A regional centre at the junction of the Ovens and King Rivers. The Wangaratta Festival of Jazz and Blues is held annually in November. The train station is on the main railway line between Sydney and Melbourne and is usually served by V/Line services between Melbourne and Albury thrice-daily as well as a twice daily Countrylink XPT service in both directions between Melbourne and Sydney. Wangaratta is also serviced by a small regional airport.
Wangaratta is strategically placed to make it an ideal base from which to explore the surrounding region, and has plenty of accommodation options for travellers. It is the closest city or town of any size to Falls Creek and Mount Hotham, two of Victoria's three major snowfields. Glenrowan, the site of bushranger Ned Kelly's last stand, is located just 10 km away. The gourmet and wines regions of Milawa and Rutherglen are close by, as are the heritage towns of Chiltern and Beechworth.
Location: 238 km north east of Melbourne off the Hume Highway. Albury-Wodonga are 72 km to the northeast. Map
Origin of name: a name of Aboriginal origin. Historically, there was disagreement about whether the first syllable should be pronounced 'Wong' or 'Wang'. The 'Wong' pronunciation was never used by a majority of the population, and never received any wide currency outside the district. It was officially disavowed by the Wangaratta City Council's declaration in favour of the 'Wang' pronunciation in the 1980s. Some locals, particularly the elderly, continue to use the 'Wong' pronunciation.
Points of Interest: Ovens River; King River; Warby Ranges; aircraft museum; bushranger Mad Dog Morgan is buried at the local cemetery; historic buildings - St Patricks Roman Catholic Church (William Wardell, 1865); 'Warra' (1908); former ANZ Bank (1875); 'Bontharambo' homestead (1858)