Paddlesteamer Pyap

Murray River Road Bridge, a heritage listed Allan Truss Bridge

Giant Murray Cod

Swan Hill historic Pioneer Settlement

Pental Island

Catalina flying boat at Lake Boga Flying Boat Museum

Swan Hill Pioneer Settlement

Where is it?: Victoria: Murray Valley. Swan Hill is situated357 km north west of Melbourne on the Murray Valley Highway, on the south bank of the Murray River, downstream from the junction of the Loddon River.

Things to see and do:

The Murray River around Swan Hill and the lakes district of Lake Boga are favourite spots for camping, fishing, water sports, cruising the Murray River or a relaxing house boat holiday.

Swan Hill Pioneer Settlement recreates life in the Murray-Mallee area from the period of 1830-1930 with historic buildings, exhibits and evening sound and light tours. The paddlesteamer Pyap is based at the Settlement and is used for river cruises.

Events: October: Go North Arts Festival

Surrounding area:

The Observatory, Planetarium & Glass Studio at Lake Boga offers the general public tours of the night sky using modern GPS controlled telescopes, and the glass studio has works by local glass artists on show and for sale.

Lake Boga (16km south) is surrounded by camping areas and swimming spots. The Flying Boat Museum is home of the historic Catalina Flying Boat and the site of the RAAF repair depot, housed in the original communications centre used in World War 2.

About Swan Hill

Other than Bendigo and Mildura, Swan Hill is often considered the retail hub for the region with a wide range of outlets including home, garden and general produce. The city is located on the Murray Valley Highway, which links it to Bendigo. V/Line operates passenger rail services on the Swan Hill line, with the local railway station being the terminus. The Swan Hill Airport is also nearby.

History: In the Dreamtime, Totyerguil (from the area now known as Swan Hill) ran out of spears while chasing Otchtout the cod. This chase is part of the mythology of the creation of the Murray River. The area is inhabited by the Wemba-Wemba and Wati-Wati people. Swan Hill was called "Matakupaat" or "place of the Platypus" by the Wemba Wemba people.
The area was given its current name by explorer Thomas Mitchell, while camping beside a hill there on 21 June 1836. The European community grew up around a punt river crossing, which was established as early as 1846. This crossing serviced the growing agricultural area, and was the only river crossing for 100 km.
In 1853 Francis Cadell navigated the Murray river from its mouth in South Australia to Swan Hill in his paddle steamer, Lady Augusta. He arrived on 17 September 1853, narrowly beat William Randell of Mannum, who arrived 4 hours later in the in PS Mary Ann. This demonstrated the feasibility of river traffic, which flourished until the introduction of the railway.
In 1883, the first of several red brick water towers were built to supply the growing town with water. Water was pumped out of the river and into the top of the tower by a wood-fired steam engine, and the then flowed by gravitation to surrounding businesses and private residences. Many of these towers can still be seen around town.
In 1914, Isaburo (Jo) Takasuka produced the first commercial rice crop in Australia. He grew Japanese (Japonica) varieties on 200 acres of flood prone land on the Murray River near Swan Hill. The Burke and Wills expedition reached Swan Hill on Thursday, 6 September 1860 on their journey across Australia from Melbourne to the Gulf of Carpentaria. They made Camp XV, (their fifteenth camp out of Melbourne), in the police paddock on the banks of the Murray River in an area that is now Riverside Park. Folklore alleges Burke and Wills planted a Moreton Bay Fig tree in the garden of the local doctor, Dr. B W Gummow. The tree is now approximately 27 metres high and has a branch spread of approximately 44 metres and can be seen in Curlewis Street.

View Larger Map