Wodonga, the town

...a place in the KellyGang story 

Areas

location

located on Murray River, on the Hume Highway, the last town in Victoria. Albury is the sister town in New South Wales

Beginnings

Up until 1876 the town was known as Belvoir (the name of the home built by Charles Huon on his Wodonga squatting run)
Name Wodonga means an edible plant (bull rushes) growing in a lagoon.

Importance of Wodonga

Wodonga was on the railway line from Melbourne. It is also on the River Murray and with Albury a major regional center
It was also clear that Albury rather than Wodonga was the regional commercial centre with many more shops and other services. But Wodonga quickly became a major selling centre for horses, cattle, and sheep.
Port opened 1854
Railway line from Melbourne arrived in Wodonga in 1873

What was Wodonga like in the late 1870s

During the 1870s and 1880s horses were brought to Wodonga from all over southern New South Wales to supply the Indian army cavalry. The KellyGang had the best horses in the Empire on their door step to choose from.

The original town was on the Wodonga Creek but with the arrival of the railway the town moved south.
The Wodonga Lagoon was, while it was a billabond still connected to the river, deepened so boats could tie up to the jetty at the end of Wodonga St.
Later another port was established at Redbank. You can still see the old railway embankment that they built to connect the 'new port' to the main railway

The railway line from Melbourne arrived in Wodonga in 1873. It did not go on to Albury until 1883, but prior to that the line from Sydney to Albury had been completed.
The railway really assisted the boom in the popularity of the Wodonga sale yards.
Large numbers of people were also employed in servicing the trains and the railway line

One of the important homes in the town is called De Kerilleau. The first house was built by William Huon before 1870

Wodonga had a wide range of buinesses incuding baker, butcher, general store, saddlery, boot makwe, doctor, photographer, tabacconist, four mill, cordial factory

Facilities in Wodonga in the late 1870s

The Border City Hotel (Mackie)
The Victoria Hotel (T Johnston)
The Halfway (T Fitzgerald)
The Terminus (G Allen)
Junction Hotel
Bambrick's Hotel (T Bambrick)

Catholic 1860
Church of England 1863
Methodists 1865
Presbyterians 1885

State School 1872

Bank of New South Wales
Bank of Victoria

Orginally Wodonga was part of Yackandandah but it became its own Shire in 1876 Gazette 1876 20 P488
(cut out of Yarrawonga)

Railway Station

The Railway station was built between 1874 and 1876 by J Richardson

see also Wodonga, the property

Bridge between Wodonga and Albury, problem (Argus22/1/79)

Customs officer D Ferguson

Licensing Magistrate
William Houn
John Wigmore

Pound
New pound established 1876
Pound Keeper William Huon

Water supply (Argus22/1/79)

Wodonga Benefit Building and Investment Society

Wodonga Turf Club

Links to the KellyGang

Sgt Harker (Sgt Harkin) was stationed at Wodonga at the time of the Mansfield Murders. He took up a search party up to the area of the Rat's Castle. (RC357) (RC713)

Ass Con Nicolson and Sup Sadleir came up on the train from Benalla on the night of the Euroa robbery. They were following up on some false information from a KellyGang sympathizer.

Sup Sadleir went across to Wodonga, and got ready a special train. I t was about half-past two when they started, and got to Wangaratta very early in the morning. (RC2011)

Military from the Garrison Artillery sent to Wodonga to protect banks in town after the Euroa robbery in December 1878.(RCApp8)

The Royal Commission found that in the autumn of 1880 the KellyGang were usually in the vicinity of the Greta Swamp, from which they would move back to the ranges, get across the Ovens River towards Sebastopol, and from thence to the Pilot Range, near Wodonga. (RC 2nd report XII)

Members of the Wodonga community

Sonst William Power, MConsts: Joseph Key and John MacDonald were stationed at Wodonga

Have you visited

What to see

National Trust / National Parkes?

Lunch, dinner or just a snack?

What happened at Wodonga after the time of the KellyGang

What is happening at Wodonga today

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7-mar-10

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