Swan Hill, Victoria

Swan Hill is a city in the north west of Victoria, Australia. It is located on the Murray Valley Highway, on the south bank of the Murray River, downstream from the junction of the Loddon River.

Swan Hill gives its name to a wine region straddling the Murray River. The vines are predominantly irrigated from the river.

The visitor information centre has a giant Murray Cod out the front. The historic Pioneer Settlement Museum is a tourist attraction, along with rides on the PS Pyap.

History

In the Dreamtime, Totyerguil (from the area now known as Swan Hill) ran out of spears while chasing Otchtout the cod. This chase is part of the mythology of the creation of the Murray River.

Based on evidence from Coobool Creek and Kow Swamp, it appears that Aboriginal people have lived in the area for the last 13,000 - 9,000 years. The area is inhabited by the Wemba Wemba and Wati Wati people. Swan Hill was called "Matakupaat" or "place of the Platypus" by the Wemba Wemba people.

The area was given its current name by explorer Thomas Mitchell, while camping beside a hill there on 21 June 1836.

"Among the reeds on the point of ground between the two rivers was a shallow lagoon where swans and other wild fowl so abounded that, although half a mile from our camp, their noise disturbed us through the night. I therefore named this somewhat remarkable and isolated feature Swan Hill, a point which may probably be found to mark the junction of two fine streams."

Three Expeditions into the Interior of Eastern Australia, Vol 2 (http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/13033), by Thomas Mitchell

The European community grew up around a punt river crossing, which was established as early as 1846. This crossing serviced the growing agricultural area, and was the only river crossing for 100 km.

In 1853 Francis Cadell navigated the Murray river from its mouth in South Australia to Swan Hill in his paddle steamer, Lady Augusta. He arrived on 17 September 1853, narrowly beat William Randell of Mannum, who arrived 4 hours later in the in PS Mary Ann. This demonstrated the feasibility of river traffic, which florished until the introduction of the railway.

On 6 September 1860, the Burke and Wills expedition reached Swan Hill on their ill-fated expedition from Melbourne to the Gulf of Carpentaria. Charles Gray joined the expedition at this time. Before leaving, Bourke and Wills planted a Moreton Bay Fig tree. The tree can still be seen in Curlewis Street. It is approximately 27 m high and has a branch spread of approximately 44 m.

In 1883, the first of several red brick water towers were built to supply the growing town with water. Water was pumped out of the river and into the top of the tower by a wood-fired steam engine, and the then flowed by gravitation to surrounding businesses and private residences. Many of these towers can still be seen around town.

The punt river crossing was replaced by a bridge in 1896.

In 1914, Isaburo (Jo) Takasuka produced the first commercial rice crop in Australia. He grew Japanese (Japonica) varieties on 200 acres (800,000 m²) of flood prone land on the Murray River near Swan Hill.

Literature

Author James Aldridge was born in Swan Hill. He described Swan Hill during the Great Depression of the 1930s in his series of "St Helens" books. Some of the best known are:

• A Sporting Proposition (adapted for the screen by Walt Disney as "Ride A Wild Pony").
• My Brother Tom (made into a TV series).
• The True Story of Spit MacPhee (Winner: 1986 New South Wales Premier's Literary Award; winner: 1986 Guardian Award; adapted for television).
• The True Story of Lilli Stubeck (1985 CBCA Book of the Year).

External links

• Australian Palaeoanthropology index (http://www-personal.une.edu.au/~pbrown3/ausindex.html), with discussion of Coobool Creek and Kow Swamp.
• Swan Hill Rural City Council (http://www.swanhill.vic.gov.au/)
• Murray River Regions and Towns: Swan Hill (http://www.murray-river.net/regions/swanhill/default.htm)
• Swan Hill - Murray River Road Bridge (http://www.rta.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/index.cgi?action=heritage.show&id=4301080) Heritage and conservation register.
• Swan Hill Pioneer Settlement (http://www.pioneersettlement.com.au/)
• James Aldridge (http://www.penguin.com.au/authors/author-author-profile.cfm?AuthorId=0000000018)
• The History of the Australian Rice Industry (http://www.sunrice.com.au/rice/industry-history.asp), by SunRice.Template:Victorian cities