Stay updated with breaking news from Bone gilla. Get real-time updates on events, politics, business, and more. Visit us for reliable news and exclusive interviews.
Photograph by Chris Van Hove Echuca wasn’t always such a gentle idyll. Back in the riverboat days of the mid- to late 19th century, it was all illegal drinking dens, fruity language on the wharf and whirring sawmills. Dot Hammond, president of the Echuca Historical Society, says its location led to Echuca becoming Australia’s biggest inland port. “Echuca is the closest settlement to Melbourne along the Murray River, and at the time it had the only river-crossing punts. After 1864, when rail came from Melbourne to Echuca, a line ran directly to the wharf,” she explains. “The paddle steamers would often unload goods directly onto the train at the wharf for the journey to the markets at Bendigo or Melbourne.” ....