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| Lake Victoria
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Shepparton (including Mooroopna)
Major rural centre in the Goulburn Valley
Shepparton (population 28 000) is the major
centre of the Goulburn Valley and the
headquarters of the Goulburn Valley irrigation
system. It is located 179 km north of Melbourne
on the Goulburn Valley Highway and 113 metres
above sea-level. Mooroopna (population 5260) is
separated from Shepparton by the river and a
large tract of flood-prone forest and joined by
a causeway. The surrounding area produces a
substantial proportion of the state's
agricultural output, particularly fruit,
vegetables, cereals and milk products. Local
industry includes two enormous fruit canneries (SPC
and Ardmona), Campbell's Soups, a foundry and a
woollen mill.
The area is thought to have been inhabited by
the Yota-Yota people prior to white settlement.
The first Europeans to venture onto the townsite
were Joseph Hawdon and Charles Bonney who camped
here by the Goulburn River while overlanding
cattle from Albury to Adelaide in 1838 (the site
is commemorated by a memorial in Sobraon St).
In 1843 Sherbourne Sheppard took up the
Tallygaroopna run on which the town later
developed. The settlement was initially known as
Macguire's after the man who established a punt
service on the Goulburn for the diggers headed
to the goldfields. Naturally he added an inn to
lighten their pockets before the crossing. The
name had been changed to Sheppardtown by 1855
when the first survey was conducted.
The village became a stopover for the
paddlesteamer service which travelled along the
Goulburn River to Echuca on the Murray River.
Agriculture also developed at this time.
Nonetheless there were only 30 recorded
residents and a half-dozen buildings in 1871.
Mooroopna was then the more important of the two
settlements as its punt service attracted more
custom from travelling diggers. A private
township was established there in 1874. However,
Shepparton developed rapidly with the arrival of
the railway in 1880.
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| Royal Mail
Hotel and Quality animal feed silos,
Mooroopna |
The Furphy foundry was opened by John Furphy
in 1878. It was here that the famous Furphy
water-cart was manufactured.
A major expansion of agricultural production
and of the local population occurred after 1912
when irrigation really got under way with water
from Lake Nagambie. Dairies and orchards
proliferated after World War I, engendering a
period of rapid growth. This led to the
development of subsidiary industries such as
milk processing, fruit packing and canning.
Thus, in 1917, the Shepparton Preserving Company
(SPC) was formed. Today it is one of the world's
largest fruit canneries. Another major player is
the Ardmona cannery in Mooroopna which opened in
the 1920s. Shepparton became a borough in 1927
and a city in 1949.
Cleckheaton Woollen Mill was established in
1948 in a transfer of operations from Leeds in
England and Campbell's Soups opened its factory
in 1962.
Naturally the town's festivals revolve
largely around food. They include International
Dairy Week in January, Mooroopna Fruit Salad Day
in February, the Arts Festival in March, the
Goulburn Valley Vintage Festival (a celebration
of food and wine) on the third Sunday in March,
and the Agricultural Show in October.
The Goulburn and Broken River systems around
town furnish good fishing opportunities.
Things to see:
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Tourist Information
The Greater Shepparton Information Centre is
located by Victoria Lake, at the corner of
Fitzjohn St and Wyndham St. It is open daily,
tel: (03) 5831 4400 or free-call (1800) 808 839.
Victoria Park Lake
The Information Centre is situated next to the
lake which was constructed in the 1920s on land
that was once swamp. Boating and swimming are
popular and there is an island in the middle
occupied by native birds. The western shore is
flanked by Tom Collins Drive which has some
lovely picnic spots. It runs between Welsford St
and Fitzjohn St.
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| The
Shepparton Family Museum
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Shepparton Museum and Historic Precinct
The local museum is really very good. There are
displays relating to local industry, clothing,
transport, communications, shopping and local
agriculture. The building also houses the
19th-century four-faced post office clock which
is still in working order. It is open from 1.00
p.m. to 4.00 p.m on those Sundays which fall on
even-numbered days, or by appointment, tel: (03)
5831 2317. The museum is located in the former
public hall (1873) at the corner of Welsford and
High Sts. There is a small entry fee.
Adjacent is the 'Historic Precinct' by the
Goulburn River where you can see an Aboriginal
canoe tree (bearing the scars where the bark was
removed for the construction of a canoe), the
remains of a wharf (1880) from the paddlesteamer
days and the site of the punt around which the
town grew.
Shepparton Art Gallery
The art gallery has a strong ceramics display
ranging from the colonial era to the present. An
annual ceramics award attracts international
submissions which are on display from late
January to the end of March. There are also some
Australian modernist paintings and a few items
from the Heidelberg school. It is located in the
Civic Centre at 70 Welsford St (near the Nixon
St roundabout) and is open from Tuesday to
Friday from 10.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m. and on
weekends and public holidays from 2.00 p.m. to
5.00 p.m., tel: (03) 5832 9861.
Lookout Tower
A telecommunications post in the mall, at the
centre of town, is a handy lookout tower
offering fine views over the town - provided you
can manage the 160 steps.
Forest Tracks
Shepparton is separated from Mooroopna by the
Goulburn River and a large section of riverside
forest which floods every year. A walking track
starts from the highway and cuts through the
forest to Mooroopna. There are also driving
tracks and a bikeway.
The Connection
The Connection is essentially a rest and
refreshment facility on the Midland Highway
between Mooroopna and Shepparton. It is about to
open a remarkable childrens' play area the size
of the MCG, created with a $100 000 donation
from Ardmona Fruits. What is more remarkable is
that there is no entry fee. Toad Hollow Gift
Shop also operates on the premises.
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| An irrigation
channel between Shepparton and Echuca
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SPC
The Shepparton Preserving Company (SPC),
established in 1917 after the arrival of
irrigation, is one of Australia's best-known
brands of canned fruit and the Shepparton
complex features one of the world's largest
fruit canneries. It employs some 1500 people in
season (400 out of season) and produces around
half a million cans a day. It accounts for
around 40% of the country's tinned fruit and
exports to 60 foreign countries (especially
Canada). Half-hour tours are conducted between
January and April although they may operate all
year round as of 1999. A cafe will open within
the factory sales outlet as of November 1998.
SPC is located off Andrew Fairley Ave, tel: (03)
5833 3777.
The Furphy Foundry
The famous blacksmith and wheelwright, John
Furphy, came to Shepparton in 1873 and by 1878
he had established a foundry in the town. By
1880 he was manufacturing water carts which
became hugely popular around the country. Such
was their popularity that when war broke out in
1914 they were ordered in large numbers by the
Australian Army and were used in camps where the
local water supply was unreliable. It is said
that the word 'furphy', meaning a rumour or tall
tale, came into existence because soldiers used
to gather around the water supply and it was
there that rumours were shared and spread.
John Furphy was joined in Shepparton by his
more famous brother Joseph. Joseph had been a
farmer in the Riverina but had been bankrupted
by a drought. He worked with his brother for 21
years and it was during this time that he wrote
the great Australian novel, Such is Life. The
novel was published under the pseudonym 'Tom
Collins'. Today the Furphy family still own the
foundry. It is located on Drummond Rd. Part of
the foundry is a museum with an excellent range
of old equipment as well as photographs and
important history about the Furphy family. If
you're lucky you may be able to see the pouring
of molten metal through a viewing window. It is
open weekdays from 9.00 a.m. to 4.00 p.m.
Aboriginal Keeping Place
The Aboriginal Keeping Place features an
interesting display relating to Aboriginal
culture and history. There are traditional and
contemporary artefacts, didjeridu
demonstrations, hand-carved emu eggs, saleable
items and a cultural officer to explain local
history from an Aboriginal perspective. It is
worth seeing, it is free, it is open daily from
9.00 a.m. to 4.00 p.m. and it is located in
Parkside Drive (signposted off the highway).
There are well-maintained garden areas and free
barbecues.
Reedy Swamp Walk
Reedy Swamp Walk meanders through a wetland area
rich in birdlife. It starts from the end of
Wanganui Rd.
Emerald Bank Heritage Farm
Emerald Bank Heritage Farm offers the chance to
see farming practices from the days before
high-tech. There is a blacksmith at work, a
working dairy, an animal nursery and vintage
farm machinery. You can inspect the old farm
building, try milking a cow and feed the
animals. There are demonstrations relating to
irrigation, salinity and land management. It is
located on Melbourne Rd at Kialla, tel: (03)
5823 2500.
Belstack Strawberry Farm
Belstack Tourism Complex and Strawberry Farm is
located on Bennetts Rd at Kialla West just to
the south of Shepparton along the highway. You
can pick your own berries (not just
strawberries), and there are farm tours, river
walks, a small orchard and a theatre-restaurant.
In November it hosts the Kialla West Strawberry
Festival. Otherwise it is open daily from
September to May or by appointment,
