagai. The poem describes a father's anger at his son's desertion at harvest time and later his grief when the son dies in battle in World War I. Hay and Hell and Booligal, written by Banjo Paterson, is a humorous take on life on the flat western Riverina plan.

Today, major cultural institutions in the Riverina include the Museum of the Riverina, the Riverina Theatre Company and the Wagga Wagga Art Gallery, all located in the regional centre of Wagga Wagga with outreach to the smaller towns. Many regional towns including Hay, Deniliquin and Gundagai house museums of significant regional interest. The HotHouse Theatre group, based in Albury takes live theatre to small towns throughout the Riverina. The tiny town of Morundah holds an annual night at the opera, hosting performances by OzOpera and the Victorian Opera. Popular music groups from the Riverina include one of Australia's most distinctive and popular bands of the '90s and 2000s, Spiderbait who come from the southern Riverina town of Finley. The Riverina is currently home to two major regional LQBTQIA+ festivals, the Hay Mardi Gras established in 2018 and the Wagga Mardi Gras established in 2019.

title: Riverina


text:
Talk:Video game programming

Game programming content
Why was a big section of the game programming content cut-n-pasted to game development? Info about game programming should stay here. Game development, if the article must exist, should be on the much broader scope of game development (and I'd venture not just videogame development). --Mrwojo 01:50, 24 Dec 2004 (UTC)

 * Yes, I just asked Slike the same question on his talk page. He may pop over here and soon and discuss this issue.  I feel the content should stay here too.  In short, it talks about game development from the programmer's perspective.  It doesn't talk about the other developers' roles at all.  An article that discussed everyone's roles would be way too long, so shold be discussed in seperate articles (see The video and computer game design process, for example).   — Frecklefoot | Talk 02:28, Dec 24, 2004 (UTC)

C++ not standardized?
The C++ language has been standardized for a number of years now, and even comes with it's own standard libraries (like the STL). --JamesRB 11:08, 22 Mar 2005 (UTC)

 * Not every platform's compilers fully support the full C++ standard--that's what that comment meant. I couldn't figure out how to say that without getting too wordy for the table.  Do you have an idea? :-)   — Frecklefoot | Talk 16:39, Mar 22, 2005 (UTC)

 * Honestly, I think that's a fairly old argument at this point. It may have been valid as a language 'con' at some point, but not today.  I'm regularly writing code for four different platforms at the same time in my current job, and other than minor language differences, it's fairly easy to write portable code nowadays.  I'd replace it with something like "can be a complex, difficult language to master" or something like that.  In all honesty, I think that's the only thing C++ has going against it at this point.  Other than a few holdouts, it's the universal standard for the game industry.

 * Oh, but if you still wanted to just revise the original con, I would replace it with "compiler compliance to language standard can vary" or something like that. It's just that the original text implies there is no standard. JamesRB 20:08, 31 Mar 2005 (UTC)

Suggestions for Additions
This article seems to have a very broad scope that barely scratches the surface of the topic. This is obviously a good thing since dozens of entire books go into further detail, but perhaps some links to more in-depth subtopics ought to be included. Some possibilities include: scene graphs, resource management, collision detection, curves and splines, matrices and quaternions (could be extended quite a bit to include object/world/projection transformations, linear algebra, etc), finite state machines, lots more AI, meshes, mipmapping (and other texturing techniques), heightmaps, and so on. In addition some of the production topics might be more appropriate in a topic of larger scope such as Game development. I'd be happy to contribute what I can but just figured I'd check for feedback before messing up someone else's hard work. --ChuckChapman 17:35, 12 Apr 2005 (UTC)

 * While all of those topics are related to game programming, I think they are far beyond this article's scope. I'm almost certain there is a wikibook on game programming where these topics might be more appropriately covered.  But if you really want to include them in this article, how would you work them in?  I can see mentioning them as necessary disciplines or techniques, but how could you cover them to any extent in a single article?  If you could describe your approach, I'd be happy to give more feedback.

 * However, I would like to see game programming during the late '70s and '80s covered in more detail for historical sake. It was less complex and lucrative back then. This is a job for me, I guess, since I started the whole mess to begin with. :-S   — Frecklefoot | Talk 20:49, Apr 12, 2005 (UTC)

 * Topics such as linear algebra, quaternions, finite state machines, etc. not only have uses outside of game programming, but there already exist Wikipedia articles on these topics. You could just briefly go over the topics here and how they fit in with game programming, and link to the relevant articles for a more detailed explanation of the topics. It would be best to check if an article for each topic already exists, and link to it if it does, and perhaps write one if it does not. Ae-a 23:36, 12 Apr 2005 (UTC)

 * A brief description of their relationship to game programming and a link is indeed what I meant to suggest. I apologize if this was not clear.  Just as the article for photography has under "See Also" a bulleted list of photographic techniques, I think it might be useful to list and link game programming techniques in this article.   ChuckChapman 22:08, 15 Apr 2005 (UTC)

Game loop
First of all great article, I've lurked over here from the game programmer article! One bit of feedback I have is the "gameloop" section could possibly use fleshing out a little. Could explain how this is the basic logic, but then the overall framework of a game typically consists of modules and gamestates, and the roll OOP actually plays in enabling this kind of system. Maybe it's a bit in depth, but I feel it'd give a nice insight that wouldn't be _too_ lengthy into the kind of project scales for modern games. What do ya think? :) Davedx

 * Glad someone likes the article! I wrote the original version, but of course its had several edits by other users since then (I wrote the game programmer article too).  On your proposed edits, I intentionally didn't go too in-depth, because this isn't really a "how to" article or an article on OOP (which I favor).  Games can be written in many languages, such as C and assembly which aren't OO.  Plus, I think we'd like most articles to be digested by the layman (though this is sometimes impossible for highly complex subjects).  Lastly, someone did go in depth into a game loop discussion before, but it was swiftly reverted, because it was POV.  If you want, you can post your proposed edits here first for some peer review.  But since this is a wiki, you can just make the edits to the main article outright.  Just don't be upset if someone heavily modifies your additions. :-) Peace.   — Frecklefoot | Talk 18:54, May 25, 2005 (UTC)

Why removed Actionscript??
It is more of a language suited for game programming than some of the other ones mentioned here on this page! And since AS2.0 but at least with the upcoming AS3.0 it is alot more powerful that nobody can complain! Very disappointing to see such info getting just removed from one day to the other!

Video Game Programming
I'm going to be a freshman at college and I'm not sure about my major in Computer Engineering. I'm hoping to become a video game programmer and don't know if a BS on Computer Engineering would be the best choice for me if I do pursue that career.

I've heard that people with Computer Science degrees have better chances at programming games, but if I do decide to major in Computer Engineering, would I still be on the same boat as the people with CS degrees?

 * It depends. If the Computer Engineering degree focusses on computer hardware, it'll have little applicability to game programming (it'll be somewhat applicable, since it will probably involve some assembly, which is useful for some console stuff).  If it focusses on programming just as much as the CS degree, it'll be just as applicable.

 * Whatever you do, don't--DON'T--get a "game programming" degree. If I had two candidates, all other things being equal, and one had a game programming degree and another had a CS (or Software Engineering) degree, I'd always choose the one with the CS/SE degree. — Frecklefoot | Talk 15:27, 12 July 2006 (UTC)

If you want to be a game programming take these steps.

Get a HDN/ND/DIGREE in computer software engineering or any computer course that teaches C/C++ programming. This will give you the key knowledge of structured programming. Then take up books and learn learn learn learn. All you need to do to get a job in the game industry is to be good at what you want to do in that specific industry. Its like being an artist, you dont get employed just for the qualification as you could be a crap artist yet have the qualification, but you could be a hobbyist and be very gifted as get the job. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 172.203.80.199 (talk) 11:00, 14 November 2007 (UTC)

 * Do NOT choose a school on the basis it teaches C/C++, gaining knowledge of the language is the relatively easy part as it is learning the concepts and theory which is the tough part. Thus it is perfectly acceptable to go to school which starts of with teaching Scheme for instance (like MIT did) as this is an excellent language to start with, while C/C++ is a very VERY poor choice as a first language to learn! Mathmo Talk 16:08, 31 May 2012 (UTC)

Merge with Error level
From what I saw of the article (one sentence!), it is a dictionary definition, not really worthy of an article at all. If it needs to be merged with something, why not merge into Level design instead? — Frecklefoot | Talk 14:50, 9 August 2006 (UTC)

E3 Demo?
I was just reading this article, and read to the part concerning the importance of the E3 demo. However, it is known that the structure of E3 is going to change drastically, while it would still exist in some form. How should we approach this? --Pifactor

 * Well, since it is an ongoing event, I think we should wait until the next E3 to see how things pan out. I'll take a look at the section and see what I can do to may it currently relevant until then.

 * Please sign your posts. You can do this with either 3 ro 4 tildes (  or ~ ).  The latter is preferred since it also adds a timestamp. :-) — Frecklefoot | Talk 14:03, 11 August 2006 (UTC)

The E3 demo has been renamed to Trade Show Demo like it should be!! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.135.128.209 (talk) 22:57, 1 May 2008 (UTC)

 * Okay!! I took out the reference to the Penny Arcade trade show since I don't think its as big a deal as its article makes it out to be.  I've been a video game developer for over 15 years and I've never been asked to make a demo for it. — Frecklefσσt | Talk 13:53, 5 May 2008 (UTC)

Unix/C?
In fact, the Unix operating system and the C programming language exist because the original programmers wanted to play games.

Excuse me? Games cannot be developed using another languages and OSes? --Yonkie 09:20, 3 November 2006 (UTC)

 * Of course they can, but the point is, for these two technologies, they weren't. Both Unix and C were originally developed so the developers could play games:
 * Unix was developed so the programmer could play a space travelling game
 * C was developed so the programmers could write the operating system for an unused computer in their office. They needed an OS so they could write an Asteroids-like game.

 * Computer games can be written in a myriad of language for any number of operating systems. But the point is, both these technologies were developed because of the developer's desire to play games, no loftier goal than that. — Frecklefoot | Talk 15:34, 6 November 2006 (UTC)

"In fact, the Unix operating system and the C programming language exist because the original programmers wanted to play games."

lol? definitely needs citation here.. Pulseczar 03:15, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

 * It's fairly well documented, but I agree a citation would help here. — Frecklefoot | Talk 17:34, 26 December 2006 (UTC)

Python - scripting language ?? (Category "Language")
I took Python out of the "Scripting Languages" section, but got reverted by Frecklefoot. Here is "my" version.

I think (!!) Python is:
 * ...popular (see this)
 * ...a little bit slow, but definitely usable, even for games (there are more than just the latest-greatest commercial killer-games)
 * ...very easy to learn and to use
 * ...not just a scripting language (see Python, search for "scripting language". of course you can, but...)
 * ...an excellent choice especially for indie developer teams, these need the productivity gain

Frecklefoot, why did you revert it? And, did you ever use Python (really no offense, just asking)? --89.61.122.80 (talk) 18:11, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

 * Really, I've never used Python, but I've talked to other game programmers who have. Every one of them described it as a scripting language.  The best thing I've heard about it is "interesting."  Most people who did use it now use Lua (and that definitely IS a scripting language).  I've been a game programmer for 15 years and have never encountered a professional game written in Python.  I really don't think hobbyist and free games count.

 * Even the data at the link you provide (and I have no idea how accurate it is) shows Python scraping the bottom of the barrel, although it looks like it is becoming more popular. If anyone else disagrees, that's fine.  I'd love to discuss it.  But for the past 15 years, I've used C, C++, assembly and Java.  None of the companies I've worked for (I've worked for about seven, both publishers and developers) have used Python AT ALL.  I don't dispute that it's popular.  Just that it's not popular among professional developers. — Frecklefσσt | Talk 18:45, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

 * I am not a professional game developer, so I don't have the experience you have. In the context of professional game development, you are probably you are right. But:
 * There are large free/hobbyist games (thanks to FOSS), although not written in Python.
 * Why don't small/free/hobbyist games count? Tetris is a game too...
 * The link I provided lists Python at position 6 for this year, and position 8 last year. This year, it is above C# and Perl. I think thats everything but "scraping the bottom of the barrel".
 * I still don't agree with you, but I accept it. --89.61.108.237 (talk) 20:24, 5 February 2008 (UTC)

 * Okay, "scraping the bottom of the barrel" may have been an exaggeration, but I still don't see how Python qualifies as "the programming language of 2007" when it is still below Java, C and C++. It does seem to be below C#, which is hard for me to believe, since we use C# a ton around here for game tools, but never use Python.  We might even use a Java tool (someday, lots of guys here know it, including me), but Python is out of the question.  We even have a Lua library we use.  I don't have all the experience in the world, but I have been around.  Python isn't on the professional radar.

 * From the website you provided, it looks like they say there is a lot of activity on the Internet around Python. Okay, I can believe that.  But does that mean its really important?  I don't think so.  That activity could be an indication of message boards centered on people asking questions about how to do something in Python.  The same types of things get asked about in Visual Basic.  Does that mean it's a serious programming language? (answer, NO).  When the guys around here have a question about something in C++ or C#, the first place they turn to is a co-worker.  Only if he doesn't get a satisfactory answer, then he may turn to the Internet.  But if a Python developer has a question, since there are so few professionals using it, probably the first place he looks is the Internet.  Hence the activity.

 * If the website you referenced had actually interviewed thousands of companies instead of indexing sites on the Internet, I think they'd find Java and C++ (or maybe C#) as the languages with the highest level of use. If it were just game developers, it would be C++ (Windows, Xbox, PlayStation, Wii, handhelds) and Java (for browser-based game developers).  C# is heavily used for tools, not core game code (yet, though we did deliver one for a private customer in C#).

 * I don't want to beat this thing to death. If there are other game programmers who don't agree with me, please chime in.  But from my experience, Python is not a serious player in the professional game arena.

 * Do hobby/free games count? I don't know, should they? I just stuck with the professional games because I believed they are the most influential.  Even Tetris, as you mentioned, was a professional game, officially licensed to numerous platforms.  It wasn't a hobby/free game (it is NOW, but that's another issue). — Frecklefσσt | Talk 15:02, 6 February 2008 (UTC)

 * About the C#-Python thing: C# has the support of Microsoft. From talking to some professional guys working in the IT area (not game development, however) - support is often more important than actual quality. Microsoft is a very well-known company, so they use Windows, so they use C#, so they - believe it or not - use VB6. Same for Sun/Java. [Don't read this as "xyz is bad", I dont want to start a flame war]

 * I think hobby/free games do count: with Tetris I didn't mean the original Tetris. I chose Tetris because it has hundreds of thousands of remakes, which means hundreds of thousands of involved developers (!). Of course, the big commercial games are what people talk about. However, some non-commercial games have a significant player-base too.

 * If anyone else wants to comment on this, feel free, but I am convinced. Let's just simplify things to "you are right", it's okay. --89.61.94.212 (talk) 15:57, 9 February 2008 (UTC)

Clearly Python is one the significant languages when it comes to gaming, Pygame for instance has a big impact when it comes to this. And yes Python was awarded language of the year in 2007 (and a *second* time in 2010 too!) by the very respectable Tiobe rankings. Mathmo Talk

 * Civilization IV and EVE Online both use quite a lot of Python, so no, it's not just hobby/amatuer/indie games. Having said that, even if Python in gaming was restricted to indie games like Frets on Fire, that shouldn't be a problem; the games are still notable. 143.92.1.32 (talk) 05:02, 5 September 2012 (UTC)

Speed comparison is misleading
Programming languages do not have inherent "speed", this is a function of the hardware they're running on, the compiler, interpreter, libraries, algorithms you're using, and so many other things. The table on the right hand side really shouldn't mention "speed". See The Dangers of Benchmarks. Speed is not a property of languages. --128.230.169.203 (talk) 17:49, 25 April 2008 (UTC)

 * Well, thanks for explaining here why you removed them. Otherwise, I might've just reverted your edit.  I understand all the complexities involved in determining execution speeds, but this article wasn't intended to be a scientific look at programming languages and their efficiency.  I still think my original comments on their speed is accurate—at least in a general sense—but I won't push the issue.  I'll leave your edit as is. — Frecklefσσt | Talk 18:03, 25 April 2008 (UTC)

 * I didn't make the edit.. :P --128.230.169.203 (talk) 19:56, 25 April 2008 (UTC)

Image copyright problem with Image:Civ3.jpg
The image Image:Civ3.jpg is used in this article under a claim of fair use, but it does not have an adequate explanation for why it meets the requirements for such images when used here. In particular, for each page the image is used on, it must have an explanation linking to that page which explains why it needs to be used on that page. Please check

 * That there is a non-free use rationale on the image's description page for the use in this article.
 * That this article is linked to from the image description page.

This is an automated notice by FairuseBot. For assistance on the image use policy, see Media copyright questions. --00:01, 20 May 2008 (UTC)

Is C++ the most popular programming languge, really?
This is an example of one of those things that everyone seems to know but nobody seems to be able to verify. I'm wondering, is C++ really the most popular language for programming games? Are we counting all platforms, including consoles with their own proprietary languages? Is C++ the most popular game-programming language ever, or only in recent history? If so, since when? Exactly how dominant is C++ as a language? Majority? Overwhelming majority? Plurality? Are we including the innumerable thousands of online Flash games in this count, and if not, then why? Most importantly, can anybody cite a source that actually proves that C++ is in widespread use? I think that these are all important and interesting questions that this article ought to address.

KHAAAAAAAAAAN (talk) 13:44, 20 August 2008 (UTC)

 * I'm a professional game programmer (not for online Flash games, the kind you buy in stores) and I've used C++ exclusively since about 1996. Some shops still use some C, but most have moved to C++ completely.  Most of the game consoles are also programmed in C++, though some require a little assembly (the console itself doesn't have to "support" C++, it just has to have a C++ compiler available for it, such as gcc).

 * But trying to quantify what is the most "popular" game programming language is difficult at best and may be impossible for the reasons you cite above. I don't know if statistics are collected on such things; I just know it from first-hand observation.  We really need a verifiable reference for such a statement, but I wouldn't know where to look for it, perhaps Gamasutra? I can't look right now, but it may be a good source. — Frecklefσσt | Talk 15:55, 20 August 2008 (UTC)

I am very very curious too as to if this is really true (I suspect not... so perhaps remove it for now to be safe?). Also how do you define "most popular"? Number of developers? (all or just professionals?) Lines of code? Number of installations/users? Total retail sales figures due to that language? (what if there are multiple languages used in one game... how do you count them?) Additionally, over what period... all time most popular (in total? or peak?), the last year, or five years? Mathmo Talk

 * At professional level, I suspect this is correct. However, yes, the indie scene has taken to all sorts of languages, including Flash, Java, Python, and even non-languages like M.U.G.E.N., RPG Maker, and the like; I suspect C++ has trouble holding its own there. 143.92.1.33 (talk) —Preceding undated comment added 05:05, 5 September 2012 (UTC)

Check out TIOBE.com for language popularity. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TIOBE_index — Preceding unsigned comment added by 98.221.85.32 (talk) 03:08, 4 November 2012 (UTC)

Game development
Some of info given on this page (e.g. design, testing) is not directly linked to programming itself, rather game development in general. Would it be preferred to move some of the well-written non-directly-related parts into game dev. and in game prog. have a brief development overview section with a to that instead? — H3llkn0wz ▎talk 13:42, 22 March 2010 (UTC)
 * Actually, I'll just be bold and do that... — H3llkn0wz ▎talk 13:47, 22 March 2010 (UTC)

Move discussion in progress
There is a move discussion in progress on Talk:Game development which affects this page. Please participate on that page and not in this talk page section. Thank you. —RM bot 19:30, 25 April 2010 (UTC)

External links modified
Hello fellow Wikipedians,

I have just modified one external link on Game programming. Please take a moment to review my edit. If you have any questions, or need the bot to ignore the links, or the page altogether, please visit this simple FaQ for additional information. I made the following changes:
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20100107180938/http://wiki.gamedev.net/index.php/Main_Page to http://wiki.gamedev.net/index.php/Main_Page

When you have finished reviewing my changes, you may follow the instructions on the template below to fix any issues with the URLs.

Cheers.— InternetArchiveBot  (Report bug) 15:02, 10 October 2017 (UTC)

External links modified
Hello fellow Wikipedians,

I have just modified 2 external links on Game programming. Please take a moment to review my edit. If you have any questions, or need the bot to ignore the links, or the page altogether, please visit this simple FaQ for additional information. I made the following changes:
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20151110034437/http://legacy.lwjgl.org/projects.php to http://legacy.lwjgl.org/projects.php
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20080503182855/http://www.khronos.org/news/press/releases/opengl_arb_to_pass_control_of_opengl_specification_to_khronos_group/ to http://www.khronos.org/news/press/releases/opengl_arb_to_pass_control_of_opengl_specification_to_khronos_group/

When you have finished reviewing my changes, you may follow the instructions on the template below to fix any issues with the URLs.

Cheers.— InternetArchiveBot  (Report bug) 06:12, 9 January 2018 (UTC)

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Talk:Video game programming


text:
Down upon the Suwannee River

Down Upon the Suwannee River is the fourth live album by the American rock band Little Feat, released in 2003 (see 2003 in music).

Track listing
Disc one
 * 1) "Introduction" – 0:11
 * 2) "All That You Dream" (Paul Barrère, Bill Payne) – 7:40
 * 3) "Spanish Moon" (Lowell George) – 9:55
 * 4) "Skin It Back" (Barrère) – 5:56
 * 5) "Big Bang Theory" (Barrère, Shaun Murphy, Payne, Fred Tackett, Bill Wray) – 6:10
 * 6) "Bed of Roses" (Murphy, Payne) – 4:41
 * 7) "Cajun Girl" (Martin Kibbee, Payne) – 8:01
 * 8) "Sailin' Shoes" (George) – 5:49
 * 9) "Rag Mama Rag" (J. R. Robertson) – 6:43
 * 10) "Let It Roll" (Barrère, Kibbee, Payne) – 11:36

Disc two
 * 1) "Lafayette Railroad" (George, Payne) – 4:33
 * 2) "Dixie Chicken" (George, Fred Martin) – 27:22
 * 3) "Tripe Face Boogie" (Richie Hayward, Payne) – 5:43
 * 4) "It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry" (Bob Dylan) – 8:49
 * 5) "Oh Atlanta" (Payne) – 5:51
 * 6) "Willin'" (George) – 6:31
 * 7) "Fat Man in the Bathtub" (George) – 7:35

Personnel

 * Paul Barrère – vocals, guitar
 * Fred Tackett – guitar, mandolin, trumpet, background vocals
 * Bill Payne – keyboards, vocals
 * Kenny Gradney – bass, background vocals
 * Richie Hayward – drums, background vocals
 * Sam Clayton – percussion, background vocals
 * Shaun Murphy – vocals, hand percussion

title: Down upon the Suwannee River


text:
Talk:Safe operating area

Shouldn't this page be renamed to "Safe operating area" (with o and a in lowercase)? It is used that way in the article itself. --Pt 00:14, 7 Oct 2004 (UTC)
 * It can be used both ways. Capitalized if it's used as a spelled-out acronym or proper noun, as in the article title, and uncapitalized if it's used in a descriptive way for the "operating area that is safe". The bolded words are some gray area though. Rather than to uncapitalize the title I'd be inclined to capitalize them instead. OR WE COULD AVOID THE ISSUE ALTOGETHER LIKE SOME DATASHEETS DO AND PRINT THE WHOLE THING IN ALL CAPS... Femto 13:54, 7 Oct 2004 (UTC)

title: Talk:Safe operating area


text:
Visit of George IV to Scotland

George IV's visit to Scotland in 1822 was the first visit of a reigning monarch to Scotland in nearly two centuries, the last being by Charles II for his Scottish coronation in 1651. Government ministers had pressed the King to bring forward a proposed visit to Scotland, to divert him from diplomatic intrigue at the Congress of Verona.

The visit increased the king's popularity in Scotland, turning some subjects away from the rebellious radicalism of the time. However, it was Sir Walter Scott's organisation of the visit, with the inclusion of tartan pageantry, that was to have a lasting influence, by elevating the tartan kilt to become part of Scotland's national identity.

Background
After nearly a decade of ruling as prince regent, George IV acceded to the throne and his coronation on 19 July 1821, was celebrated by splendid pageantry, much of it invented for the occasion. He was obese and was widely unpopular, with many offended by his treatment of his wife, Caroline of Brunswick. He had also been struggling to manipulate the government, which was seen as a corrupt oligarchy by Radicals whose increasing unrest following the revolutions which shook America and France culminated in the "Radical War" of 1820 in Scotland and terrified the gentry. He was invited to attend the Congress of Verona, but government ministers wanting to keep Parliamentary control of foreign affairs pressed him to bring forward a proposed visit to Scotland which it was hoped would calm unrest. Suffering from painful illness and pushed by opposing factions of diplomats and ministers, the King remained indecisive, but preparations went ahead in the hope of his agreement.

Walter Scott was the author of the novel Waverley which popularised a romantic image of the Scottish Highlands. In 1815 this led to his being invited to dine with George, who was then the Prince Regent. By 1822 Scott had become a baronet, and was well acquainted with both Highland and Lowland nobility.

Kilts and tartans were used for army uniforms but were no longer ordinary Highland wear, having been proscribed in the wake of the Jacobite Risings by the Dress Act. The "small" kilt as worn today was a relatively recent innovation in the Highlands, having been introduced around the 1720s and later adopted as dress uniform by the army, but the romance of the "ancient" belted plaid still appealed to those wanting to preserve the Highland identity. Soon after the Act's repeal in 1782, Highland aristocrats set up Highland Societies in Edinburgh and other centres including London and Aberdeen. These were landowners' clubs with aims including "Improvements" (the Highland Clearances) and promoting "the general use of the ancient Highland dress" by obliging members to wear this when attending meetings. Numerous less exclusive associations including the Celtic Society of Edinburgh, of which Scott was enthusiastic chairman, had membership including many lowlanders as well as chieftains of impeccable Highland ancestry, and also promoted a Highland culture with all attending meetings and dances wearing "the garb of old Gaul".

Preparations
When his advice was sought, Sir Walter Scott seized the opportunity to invent a splendid pageant wherein ancient Scotland would be reborn, and the king parodied in cartoons as a fat debaucher would be seen as "a portly handsome man looking and moving every inch a King". George would be presented as a new Jacobite king, with the logic that he was by bloodline as much a Stuart as Bonnie Prince Charlie had been, and would win the affections of the Scots away from radical reform. A small committee was set up, with Scott's principal assistant being his friend Major General David Stewart of Garth who had made himself the undisputed authority on Highlanders with his Sketches.

George had been persuaded by Scott that he was not only a Stuart prince, but also a Jacobite Highlander, and could rightly and properly swathe himself in "the Garb of Old Gaul [ sic ] ", so in July 1822 the King placed his order with George Hunter & Co., outfitters of Tokenhouse Yard, London and Princes Street, Edinburgh, for £1,354 18s (a sum equivalent to £0 today) worth of highland outfit in bright red Royal Tartan, later known as Royal Stuart, complete with gold chains and assorted weaponry including dirk, sword and pistols.

Scott brought the Highland societies and the Clan chieftains into arranging for a plaided pageantry. Garth now drilled the younger members of the Celtic Society into four companies as honour guards. Their mix of lowlanders and highlanders had already offended Alexander Ranaldson MacDonell of Glengarry, who was quick to demand that his Society of True Highlanders be given precedence, but his attempts to take over were generally disregarded. Some chieftains took the event as a chance to show impressive forces and thus disprove allegations about the Highland Clearances, but the decimation of their tenantry rather undermined this. James Loch acting for the Countess of Sutherland solved the problem of finding kilts by borrowing army uniforms from the Sutherland Highlanders.

For the management of all events, Scott took the advice of his friend the young actor-manager William Henry Murray whose talents at theatrical scenery and costume were put to good use in creating the settings and the "revived ancient dresses" for the pageants he arranged. Holyrood Palace had to be readied for state occasions, but was not in fit condition as a royal residence and arrangements were made for the king to stay at Dalkeith House, 7 miles (11 km) from Edinburgh.

There was widespread concern about procedure and etiquette, not least amongst the touchy Highland chiefs (notably Glengarry), which Scott met by producing a shilling booklet entitled "HINTS addressed to the INHABITANTS OF EDINBURGH AND OTHERS in prospect of HIS MAJESTY'S VISIT. By an old citizen", which gave an outline of planned events with detailed advice on behaviour and clothing. All gentlemen of the city were expected to attend public appearances in a uniform blue coat, white waistcoat and white or nankeen (yellowish) cotton trousers, and a low-crowned dark hat decorated with a cockade in the form a white St. Andrew's saltire on a blue background. Similarly detailed guidance was given for those fortunate enough to attend functions or levees, with gentlemen to wear a full dress suit, as well as a description of the dress of the Highland chiefs and their "tail" of followers who were expected to "add greatly to the variety, gracefulness and appropriate splendour of the scene".

The exception was the "Grand Ball" held by the peers of Scotland to entertain the king: Scott's "Hints" called this a "Highland Ball", reminded readers that the king had ordered a kilt and set the condition that, unless in uniform, "no Gentleman is to be allowed to appear in any thing but the ancient Highland costume". At this, lowland gentlemen suddenly embarked on a desperate search for Highland ancestry (however remote) and a suitable tartan kilt from the Edinburgh tailors, who responded inventively. This can be seen as the pivotal event when what had been thought of as the primitive dress of mountain thieves became the national dress of the whole of Scotland.

According to some sources, the catering contract was won by Ebenezer Scroggie, who would become the posthumous inspiration for Charles Dickens' character Ebenezer Scrooge in A Christmas Carol. However, there is no evidence that Ebenezer Scroggie ever existed, and the story might be part of a "probable Dickens hoax".

The visit
The first of Scott's pageants took place on the King's 60th birthday, on Monday 12 August 1822. In procession, the Midlothian Yeomanry and companies of Highlanders escorted coaches carrying the Regalia of Scotland and dignitaries from the Castle to Holyrood Palace. The procession assembled on The Mound before going up to the Castle, and within minutes of setting off was halted by the arrival on horseback of a flamboyantly dressed Glengarry who announced that it was his rightful place to ride at the head of the procession. After a pause, a Captain Ewan MacDougall persuaded the hot-tempered Glengarry to go away. Watched by packed crowds, the procession formally received the regalia then returned down to The Mound and went down it to Princes Street and on by Calton Hill to Holyroodhouse.

The King's ship the Royal George arrived in the Firth of Forth about noon on Wednesday 14 August, but his landing was postponed due to torrential rain. Despite the rain, Sir Walter Scott was rowed out to see the King, who exclaimed, "What! Sir Walter Scott! The man in Scotland I most wish to see!" After a drink of whisky, Scott presented the King with a jewel designed and embroidered by the ladies of Edinburgh, in the form of a silver St Andrews cross embroidered with pearls on blue velvet with a belt of gold a diamond buckle and magnificent Scottish pearl surmounted by the imperial crown picked out in brilliants, rubies, emeralds and topaz. Inscribed on the cross was "Righ Albainn gu brath" (Long live the King of Scotland).

On Thursday 15 August, the King in naval uniform arrived in sunshine at the quayside of The Shore, Leith and stepped ashore onto a red carpet strewn with flowers to greet the waiting crowds, and the High Constabulary of the Port of Leith (Leith High Constables). After fifteen minutes of the ritual salutations traditional in a royal entry he got in his carriage. A quiet pause was rudely interrupted by Glengarry on horseback galloping up beside the King, sweeping off his bonnet and loudly announcing "Your Majesty is welcome to Scotland!". The King, in good humour, bowed graciously at this unplanned intrusion as his carriage moved off. A procession including lowland regiments and Highland clan regiments with pipe bands escorted the King's open carriage the 3 miles (5 km) up to Edinburgh past cheering Scots crowding every possible viewpoint eager to show a welcome to their monarch. At a theatrical "medieval" gateway the King was presented with the keys to the city and "the hearts and persons" of its people.

Much of the pageantry for the visit would be medieval rather than Highland, but the exotic outfits of the "gathering of the Gael" were to attract most attention. The next day was one that the King spent away from the public at Dalkeith. Edinburgh was full of visitors for the occasion, and that evening they walked round enjoying "illuminations" with illustrated tributes hung on public buildings, businesses and houses, "Everywhere crowded to excess, but in civility and quiet", before being escorted to their rest around midnight by bands of boys carrying flaming torches to light their way.

On Saturday afternoon, 17 August, the King attended a short levee at Holyrood Palace, where the great and good queued to be greeted by George in his Highland outfit complete with pink pantaloons to conceal his bloated legs, described as "buff coloured trowsers like flesh to imitate his Royal knees". When someone complained that the kilt had been too short for modesty, Lady Hamilton-Dalrymple wittily responded "Since he is to be among us for so short a time, the more we see of him the better."

The King would not be seen again by the public until Monday afternoon when a medium-sized crowd caught a brief glimpse of him as he went into Holyroodhouse to hear long repetitive addresses from the Church of Scotland, the Scottish Episcopal Church, universities, burghs, counties and the Highland Society, and give his short formal responses.

The King's Drawing Room on Tuesday 20 August was attended by 457 ladies, and custom required that he kiss each one on the cheek. This brief occasion took him away from Dalkeith House for two hours, and the presentation of the ladies lasted from 2.15 to 3.30. In the rush some ladies received no "buss" on the cheek, or in their nervousness scarcely felt the kiss at all. All were dressed in rich gowns with sweeping trains, and most had coloured ostrich plumes above their elaborately curled hair. The King was courteous and smiling, and paid particular attention to "the lady on whose account so many Highlanders went down to Elgin two years ago" when election passions led to Lady Anne Margaret Grant, daughter of the late Sir James Grant, 8th Baronet, and her sisters who had also supported the Tories, being besieged by a "democratic mob" of Whig supporting townsfolk until a rescue party of her clansmen was "summoned by the fiery cross" and released them without coming to blows. The story of "The Raid to Elgin" had amused the king, and he remarked "Truly she is an object fit to raise the chivalry of a clan", echoing Scott's romanticism. He spent the next day at Dalkeith, and that evening Scott dined with him.

Heavy rain returned on Thursday 22 August as a Grand Procession went from Holyrood to Edinburgh Castle. The procession and the King's closed carriage went up the Royal Mile flanked by colourful bunting and densely packed cheering crowds obscured by their umbrellas. At the castle, the king climbed out onto the battlements of the Half Moon Battery to wave his cocked hat to continuing "huzzas" from the crowd for fifteen minutes, reportedly saying "Good God! What a fine sight. I had no conception there was such a fine scene in the world; and to find it in my own dominions; and the people are as beautiful and as extraordinary as the scene." and "Rain? I feel no rain. Never mind, I must cheer the people." He had not been used to this kind of reception.

On Friday, 23 August, a review of 3,000 volunteer cavalrymen was held on Portobello sands. The king was also to honour the Clans including a contingent from the Celtic Society of Edinburgh. Though disappointingly his review ended before reaching them, the Highlanders took part in the Grand March Past then were cheered by the crowds as they marched back to Edinburgh. That evening, George appeared at the Peers' Grand Ball wearing a field marshal's uniform as earlier in the day rather than the anticipated kilt. The Peers’ Ball was a formal occasion with court dress worn predominantly, though some gentlemen chose either Highland attire or military uniform. The ladies were mostly in white dresses. The Ball started with the anthem as soon as the King entered the Ballroom, followed by a reel and then a country dance. Lady Anne Scott together with her sister Isabel, daughters of the 4th Duke of Buccleuch, "danced the reels famously’’. Another reel was performed at the bottom of the ballroom by a set consisted of two older gentlemen, one of whom was a Highlander, and both "jumped and capered so and made all sorts of such strange antics" which "his Majesty seems to witness with much pleasure." The music was played by the Assembly Rooms band led by Nathaniel Gow. The performance of the reels gave the King the most delight. More dancing took place in the Second Ballroom where fashionable at the time European dances were performed such as Quadrilles and Waltzes. Contemporaries complained that the Assembly Rooms were too hot and crowded for dancing and described the Ball as being "not in fact a dancing Ball".  The Assembly Rooms had been theatrically transformed by William Henry Murray, and the occasion was hailed as a triumph for him.

Saturday morning was marked by a small ceremony and procession including a Clan MacGregor Regalia Guard, as the Honours of Scotland were returned from Holyroodhouse up the Royal Mile to the Castle. That evening the King attended a tumultuous civic banquet in the great Hall of Parliament House which Murray had splendidly decorated. Next day the King went in state to the Presbyterian Church of Scotland Sunday service at St. Giles' Cathedral. On the Monday he made a private visit to the Holyrood Palace apartments of his ancestor Mary, Queen of Scots, then in the evening attended the Caledonian Hunt Ball in a Guards uniform. For the Caledonian Hunt Society Ball, the male members of the Society wore specially prepared uniforms. "The dresses of the ladies were more varied and fanciful than at the Peers’ Ball. Blue was much worn; and, as on the previous occasion, there was a great profusion of feathers." The King arrived about 9:30 pm, entering the Ballroom with something like a candle-lit procession. The King was excited by the reels and strathspeys. Once more his wish was met, that while he was in Scotland all music would be "purely national and characteristic". The dancing again commenced with a reel; which took place in the circle that surrounded the space in front of the throne. In this space two reels at a time were danced without any stop, all the while the King stayed, which was two hours. Mudie wrote that "the first reel danced was to the air of Brechin Castle. His Majesty was particularly pleased with the second set and clapped his hands in token of his approbation. A number of quadrilles were danced in the second ballroom. About half an hour after his Majesty retired, country dances commenced, which were kept up with great spirit, by the more vigorous of the company, until nearly seven o’clock in the morning."

On the Tuesday, 27 August, George made his last and least formal public appearance, showing his evident pleasure at a theatre performance of Scott's Rob Roy adapted and produced by William Henry Murray.

George's visit closed on Thursday 29 August with a brief visit to Hopetoun House 12 miles (19 km) west of Edinburgh. Elaborate arrangements had been made and crowds waited for him in the rain. On departing Hopetoun House, The King conferred the honour of knighthood on Captain Adam Ferguson, Deputy keeper of the Scottish regalia, and Henry Raeburn, the selected representative of Scotlands fine arts. He then joined his ship at nearby South Queensferry and departed.

Outcome
While the only kilted appearance the King had made was ruthlessly caricatured, creating a memorable image of "our fat friend" being hoisted onto a horse, the effect of the event wryly described as "one and twenty daft days" was an increase in goodwill and a new-found Scottish national identity uniting Highlander and Lowlander in sharing the iconic symbolism of kilts and tartans. The pride of the clan chieftains in their heritage was reinvigorated, but there was no check in the progress of the Highland Clearances.

Additionally, the next Duke of Rothesay, Prince Albert Edward, was the first heir apparent to make use of that title since the Union of the Crowns. The use of that title in Scotland has continued ever since.

Following their service providing personal bodyguards during the visit, the King appointed the Royal Company of Archers as the Sovereign's Bodyguard in Scotland.

title: Visit of George IV to Scotland