Moama

YOU ARE IN :Home » Touring Route » Moama

Discover Moama

Echuca-Moama is the paddlesteamer capital of Australia and an ideal holiday destination. Just two and a half hours from Melbourne and located on the mighty Murray River, it offers a great variety of shops, restaurants, cafes and accommodation to suit everyone. Echuca-Moama enjoys a wonderful climate, perfect for holidays - whatever the season.
Visit the historic port of Echuca and travel back in time on a paddlesteamer cruise. Experience the Murray River, the centrepiece of the towns. Hire a houseboat, go fishing, canoeing or waterskiing. You can also use Echuca-Moama as your base to explore nearby towns, magnificent red gum forests, wetlands and fauna parks
 

History

Echuca and Moama are neighbouring towns separated by the Murray River, the border between Victoria and New South Wales. They have become a combined community aiming to make the area a desirable place to live and an interesting destination for visitors and both sides work together to this end.


Each town has a different history. Moama was established by James Maiden as early as l845 and became a cattle mart, providing meat for miners at the Bendigo diggings. But Moama's prosperity was short lived, as some 10 years later the gold petered out and Moama followed Maiden into obscurity. Echuca, on the other hand, was founded by Henry Hopwood, who established a commercial empire on the south bank of the Murray in l853 and pressured the Government into providing a railway, which opened in l864. Soon afterwards a port was established at the terminus and paddlesteamers began transporting wool and other goods along the Murray-Darling and Murrumbidgee Rivers.
Moama has had a chequered history. When the settlement began in 1845, it was know as Maiden's Punt, named after James Maiden - punt owner, station manager, stock dealer, publican and post master. Three years later the village area was surveyed and lots were put up for sale when the town was renamed Moama.


Situated on the main cattle route from southern New South Wales to the gold fields at Bendigo in the 1850's, the settlement became a cattle market and crossing place and big deals took place across the bar of Maiden's Junction Inn. Maiden became a millionaire by providing fresh beef to the Bendigo diggings. It is thought the Bendigo suburb of Maiden Gully is named after the location of his abattoir there.
Moama was gazetted in 1851 and there were great celebrations in the small town in 1853 when Captain William Randell, the first person to travel upstream from Goolwa to Moama, arrived in the paddle steamer "Mary Ann". The trip was the forerunner of the river trade and the boat building industry that was to bolster Echuca-Moama's fortunes in years to come.


Meanwhile in l853 Hopwood built an inn and established a punt on the south bank of the Murray at Echuca and the settlement soon became known as 'Hopwood's Ferry'.
In 1854 the government surveyor approved the site chosen by Hopwood and renamed it 'Echuca', an aboriginal term said to mean 'meeting of the waters'. Land sales proceeded in 1855 and by 1856 Echuca had become dominant over Moama.


The river trade was to prove crucial to the economic development of the nation as it enabled the opening up of Australia's interior, the extension of land given over to primary industries (particularly wool) and the capacity of those properties to transport their goods to the national and international marketplace.
In l864 the railway line was extended to Echuca, the closest Murray River town to Melbourne and soon afterwards a port was established at its terminus on the south bank of the river. The rail link also prompted the construction, in 1865, of an enormous wharf which would ultimately extend to 1.2 kilometres in length. In later years Echuca emerged as the colony's largest inland port.


Moama declined when the cattle market crashed in the late 1850's. Moama was remote from the NSW capital whereas Echuca was relatively close to its capital and was the natural centre for trade with Melbourne. The little settlement of Moama hung on and in the 1860's, police barracks, a school, post and telegraph office and customs office were established giving an air of permanency to the township.


Shipbuilding on the Moama side of the river became an important industry and foundries to service the boats flourished at Echuca. Echuca further benefited from the growing demand for local red-gum timber which proved ideal for wharves, railway sleepers, mining props and building generally. A dozen timber mills were soon in operation.


Unfortunately Moama's progress was halted by disastrous floods that occurred in 1870 when almost every building in Moama was inundated or submerged by flood waters. The township was gradually rebuilt on higher ground further west near its present position, and when the Deniliquin to Moama railway line and the iron bridge were constructed between 1876-78, the township settled down to a slow but steady growth and expansion.


By 1880 Moama had a population of 700 with a district population of 1000. In 1953 the council of the Municipality of Moama became the Murray Shire Council, which is today, one of the fastest growing local government areas outside Sydney. Visitors are encouraged to take a wander around the site of old Moama, located at the bottom end of Chanter Street. Sites of significance are signposted and it is often said you can feel the history when in the area.


Echuca reached its peak in the 1870s and 1880s and was nominated as a possible national capital in 1891. However, the development of the railway system, its extension to other Murray River towns, the unreliability of water levels, the lack of a national strategy for the interstate river trade and improvements in road transport ultimately led to the demise of the trade on the internal waterways. Fortunately however, many of the old structures associated with the original port were left standing, if neglected, when the focus of business shifted to another part of town.


AttractionsThe Historic Port Area in Echuca was once the largest inland port in Australia, with a 1.2 kilometre wharf built in 1865. Today, the Port of Echuca is an authentic working steam port where you can tread the boards on the huge redgum wharf and be taken back to an era when Echuca was once a bustling river port.


The Port is now home to the world's largest collection of paddlesteamers. Many have been fully restored and offer daily cruises, which provide an insight into life on the river 100 years ago. Visitors can enjoy short trips, lunch and dinner cruises or overnight stays aboard the paddlesteamers.


The historic Port area adjoining the wharf is like a living museum. Horse drawn carriages crunch the gravel roadways that are lined with historic buildings, hotels, tearooms, a working blacksmith and woodturner, all adding to the character and atmosphere at the historic precinct.


With more than 50 eateries in Echuca-Moama, dining experiences are plentiful. Enjoy great shopping with all your essentials, including the big-name department stores, intimate gift shops and many cafes in the town-centre, as well as the unique shopping strip of historic High Street.


Echuca Moama has many attractions including Moama's Adventure Playpark, Billabong Carriage Rides, Ranch & Trail rides, Canoe Safaris, Charming cellar doors, a Military Museum, Go-kart track, Heartland Raceway, The Great Aussie Beer Shed, Madison Day Spa, National Holden Museum and Paintball.


AccommodationEchuca Moama offers an enormous variety of accommodation options and Echuca-Moama Tourism offers a booking service to visitors. Visit the accommodation search on the Echuca Moama Tourism website for more information, or phone the friendly staff on 1800 804 446.
 

Visitor Information Centre

Back to Interactive Map