Located two and a half hours north of Melbourne, Echuca is Australia's prime paddle steamer town with eight paddle steamers in operation or undergoing restoration on the banks of the Murray River. Echuca is a town of history and romance and the white bellowing smoke, the hiss of steam, and the sound of the blades of the paddle steamer slapping the waters accompanied by the roar of the whistle will take visitors back to another time when Echuca was Australia's biggest inland port.

The name Echuca is Aboriginal for 'meeting of the waters' and indicates that here the Goulburn and Campaspe Rivers run into the mighty Murray. The Murray is one of Australia's most illustrious rivers extending over 2560km from its source in Victoria's snowy mountains to its mouth at lake Alexandrina in South Australia.

Echuca is the shopping and trading centre of a diverse farming region and one of the fastest growing towns in Victoria.

Historical Attraction

Echuca's great appeal comes from its historical significance and the atmosphere around the historic port precinct which has been restored and developed into an attraction offering visitors an insight into local life as it was in the town's boom era.

Echuca's European history dates back to the 1860s when two ex-convicts, Henry Hopwood and James Maiden established the twin towns of Echuca-Moama on opposite sides of the Murray River. Hopwood was a character of the first order, stubborn and shrewd he started a punt service before trains and bridges were thought of and built Echuca's Bridge Hotel which still operates as a restaurant and gallery. Echuca folk law says that Hopwood staggered the punt schedules to keep his customers drinking in his Hotel bar and that if trade in the bar was slow he would cancel the punt schedule altogether.

Until the early 1900s Echuca was a busy bustling port with hundreds of paddle steamers and barges carrying supplies to cattle stations and sheep properties along the Murray, Darling and Murrumbidgee Rivers. Paddle steamers and their barges were the cheapest and most effective means of transport, and on the return journey they were laden with cargoes of wool and timber for transportation to Melbourne by rail.

The paddle steamers also moved people and housed water-borne churches and missionaries. Paddle steamers were the agents of social interaction and civilised livelihood for the river towns and surrounding properties, they were often the venue for weddings and funerals.

Echuca-Moama was the epicentre of trade, it was the closest river town to Melbourne -only 200km away- and a major railhead. There are many historical attractions in the port area including the original huge redgum wharf where thousands of men worked and a collection of riverfront buildings which have been restored. The redgum wharf which is still in use was once 1.2km long, the wharf is not as long now but remains as a tribute to these exciting times when Echuca was the largest inland port in the Southern Hemisphere handling $9 million worth of merchandise a year in 19th century currency.

Today visitors to Echuca can cruise on a number of historic paddle steamers including the PS Adelaide a historic logging boat and one of the world's oldest operating paddle steamers and choose from a variety of tours of the Murray. A number of cruises include lunch or dinner and some overnight cruises are also available.

Visitors can also tour the historic wharf areas and see a number of century old buildings including Victoria's only brothel classified by the National Trust - a relic from Echuca's colourful past. Also on the shady side are Echuca's illegal underground bars and the escape tunnels that were used to avoid encounters with the Echuca police, visitors can view these from the Star Hotel.

Echuca's High Street is also filled with wonderful historic buildings, visitors can browse through a variety of interesting stores and then relax in a homestyle cafe enjoying a range of home made treats.

Another of Echuca's historic attractions is the town's first butter factory which has been refurbished to house three delightful stores in a picturesque garden setting. At the Tangled Garden visitors will find a wonderful book store, a craft gallery featuring local crafts such as pottery and woodwork and a charming coffee shop, perfect for lunches or light snacks.

Natural Attractions

Echuca has a warm dry climate and receives more hours of sunshine each year than Queenslands Gold Coast, there are many wonderful outdoor activities to enjoy and a superb range of natural attractions.

The Barmah Forest 30km north-east of Echuca is part of the largest redgum forest in Australia with some trees in the forest more than 500 years old. The Barmah covers 30,000 hectares with a 112km frontage to the Murray River, it is a place of deep and abiding significance for the local Aboriginals and is listed on the register of Wetlands of International Importance.

Echuca also has a superb bushland and other magnificent native forest areas as well as its famous Murray River perfect for fishing, cruising, canoeing and kayaking. There are well established walking tracks in the area and opportunities to see a variety of bird life and native animals.

35km north of Echuca is the Moira State Forest, a place of superb natural beauty where visitors can enjoy forest drives, bushwalking, riverside picnics and camping as well as wildlife observatories and a variety of outdoor activities.

There are a number of leisure and sporting facilities available in Echuca including sandbars and beaches, a multitude of parks and playgrounds and a range of sports including tennis, golf bowls, canoeing, horse riding and swimming. There are also a number of small rural towns surrounding Echuca that offer unique sight seeing opportunities.

At the Joalah Fauna Park visitors can enjoy a wide variety of native wildlife including Tasmanian Devils, kangaroos, wallabies, wombats and a large range of birds. The Park also has a magnificent nursery featuring hundreds of beautiful exotic plants. Devonshire teas and light snack are available and visitors are welcome to enjoy a BBQ lunch on the picnic lawn.

Other attractions for visitors to enjoy include the Kyabram Fauna Park which has over 500 native animals, birds and reptiles, the Fields Cactus Farm which has Australia's largest collection of mature cactus and succulent plants and the Rich River Yabbie and Worm Farm.

Another attraction close to Echuca is the Golden Cow, the dairy industry centre where visitors can learn about the workings of the industry, sample products and learn about landcare.

Arts and Crafts

Echuca offers a variety of souvenir, antique, craft and books stores any many interesting craft workshops to explore including the Riverina Boot & Clothing company where visitors can see cobblers at work making a wide range of footwear and the Red Gum Works where a working steam and electric sawmill saws red gum logs as they did in Echuca's early days. Visitors can inspect the engine house and watch the boiler being fired as well as enjoy the beautiful wood works in the red Gum Gallery including hand turned bowls and superbly crafted furniture. At the Red Gum Works, visitors can also enjoy wonderful lunches overlooking the mighty Murray River, delightful colonial fare prepared in traditional wood fired ovens.

Echuca's Redgum Forge also has craftsmen at work individually handcrafting household wares and souvenirs on site.

The Echuca-Moama Art Gallery is also located in the historic Port Area and features selected works by renowned artists. Other arts attractions in Echuca include the Echuca Wharf Pottery where visitors will find a beautiful range of Australian hand made pottery and crafts. Visitors will also be able to see demonstrations of pottery being turned on a wheel, decorating and kiln firing.

Museums

The Echuca Historical Museum has displays of original river charts, river boat photos and other early documents, plans and books. Other exhibits include an early home-life room and a family history research centre. Echuca's original gaol is also open to the public as a museum, this was used as a gaol until recent years.

Echuca's Aboriginal Cultural Centre is located in Echuca's Old Court House. The Cultural Centre has a wonderful display of local traditional artefacts including hunting, food gathering and ceremonial pieces and a collection of videotapes documenting the history and language of the local area. The Centre also has a gallery where visitors will find a collection of artefacts and hand painted T-shirts for sale. The artefacts, crafted by craftsmen descended from the Yorta Yorta and Wemba Wemba tribes are made from locally grown blackwood wattle and feature traditional aboriginal designs.

The Dharnya Centre in the Barmah Forest displays the history and culture of local Aboriginal and European Communities and the unique relationship between the forest and the Murray River which was the basis for growth of the Echuca township and maintains a strong influence on the town today.

The Alambee Auto & Folk Museum is another of Echuca's delightful museums. The Alambee Museum has a collection of over 40 vintage cars, bicycles, motor cycles and trucks, an operational vintage model railway which features the most intricate of detail and a huge collection of other memorabilia pieces. The Museum includes displays of coins, bottles, guns, native artefacts as well as phonograph's, gramophones and radios and an assortment of early film equipment. The Museum has a range of exhibits to suit all interests.

Echuca's Coach House Carriage Collection features Australia's largest collection of authentic horse drawn vehicles while Sharps Magic Movie House and Penny Arcade provides visitors with a look at the amusements of yesteryear. Sharps includes a variety of antique games and fun kalliopes that play wonderful melodies, visitors to the movie house will be able to see a range of archival film footage, view historic news reels and comedy pieces as well as have their fortune told and their strength and lovability tested by a collection of fun amusement games.

For more light hearted entertainment World in Wax is Echuca's fun wax museum where a number of famous people and celebrities have been cast in wax

Special Events

Echuca-Moama hosts a variety of special events each year, The Southern 80 a gruelling waterski race is held on the second Sunday in February each year and in March the town is transformed into a sea of tents as the Tongala Tent Town Festival begins a celebration of arts, crafts and entertainments.

Easter is a busy time of year in Echuca and surrounding areas with a Working Horse Fair which includes displays of saddle-making, rope-making, blacksmithing, chaff cutting, camp cooking and more and a tractor pull and aircraft display at nearby Kyabram.

Other events throughout the year include the Barmah Muster a cattle mustering event held in the end of April that has a 150 year tradition. The event focuses the town on around 2000 head of cattle that are put into the forest and left until muster when they are herded out using traditional mustering skills. The Muster ends with a celebratory bush dance.

Echuca also has a major steam festival with a hose and vintage rally, a Rich River Festival a 10 day extravaganza of street entertainment, fun events on the river and non-stop entertainment, an agricultural show and a wild Melbourne Cup celebration amongst others.

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