History of rice in Australia

Rice seeds were brought to Australia by Chinese gold prospectors around 1850.

The first record of rice cultivation in South Eastern Australia was in 1906, when the Victorian Government allocated 200 acres of land on the Murray River to former Japanese Parliamentarian – Isaburo Takasuka.  Despite floods and droughts, he managed to produce a crop for commercial sale in 1914.

The first commercial crops were grown in the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area in 1924 – 1925.

It’s now a hugely successful industry in the Riverina, with the main growing areas located in the Murrumbidgee, Coleambally and Murray irrigation areas.