The Historic Port of Echuca
A Memorable Journey with Trade Travel By Julie Matthews, Tour Organiser, Wheeler Hill Combined Probus Club
Tour: Sunday 19th - Thursday 23rd May, 2024
Day 1 - Sunday 19th May
On this chilly Sunday morning twenty excited travellers boarded the very comfortable coach with our favourite Trade Travel driver Rodney & our tour host Jan. Keith & Jenny surprised us by coming to see us off & soon we were en route to Echuca / Moama in northern Victoria. Our first stop was at Seymour for morning tea & to do the Vietnam veterans commemorative walk. It features 106 amazing glass panels of historic photos, bearing over 60,000 names of all Australians who served in Vietnam, as well as real life memorabilia, a tank, helicopter, personnel carrier & artillery pieces, all set in a lovely park amongst tall spotted gums. En route we enjoyed seeing many wall murals in Benalla from the bus. At Goorambat we had a lovely 3 course lunch prepared & served by the local community group in the Mechanics Hall. Goorambat is known as "the small town with BIG ART” & there we saw our first silo art, by renowned artist, Jimmy Dvate who also painted the amazing mural of “Sophia” in the tiny local Uniting Church. Our next stop was Devenish to see their trio of silos, depicting a WW1 nurse, a modern female medic & a tribute to the Australian Light Horse. The silo art at St James depicts the history of wheat farming in the area with one silo featuring a portrait of Sir George Coles who grew up there & took over its Northern General Store from his father, & eventually expanded the business into the supermarket empire we know today. Tungamah’s silos are a lovely display of the local birdlife. Arriving at our motel, Cadell on the Murray, after 5pm, we all enjoyed our barbecue dinner eaten indoors. Light drizzle accompanied us on the short walk back to our spacious rooms & this was the only rain we experienced throughout our entire trip.
Day 2 - Monday 20th May
Today began with a visit to the Great Aussie Beer Shed & Heritage Farm Museum. It was a walk down memory lane with a truly amazing display of so much Aussie icon paraphernalia, household items, farm machinery, old cars, as well over 17,000 beer cans from Australia & overseas. So many collections!!! Their current pride & joy is the CUB Carlton Draught promotional dray once pulled by a team of Clydesdale horses, which "hung up their reins" in 2018. We then returned to Echuca & had free time to have lunch & explore the main street with its many lovely historic buildings. Next was our visit to the Echuca Historical Museum which was originally the local police station, until 1969. Local guide Gwen then came on board for an interesting bus tour of the early settlements of Echuca & Moama. In 1854 Henry Hopwood was the first settler & “father" of Echuca, while John Maiden was the founder of Moama in 1845. These twin towns, with current populations of 15,000 & 7,500, are Australia’s paddle steamer capital & home to the world’s largest fleet of operating riverboats.
Day 3 - Tuesday 21st May
Travelling east of Echuca, we first came to the tiny town of Picola, home of a beautiful silo mural featuring flora and fauna from the Barmah National Park. Hot coffees at the local hotel were very popular. Our next stop was Cactus Country, Australia’s largest cactus garden, located in Strathmerton. After strolling through some of their 12 acres we were treated to a fabulous Mexican meal. The highlight was their stunning cactus cake & cactus ice cream, made using specific cactus fruit from their garden. Several members bought cactus plants from their nursery. In Nathalia we visited the Barmah Forest Heritage & Education Centre where we learnt how this largest River Red Gum Forest was formed 20,000 years ago. The early population expanded rapidly such that the resources (River red gum timber, fish, bird life, etc) were overused & endangered. However Barmah State Park was established in 1987, & then legislated as Barmah National Park in 2010, thus ensuring the future health of this beautiful floodplain forest. Arriving in Tongala our local guide, renowned local artist Murray Ross, came aboard to provide wonderful insight into more than 50 street art pieces & murals which bring the local history to life. Thanks to Murray & other local artists donating their time & talent to brighten their community, this small town was winner of Australia’s “Best Street Art Trail” in 2022.
Day 4 - Wednesday 22nd May
Today began with a guided tour of the Port of Echuca with Joel our animated guide who gave us a great explanation of the early history of Echuca which in 1870’s was the 3rd largest port in Australia & was the main shipbuilding centre for the river transport industry. We then boarded the paddle steamer “PS Canberra” for a leisurely 1 hour trip down the Murray. Over the years PS Canberra, has had a few face lifts & is the oldest river boat in the Murray River Paddle steamer fleet, having celebrated her century in 2013. Lunch at the Echuca Hotel was enjoyable & many of us later indulged in ice cream cones while basking in some welcome sunshine! Rodney then drove us to the small township of Lockington where our passionate guide Joe explained the recent setting up the local Lockington & District Living Heritage Complex. So many memories were evoked as we explored a huge range of historical artefacts donated by local residents. These included so many everyday items in our homes, for everyday living, many tractors, farm machinery, old cars, a restored cable tram, etc, etc. Another great day, & dinner that night was our last together in the Riverpoint dining room.
Day 5 - Thursday 23rd May
Heading homewards our first stop was the town of Rochester & thanks to Val alerting us to the relatively new Iddles Lane mural, our first stop was in the town centre. This wall is a great tribute to “Good Cop,” Ron Iddles. At just after 9am the town was quiet & as the last few of us were returning to the bus we shared a friendly hello with a local couple walking by, who just happened to be Nancye, Ron’s sister, & her husband! Rodney invited them to come aboard for a brief chat….what a surprise chance meeting! We then continued on to see Rochester’s 3 delightful silo murals which feature local endemically threatened species. As in many other parts of this region it was hard to imagine that much of this town was under water in the November 2022 floods. The Gargarro Botanical Garden project was our next stop, a tourist destination which also involves & benefits the surrounding communities. Donations, grants & a great design have led to the ongoing development of this unique regional garden of native flora & geometric water features. Their “Green Thumbs” nursery, fully staffed by volunteers, opened in October 2021, while May 2023 saw the Grand Opening of the contemporary cafe & community hub. Many of us enjoyed supporting the nursery by purchasing plants & the cafe was a perfect setting for our much appreciated morning tea. Further on, Colbinabbin’s 5 colourful silo murals depicting the history of the area, were all a photographer’s delight. Tahbilk Winery, Victoria’s oldest family owned winery & vineyard, offered antipasto platters & wine tasting for lunch… as well as cellar door sales before our departure. At Nagambie we enjoyed the opportunity to take a photo of the Black Caviar statue near the lake & a last stroll before the homeward stretch. With a large moon on one side of the bus & the sun setting on the other, we had time to reflect on our wonderful time together, with our excellent driver Rodney & Jan, our lovely host, who had become our friends. Gathering up our luggage & small boxes of plants it was time to say goodbye. Many thanks to Trade Travel for organising such an interesting & enjoyable time for us all & thankfully everyone returned home fit & well! Perhaps more adventures in 2025 await those of us who are keen to explore more of our amazing country.
