Echuca

Echuca sits where the Campaspe and Goulburn rivers meet the Murray, the closest point on the river to Melbourne, and in the 1870s and 1880s it was the busiest inland port in Australia, transferring wool and timber between paddle steamers and the railway. The wharf, built of local red gum on three levels to cope with the river's changing height, still stands and forms the centre of a preserved port precinct with a working blacksmith, cooper and historic vessels. Echuca has the largest collection of operating paddle steamers in the world, several of which run cruises, including the Adelaide of 1866, among the oldest wooden-hulled paddle steamers still operating anywhere.

History

The town lies in Yorta Yorta country, and its name is their word for meeting of the waters; the Yorta Yorta, perhaps 2,400 people before contact, were driven from their lands. In 1850 the ex-convict Henry Hopwood bought a small punt to ferry people and goods across the Murray near the Campaspe junction, and Hopwood's Ferry grew into Echuca, whose post office took that name on 1 January 1855. By the 1870s it was Australia's largest inland port, where paddle steamers unloaded wool, grain, livestock and timber at the 332-metre red gum wharf for the railway to Melbourne, and its population rose from 26 in 1854 to 4,789 in 1871, but the spread of railways, better roads, a fickle river and the depression of the 1890s ended its boom (Wikipedia, Echuca).

The main sights

• The red gum wharf - the three-level timber wharf built for a changing river.
• The paddle steamer fleet - the largest working collection in the world.
• The port precinct - restored buildings, workshops and vessels.
• The Murray River - cruises and river red gum forest along the banks.

When to go

September to May for river cruises and warm weather; summer is hot but the river makes it bearable. Steam-up events and the Riverboats music festival fall in February. Low river levels occasionally restrict cruising.

Practical notes

The port precinct is a paid attraction and cruises are charged separately. Summer temperatures regularly pass thirty-five degrees. The modern town around the historic precinct is ordinary, and the preserved area is small.

Nearby

Moama is across the river in New South Wales; Bendigo lies south.