Millicent is a town in South Australia, 399 kilometres (248 mi) south-east of Adelaide, and 50 kilometres (31 mi) north of Mount Gambier. At the 2011 Census, the population was 5,024.
The town is home to the Millicent National Trust Museum, Millicent Library & Gallery, Millicent Civic & Arts Centre, the South East Family History Group, and is nearby to the Tantanoola Caves Conservation Park and the Canunda National Park.
Close by is Lake Bonney which is home to South Australia's largest wind turbine farm. Millicent is also home to the man-made lake, Lake McIntyre, a native bird and wildlife reserve.
History
Millicent was proclaimed in 1870 after a township developed on the limestone ridge in the centre of the newly drained Millicent flats. It is named after Millecent Glen (née Short), wife of one of the early pioneers and daughter of the first Anglican Bishop of Adelaide, Augustus Short. The town name was spelt wrong and was originally meant to be called 'Millecent' but a mistake send to the government of the towns name was 'Millicent'
Millicent is also home to a Kimberly Clark Australia paper mill which is located 10 km away from the town; it is the largest employer in the area with approximately 400 employees. The factory produces Kleenex, Cottonelle and Viva product lines for the Australian and some regional overseas markets. Millicent is also well known for its primary production, which include many varied crops. Pine and blue gum plantation cover large areas. It is also home to the only seaweed harvesting and processing plant in South Australia.
Millicent has only one round-a-bout, one intersection of traffic lights,one radio station and swimming lake. It also has a resident timber sculpture artist whose works are on display.
Transport
Millicent is the southern junction of the Princes Highway (B1) and the more coastal Southern Ports Highway (B101). The northern intersection is at Kingston SE. The Princes Highway continues south towards Mount Gambier and into Victoria.
Millicent was on the route of the Rivoli Bay (Beachport) to Mount Gambier railway, constructed in 1879. The railway was shortened to Millicent in 1959, after the section between Millicent and Mount Gambier was converted from narrow to broad gauge in the mid-1950s. It has not been used since the broad gauge was isolated in 1995 (when the main line between Adelaide and Melbourne was converted to standard gauge).
Sport
The Millicent Bandits baseball club, comprising both junior and senior teams, are a part of the Mount Gambier and District Baseball League. Bandits baseball club has produced junior players that have competed at state level and also in the national Little League competition.
The Millicent football and netball clubs play in the Western Border Football League. The nickname of the clubs is the Saints, and the teams share the same red, white and black colours as the St Kilda Football Club in the AFL. The town also has strong links with the Mid-South Eastern League, a league made up of teams representing the smaller towns in the district. Many Millicent residents play for teams from the neighbouring towns of Mount Burr (green and gold, the Mozzies), Tantanoola (red and white, the Tigers) and Hatherleigh (blue and gold, the Eagles). The town's basketball team is called the Magic. (colours: silver, red, black). There is a Soccer club in Millicent Called the Millicent United Soccer Club (green, gold).
The Millicent racecourse last held official meetings in the 1960s, but is still used daily by local horse trainers for trackwork gallops.
Popular Culture
Millicent hosts a festival that is held once a year in late March and early April and the festival is called the Geltwood Festival. The Geltwood Festival is about a ship that was ship wrecked in the late 1800s. The festival is known for arts and crafts, the shops of Millicent put Quilts in the front windows. George Street is closed for the public to walk on to do various of activities, stalls and a small car Show 'N Shine. The festival has been running for over nine years and every year attracts crowds from neighbor towns of Millicent and Western Victoria.
Pines Enduro
Millicent also hosts the Teagle Excavations ARB Pines Enduro 400 at Teagle's Quarry just outside Millicent in late September or early October once a year. on Saturdays at the Pines Enduro they have the qualifying's and the Dash for Cash, on Sunday the big race is held from the Quarry and then they go into the Mount Burr Pines until they come back to the quarry to finish.
Radio Station
Millicent has a community radio station and it is where the old train station used to be. The radio station is called 5THEFM 107.7 and the radio station has won the most outstanding small station award in the nation.
Recreation
Millicent has access to all forms of recreation other than snow. It boasts access to beach fishing off the expansive coastline from Beachport, Southend,Canunda and through to Carpenters Rocks. Four Wheel Driving is popular as is trail bike riding. Surfing, sailing and small boat fishing are also very popular and bush walkig trails are also available in the national parks along with well equipped camp sites for basic gettaways. The reclaimed lake Bonney is now open to sailing and canoeing and borders the national park of Canunda. Cave exploring is nearby at the Tantanoola caves and underground cave diving in the areas water filled limestone caves is nearby. Millicent is also within half an hours travel of the Coonawarra wine region and the city of Mount Gambier, home to the Blue Lake and its wonderful picnic grounds.
Education
There are three Reception to Year 7 (R-YR7) Primary Schools in Millicent.
There is one High School in Millicent (YR 8-13)
(Year 13 is for students who repeat year 12 or wanted to stay another year)
Post-secondary education is offered by the following providers:
Media
The local newspaper for Millicent and rural areas of the South East is the South Eastern Times. Daily newspapers from Melbourne (Herald Sun and The Age) and Adelaide (The Advertiser) as well as national newspapers such as The Australian and The Australian Financial Review Sunday Mail are also available in Millicent and the southeast SA region. Some newspapers from nearby towns such as Mount Gambier and Penola
Television
WIN Television broadcasts Nine Network programming, Channel Seven broadcasts Seven Network programming & Channel Ten broadcasts Network Ten programming. The programming schedules for these channels is the same as Channel Nine, Channel Seven and Channel Ten in Adelaide, with local commercials inserted and some variations for coverage of Australian Football League or National Rugby League matches, state and national news and current affairs programs, some lifestyle and light entertainment shows and infomercials.