Continuing my exploration of Victoria’s country towns, I headed up to the twin towns of Echuca and Moama, nestled on either side of the Murray River, the river creating the border between Victoria and New South Wales.
In its early days, Echuca was a thriving river town. At its heart were hundreds of majestic paddlesteamers linking the town with the inland. Produce was brought to Echuca from the properties, hamlets and forests along the river and, in turn, goods were sent back up the river.
With the arrival of the railway in 1864, goods were transferred from paddlesteamer to steam engine, and from there transported to Melbourne and around the world. Up until the 1880s, Echuca was Victoria’s second largest port.
The Port is quieter now, having found a new life servicing the tourist trade. I boarded the P.S. Arbuthnot for my hour-long cruise along the mighty Murray River.
The Murray is the third-longest navigable river in the world, after the Amazon and the Nile. With its total length of 2508 kilometres, it spans three states, Victoria, New South Wales and South Australia, from its source in the Kosciusko National Park to its mouth east of Adelaide. 
The level of the Murray River system fluctuates enormously between spring and autumn. The river trade could only be carried out for a few months of the year, known as ‘the season’, when spring rains and melting snows raised the height of the river substantially. That’s something I hadn’t known until now. In years of drought or low rainfall, paddlesteamers could be caught up the river for a whole season or more.
Ah, is there anything more sedating than a river cruise?
Houseboats lined up along the shore. I fancy getting myself a little houseboat and living on the river. Maybe I could learn to relax at last.
That little girl was one of the happiest children I’d ever seen. I was just wishing there was more than a bit of chain to stop her falling into the river. I seemed to be the only one worried about it. That’s what comes of having grandchildren.
Some of the lovely paddlesteamers still plying the river, though their cargo is now tourists.
Back at the wharf, we discovered the Pevensey. P.S. Pevensey is named after a sheep property on the Murrumbidgee River called Pevensey Station. In the old days, she collected bales of wool from station properties and brought them to Echuca to be loaded onto trains and taken to Melbourne for shipping overseas. The boat was used in the famous Australian television mini-series, ‘All the Rivers Run’, based on the book by Nancy Cato, made in Echuca in 1982-1983. In the show, it was named, Philadelphia.
Planning to the Nth 
Fascinating to read, see and learn. Wonderful post. Thank you
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Thanks Thanks very much, Johnny.
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Interesting post Coral Thanks Nar
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Thanks a lot, Nar.
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I love Echua and Moama. So much history in one little town. Will have to get back there one day. We cycled from Mildura to Albury sticking as close as we could to the River. A fabulous experience. Thanks for bringing back some happy memories. Mel
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No worries, Mel. If I’d had the time, I would have kept going along the river. There’s a special feeling about that river.
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True – those big old river red gums are magical.
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Absolutely magnificent.
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Interesting to read about these places and the cruise along the Murray river Coral.
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Thanks, Marion. I’m about to get into your post about Port Isaac, my favourite spot in my trip to England in 2016.
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Lovely post. I’ve always regretted that we never had time to have a trip on the Murray when we were in Australia. The most we ever did was the Hawkesbury River trip and that was brilliant. The cities have so much to offer though, it’s hard to tear oneself away.
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True, Mari. There’s never enough time when you’re travelling. I’ve been promising myself the Hawkesbury for years and still haven’t made it. I will, though, once I’m sure that if I cross the border they’ll let me back into Victoria again. Very dicey with borders opening and closing at the drop of a hat.
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Coral,
Yet another delightful look at a “backwater” of Australian life. Nice to see a few remnants of the 19th century still in place.
I realise it is in NSW, but I hope you are avoiding the terrible floods we see on our TVs here in Britain.
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Thanks, Richard. A lot of country towns have hung onto their look and their history. Thanks for your concern re the floods. We’re okay here at the moment but there’s a fair amount of rainfall forecast, so cross fingers it’s not too much. It’s pretty bad in New South Wales, though..
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Such a great place to visit. Wonderful photos.
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Thanks, Miriam.
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I love the Murray River although I’ve never travelled upon it, only camped alongside it. Does a tendency to sea and motion-sickness apply to a river and a paddlesteamer? I’m not about to find out, but I did enjoy your trip. Such lovely country alongside the river, the river gums and eucalypt bush, you know it’s going to be crunchy underfoot. Unless it’s been raining.
Lovely trip thankyou.
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Thanks, Suzanne. I loved Echuca. I stayed in a nice motel right near the port so right in the middle of things. I have the worst problem with sea sickness on the ocean, even up at the Barrier Reef but no problem with rivers. River cruises are so sedating.
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Another interesting post about another part of Victoria I haven’t visited. You are inspiring me to go on a Victorian road trip when it becomes possible again.
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Thanks so much. I’ll go back to Echuca again and hang about for awhile. It’s a lovely town.
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We seem to think alike Coral, I have been posting about country towns in WA! I know what you mean about grandchildren, my daughter is always telling me to stop freaking out.
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Thanks, Alison. I’m sure I wasn’t so anxious as a mother.
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