Wilcannia is a small town located within the Central Darling Shire in north western New South Wales, Australia. This was the third largest inland port in the country during the great river boat era of the mid-19th century. At the 2016 census, Wilcannia had a population of 549; the name Wilcannia is said to be derived from an Aboriginal term for either'gap in the bank where floodwaters escape' or'wild dog'. Neither meaning has been linguistically verified. In 1835, explorer Major Thomas Mitchell was the first European to the region, in which he traced the Darling River to what is now Menindee. In June 1866, the township of Wilcannia was proclaimed. In 1871, the population was 264, grew to 1,424 by 1881. During the 1880s, Wilcannia reached its peak, had a population of 3000 and 13 hotels and its own newspaper, the Western Grazier, it was, with Wentworth, Echuca and Goolwa, one of the major Murray-Darling river ports which played a vital part in the transport of goods, notably wool and wheat, in the days of the paddle-steamers.

A visitor to the town described the river scene in 1890. There are several wharves which were graduated slopes cut out of the river bank, in the wool season the river, in their vicinity, is thronged with steamers and barges, waiting for or unloading the season's clip, for the bulk of it goes away either to Bourke, for Sydney, or to Wentworth, or Goolwa. A barge, laden withfrom 1,200 to 2,000 bales of wool is a pretty sight. Wilcannia is located where the Barrier Highway crosses the Darling River, 965 kilometres from Sydney; the environment is borderline semi-arid to desert with an annual rainfall of 255 millimetres. Wilcannia is located within the Darling Riverine Plains Bioregion, consisting of landscapes adapted to flooding. Common species include Yellow Box, Oldman Saltbush and Lignum; the surrounding area is sparsely settled by pastoralists who have large land holdings, used to run sheep. These holdings fall in the Western Division and the majority are held as 99-year leases. Wilcannia mild to cool winters.

Mean maximum daily temperature in summer is 34 °C and in winter is 19 °C. The highest temperature recorded in Wilcannia was 50.0 °C on 11 January 1939. This was during the severe heatwave of January 1939. On 9 November 1950, a severe thunderstorm with damaging winds and large hail the size of cricket balls struck the town. Two people were injured, dozens of homes lost their roofs and nearly every house in town was damaged due to the large hail. From the 2016 Census, Wilcannia had a population of 549 with 407 people being of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander descent from the Barkindji nation. Wilcannia has 223 private dwellings; the town was listed as one of the most disadvantaged areas of New South Wales according to the 2015 Dropping Off The Edge report. The town's demographic issues were highlighted in the BBC3 documentary Reggie Yates: Hidden Australia "Episode 1: Black in the Outback", first broadcast online on 16 January 2017. In March 2017 the BBC, in response to complaints about the biased view portrayed, investigated the claims and suspended the production company pending the outcome of the review.

In June 2017 the suspension was confirmed for 6 months, covering all new commissions and development. "It was a serious breach of the BBC's Editorial Guidelines and the high standards of accuracy and fairness we expect of programme makers," the BBC Trust stated. The BBC and Sundog both issued apologies. Annie Moysey, known as Wilcannia's Grandmother. Wilcannia Athenaeum Media related to Wilcannia, New South Wales at Wikimedia Commons Central Darling Shire Visit NSW Wilcannia Darling Riverine Plains Bioregion Wilcannia River Radio's role in its community recognised in CBAA national radio awards

The 2018–19 Illinois State Redbirds men's basketball team represented Illinois State University during the 2018–19 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Redbirds, led by seventh-year head coach Dan Muller, played their home games at Redbird Arena in Normal, Illinois as members of the Missouri Valley Conference, they finished the season 9 -- 9 in MVC play to finish in a three-way tie for fifth place. As the No. 7 seed in the MVC Tournament, they defeated Evansville before losing to Drake in the quarterfinals. The Redbrids finished the 2017–18 season 18–15, 10–8 in MVC play to finish in a tie for third place, they defeated Missouri State and Southern Illinois to advance to the championship game of the MVC Tournament where they lost to Loyola–Chicago. Source

Magnolia acuminata called the cucumber tree, cucumber magnolia or blue magnolia, is one of the largest magnolias, one of the cold-hardiest. It is a large forest tree of the Eastern United States and Southern Ontario in Canada, it is a tree. The cucumber tree is native within the Appalachian belt, including the Allegheny Plateau and Cumberland Plateau, up to western Pennsylvania and New York. There are numerous disconnected outlying populations through much of the southeastern U. S. and a few small populations in Southern Ontario. In Canada, the cucumber tree is listed as an endangered species and is protected under the Canadian Species at Risk Act. In 1993 The North American Native Plant Society purchased Shining Tree Woods to preserve a stand of Magnolia acuminata, known as "The Shining Tree"; the leaves are deciduous simple and alternate, oval to oblong, 12–25 cm long and 6–12 cm wide, with smooth margins and downy on the underside. They moderately cordate at the base. Unlike most magnolias, the flowers are not showy.

They are small, yellow-green, borne high in the tree in April through June. The leaves of Magnolia acuminata are pointed at the tip and provide it with its name -'acuminate' means tapering to a fine point; the name Cucumber Tree refers to the unripe fruit, green and shaped like a small cucumber. The ripe fruit is a striking reddish orange color. Cucumber trees are excellent shade trees for parks and gardens, though they are not recommended for use as street trees. In cultivation, they only grow 15–20 m tall, although they reach over 30 m in ideal forest situations, they can become quite massive: the United States national champion in Stark County, Ohio measures eight feet in diameter and 96 ft tall. They grow best in deep, well-drained soils that are acidic although they are tolerant of alkaline soils, they are tricky to transplant due to their coarse, fleshy root system and should be planted shallow and moved in early spring with a good soil ball. In the timber trade, the wood of this tree is interchangeable with that of the related tuliptree.

Magnolia acuminata has been used in hybridizing new varieties that share its yellow flower color and cold hardiness Magnolia acuminata images at bioimages.vanderbilt.edu Flora of N. Amer-RangeMap: Magnolia acuminata Famous example at Violet Banks in Virginia posted at remarkabletree.cnre.vt.edu