THE GREAT VALLEY is primarily a pastoral and dairying country, and contains nearly one-half of the total number of cattle and sheep in the whole state. The western district, which consists largely of soils of volcanic origin, is in many places fertile and covered with rich grass. Formerly, it was almost entirely devoted to the raising of sheep, and it still contains over one-third of those in Victoria, although large areas have recently been diverted to arable farming and dairying. The rainfall is heavier than on the Great Plains, and the stock equivalent is over one sheep to the acre. The central district has good soil and is well watered. Its position, round the most densely populated part of the state, has made it important for the cultivation of orchard and garden pro duce, and dairying is also carried on. The eastern district is in a much less developed condition, and stock-raising is the chief occupation of its inhabitants, though vigorous attempts are being made to revive and extend the cultivation of sugar-beet in the country round Maffra.
Having access to the sea on the one hand, and lying between it and the interior regions on the other, the Great Valley contains the ports through which the trade of Victoria passes. Of these the first is Melbourne, the second largest city in Australia, occupying a central position on the Yarra-Yarra a few miles above the point at which it enters Port Phillip. To it ships drawing twenty-two feet of water can now make their way, but larger boats do not go beyond Williamstown or Port Melbourne at the mouth of the river. Geelong, on a western extension of Port Phillip, is the port of the western district, and is noted for its manufactures of woollen goods. Among minor ports are Portland and Belfast in the west, and Cunninghame in the east.