Swan Hill

Victoria (Western Region)

Swan Hill
Over 100 years ago the pioneers decided to build their homesteads near the banks of The Murray. Nowhere is the spirit of the past more powerful than at Swan Hill. You will see the sunken hulk of an abandoned barge, and old punt crossing, homesteads and red gum wharfs awaiting traffic from another time. Swan Hill was named by the explorer Major Thomas Mitchell in 1836. It was the result of a sleepless night he spent here, with black swans piercing the air with their distinctive cry from sunset to sunrise. However, his reports can't have been too bad. Soon after the journey, two large properties, bordering either side of The Murray, were taken up by graziers. These homesteads, Murray Downs and Tyntyndyer, still stand and are open to the public. They highlight home life in the early 1800s with furnishings and other implements spanning about 130 years. Tyntyndyer is said to be the first brick veneer home built in Australia.

The town, however, did not truly develop until a large punt began operating across the river in 1847. This entrepreneurial idea was to boost the growth of Swan Hill , as it was the only river crossing for many miles. The remarkable Swan Hill Pioneer Settlement at Horseshoe Bend depicts the daily life and labours of Australia's early river settlers in detail. In period costume, bakers slide fragrant damper from wood ovens, printers compose type - laying each letter side by side, blacksmiths forge iron and confectioners delight all with authentic boiled sweets. Aboard the riverboat restaurant 'Gem', moored at the entrance to the Pioneer Settlement, yabbies, witchetty grubs and kangaroo tail soup are served up for the adventurous. From the settlement you can also embark on a paddlesteamer adventure. 'Pyap' carries passengers to the impressive Murray Downs homestead. The 'Pyap' is not without a history herself. She has been a supply, hawking, fishing and woodcutting boat throughout her long and colourful life. Today Swan Hill is an easy 336 kilometres from Melbourne. Camping grounds, many motels, houseboats and holiday flats will welcome you. Around Swan Hill
Heading for Swan Hill, you can go south down the Calder Highway, turning east at Hattah onto the Hattah–Robinvale Road and continuing past the Hattah Kulkyne National Park. Alternatively, you can cross the Murray into New South Wales and follow the Sturt Highway, recrossing the river at Robinvale, a small, rather characterless fruit-growing town, but idyllically situated within a great loop of the river. Wine buffs should make a stop at the Robinvale Winery, Sea Lake Road (Mon–Sat 9am–6pm, Sun 1–6pm), where a wide range of wines, including some Greek varieties, are biodynamically produced. Twenty-five kilometres from Swan Hill you reach the highly productive stone-fruit and vegetable-growing area of NYAH. Bushcamping (no water or facilities) is allowed in the nearby Nyah and Vinefera state forests along the Murray; for full details contact Parks Victoria in Swan Hill. Eight kilometres beyond Nyah is the Tyntynder Homestead (Mon–Fri & Sun 9am–4.30pm, Sat during school holidays only; $7), a classic 1846 bungalow furnished in wealthy squatter style and set amid flowering gardens. Part of the homestead is a museum containing, among other things, a collection of Aboriginal artefacts. Pioneer Settlement
Swan Hill’s Pioneer Settlement (daily 9am–5pm; $12), a reconstruction of a pioneering community at Horseshoe Bend about 1km south of the train station, was the first of its kind in Australia and is still one of the best. The buildings are all authentic, having been transported from various sites near and far. One of the most interesting is the Iron House, an example of a nineteenth-century “kit home”, many thousands of which were shipped out from Britain during the housing crisis that accompanied the goldrush – cities and towns in Victoria had whole streets of them, and they were stiflingly hot in summer and freezing cold in winter. This particular example came from South Melbourne, where it was lived in until 1967. In the settlement’s streets many of the shops are functional – the baker, the printer, the haberdashery and the porcelain doll shop – with assistants dressed in vaguely period costume. Generally, though, it’s low-key and peaceful: buildings such as the barber’s shop and the stock and station agents are open for you to wander around undisturbed. The pharmacy has a large collection of old medicines, with a gruesome dentist’s surgery out back; the church is made from old bricks of the original courthouse; and there’s even a rather creepy Masonic Lodge, which is still in use. The Mechanics Institute has a traditional collection of books and a wonderful working “Stereoscopic Theatre” from 1895: the wooden cylinder has 25 viewfinders, each with a leather seat from which you can admire the 3D scenes. You can go on rides around the settlement in a 1924 Dodge or a horse-drawn carriage. In the evening, the sound and light show (nightly from dusk; $8) is strikingly effective. The settlement is situated on the banks of the Marraboor River, a branch of the Murray. A wooden bridge spans the river to Pental Island, which has an assortment of native flora and fauna. Meanwhile, an old paddle steamer, the Pyap, cruises from the settlement upriver past Murray Downs every day at 10.30am and 2.30pm (1hr; $8). Swan Hill to Gunbower Island
From Swan Hill the Murray Valley Highway heads southeast, away from the river, and follows the rail line past a series of about fifty freshwater lakes. At the first of these, Lake Boga, 16km from Swan Hill, Lake Boga Jet Ski Hire and Parasailing rents out jet skis and offers parasailing. Also by the lake – follow the signs – is Best’s at St. Andrew’s Winery, a large, commercial winery, the oldest in the Swan Hill region, and the sister winery to Best’s Cocongella at Great Western (Mon–Fri 9am–5pm, Sat & Sun 10am–4pm). The lakes peter out at Kerang, a sizeable town in a citrus-growing area on the Loddon River. Nearby Lake Reedy is one of the largest ibis-breeding grounds in Australia and has a public-viewing hide; the birds are widespread in the area, though, so you probably won’t have any trouble seeing some. From Kerang, the Murray Valley Highway continues east to Cohuna, in a rich dairy-farming area, and from there towards Gunbower Island, a further 23km. The “island”, encircled by the Murray River and Gunbower Creek, is a state forest of huge red gums and Gunnawarra wetlands, with 160 species of birds and much wildlife. It’s most easily approached from Cohuna (follow the signs on the Kerang–Koondrook road); details of walks and camping can be obtained from the Kerang office of Parks Victoria (tel 03/5450 3951). Practicalities
The tourist information office, 306 Campbell St (Mon–Fri 9am–5pm, Sat 10am–1pm; free tel 1800/625 373), has a free map of the town giving detailed information on local attractions; it also sells tickets for the Pioneer Settlement sound and light show. Parks Victoria at 1 McCallum St (Mon–Fri 8am–4.30pm; tel 03/5036 0830) can provide you with information on camping in the nearby Nyah and Vinefera state forests. There’s a strip of motels, all with swimming pools, along Campbell Street, where almost all the town’s facilities are located. The Swan Hill Resort Motor Inn at no. 405 is the most luxurious, with an indoor and outdoor pool and spa, plus gym and other sports facilities; it’s easily located because of its restaurant, The Silver Slipper, which has a huge rotating stiletto outside and even tackier decor inside. The Pioneer Motor Inn at no. 421 is older and better value; at no. 182 is the White Swan Hotel, which has simple rooms with shared facilities as well as more luxurious ones. The Riverside at 1 Monash Drive is a good, centrally located caravan park right on the riverfront. The large Italian population in Swan Hill has had a beneficial effect on the food: Bartalotta’s Hot Bread Kitchen, 178 Campbell St, is excellent, as are the town’s two pizzerias – Rio’s Pizza & Pasta and Quo Vadis, both on Campbell Street and serving pizza as well as pasta and ribs. Both health food and junk food are doled out during the day at the Old Royal, a slightly alternative café at 176 Campbell St. Teller’s Restaurant & Bar at no. 225, is a slick-looking, city-style brasserie in an old bank, open daily for lunch and dinner. The Swan Hill Swimming Pool, Monash Drive (Oct–April daily 7am–9pm), has several pools and a waterslide.