Wahgunyah

Wahgunyah /wəˈɡʌnjə/ is a town in northeastern Victoria, Australia. The town is on the southern bank of the Murray River, opposite Corowa, New South Wales, in the Shire of Indigo. Wahgunyah is 298 kilometres (185 mi) north east of the state capital, Melbourne and 51 kilometres (32 mi) west of Albury/Wodonga. At the 2016 census, Wahgunyah had a population of 1,098.[1]

Wahgunyah
Victoria
The main street of Wahgunyah, looking from the Murray River crossing to Corowa.
Wahgunyah is located in Shire of Indigo
Wahgunyah
Wahgunyah
Coordinates36°00′33.3″S 146°23′39.3″E
Population1,061 (2021 census)[1]
Postcode(s)3687
Elevation143 m (469 ft)
Location
LGA(s)Shire of Indigo
State electorate(s)Benambra
Federal division(s)Indi
Mean max temp Mean min temp Annual rainfall
22.5 °C
73 °F		 8.8 °C
48 °F		 539.4 mm
21.2 in

The name is believed to be an aboriginal phrase meaning the resting place of crows.[2]

History

The Wahgunyah cattle run was leased by John Foord and John Crisp in 1841. The township was established by Foord in 1856 and became important before the arrival of the railway in 1879 as the furthest upstream port on the Murray.[3] The Post Office opened on 1 July 1858 [4] and a school opened the same year.

All Saints Estate winery to the north of town was established in 1864 by Scottish emigrants George Sutherland Smith and John Banks and its extensive cellar building was, at least in part, modelled on the Castle of Mey near Smith and Banks's home town Caithness.[5]

The town today

The main factory of Nestlé’s breakfast cereal arm Uncle Tobys is on the outskirts of Wahgunyah.

Sports and Recreation

The town has had an Australian rules football team since 1877[6] and Wahgunyah's first recorded match was against Corowa and was a return match against Corowa Football Club on Saturday, 16 June 1877, played "on the hill" in Corowa, with Wahgunyah winning the first encounter.[7] Throughout 1877, there was talk of the Wahgunyah and Corowa Football Club's merging to form one stronger club and be called Border United Football Club.[8] This merger actually took place and their first match as Border United was played against the Rutherglen Football Club in August 1877 and was captained by Jacob Levin.[9] The Border United team wore pink and white colours.[10] Border United FC remained in place until 1905, when they both entered stand alone teams in the Corowa District Football Association in 1906.[11]

Wahgunyah have won the following seven senior football premierships in the Coreen & District Football League - 1948, 1949, 1968, 1997, 1998, 2002, 2004.

Wahgunyah played in the Chiltern & District Football Association between 1920 & 1921, 1923 - 1929, 1931 - 1937, 1950, 1953 - 1956, winning senior football premierships in 1955 and 1956.

At present (2021) compete in the Tallangatta & District Football League after having been in the Coreen & District Football League until 2007.

References
  1. Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Wahgunyah (State Suburb)". 2021 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 3 December 2014.
  2. The Aboriginal and Other Meanings of many of our Region's Town Names TourismInternet
  3. Kelly Gang story, Wahgunyah, retrieved 11 April 2008
  4. Phoenix Auctions History, Post Office List, retrieved 31 January 2021
  5. "Guide to George Sutherland Smith and Sons (All Saints) Records". University of Melbourne archives. University of Melbourne. Retrieved 5 August 2014.
  6. "1877 - ORIGINAL CORRESPONDENCE". The Corowa Free Press (NSW). 27 April 1877. p. 2. Retrieved 10 September 2021.
  7. "1877 - Corowa FC v Wahgunyah FC". The Corowa Free Press. 10 February 1877. p. 2. Retrieved 6 February 2020 – via Trove Newspapers.
  8. "1877 - Wahgunyah FC and Corowa FC merger talks". The Corowa Free Press. 22 June 1877. p. 3 – via Trove Newspapers.
  9. "1877 - Border United FC v Rutherglen FC". The Corowa Free Press. 3 August 1877. p. 3 – via Trove Newspapers.
  10. "1877 - Rutherglen FC v Border United FC". The Corowa Free Press. 24 August 1877. p. 3 – via Trove Newspapers.
  11. "1906 – Corowa & District Football Association Formation". The Corowa Free Press. 22 May 1906. p. 2 – via Trove Newspapers.

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