Everything about Wangaratta totally explained
Wangaratta is a
cathedral city of about 15,685 people in the northeast of
Victoria, Australia, about 230 km (150 mi) from
Melbourne along the
Hume Highway, with
Benalla 45 km (25 mi) to the southwest, and
Albury-Wodonga 72 km (40 mi) to the northeast. It is located at the junction of the
Ovens and
King rivers which flow from the
Victorian Alps. It is within the municipality of
Rural City of Wangaratta.
History
Gold was found in the surrounding area during the 1850s and this is reflected in the name of a nearby town of
Eldorado where the remains of an old dredge can still be seen today.
The nearby small town of
Glenrowan located some 10km away is known as the site of the final shootout that led to the capture of Australia's most famous
bushranger,
Ned Kelly.
Geography and landmarks
The geographical layout of the city is unusual in that the business district is located at the north-eastern extremity of the urban area, with outlying suburbs extending only to the south and west. The reason for this arrangement is that the area beyond the rivers, to the north and east of the business district, was until the 1990s prone to flooding and so unsuitable for building. Levees were constructed in the 1990s to alleviate the flooding, however development in this area has been slow.
Wangaratta is the closest city or town of any size to
Falls Creek and
Mount Hotham, two of Victoria's three major snowfields.
Notable buildings include the
Holy Trinity Anglican Cathedral and its Cathedral Close, St. Patrick's Catholic Church and the eccentric
art déco courthouse.
Industry
There is a considerable wine and gourmet food industry in the nearby
Milawa and
King Valley region.
Culture and sport
The main annual event is the
Wangaratta Festival of Jazz, which has been attended by thousands each year since 1990.
There are three
Australian rules football clubs in Wangaratta, the
Wangaratta Football Club, the
Wangaratta Rovers Football Club (both competing in the
Ovens and Murray Football League), and the North Wangaratta Football Club, which competes in the
Ovens and King Football League.
The city hosted several games for the
2005 Australian Football International Cup event, with several countries competing in the sport of Australian rules football. The event was played at the City Oval and Showgrounds and set the attendance records for the tournament to date.
Cricket in Wangaratta is organised by the Wangaratta & District Cricket Association Clubs in Wangaratta include Wangaratta Rovers United, Wangaratta Magpies and City Colts.
Education
Wangaratta has three secondary schools:
Galen Catholic College (private),
Cathedral College (private) and
Wangaratta High School, which has 3 campuses. There is also the
Goulburn Ovens Institute of TAFE.
Nomenclature
Historically, there was disagreement about whether the first syllable should be pronounced 'Wong' or 'Wang', the latter pronunciation being perceived as slightly less cultured, at least by those within the city itself. The 'Wong' pronunciation was never used by a majority of the population, and never received any wide currency outside the district. It was officially disavowed by the Wangaratta City Council's declaration in favour of the 'Wang' pronunciation in the 1980s. Some locals, particularly the elderly, continue to use the 'Wong' pronunciation.
The city's name may be informally abbreviated to "Wang", analogously to "Shep" (
Shepparton) and "Yarra" (
Yarrawonga).
Transport
The
station is on the main
railway line between
Sydney and
Melbourne and is served by
V/Line services between
Melbourne and
Albury as well as a twice daily
Countrylink XPT service in both directions between
Melbourne and
Sydney. Two railway gauges run in parallel to Melbourne and Albury; the Victorian broad gauge of 1600 mm (5' 3") and the standard gauge of 1435 mm (4' 8½").
There was a branch line commenced in 1873, running east to
Beechworth, reaching the town in September 1976, but this was closed in January 1977. (Larsen,
MayDay Hills Railway). Another branch line ran to
Bright until its closure. This has since been converted into a cycling and walking track, known as the
Murray to the Mountains Rail Trail. Another short branch line ran west to a wheat silo located on the north side of the Ovens River at
Boorhaman.
A second rail branch was a narrow gauge (762 mm, 2' 6") line from Wangaratta to
Whitfield constructed during the late 1890s and opened in 1899. The line operated until 1953 and was famous for its special engines imported from
Baldwin Locomotive Works in the USA. Some of these
2-6-2T locomotives now operate on the
Puffing Billy Railway outside Melbourne. A book,
Focus on Victoria's Narrow Gauge, with photos, maps along the line and of Wangaratta station with its dual track gauges was published in 2002
Wangaratta is also serviced by a small regional airport,
Wangaratta Airport. A city bus service runs every half an hour during the day on weekdays and on Saturday mornings on a route covering Wangaratta's West End, the business district and Yarrunga.
Radio stations
» See also: List of Australian radio stations
Famous residents and former residents
Sir John Bowser, premier of Victoria 1917-1918.
William Ah Ket, Chinese Australian barrister, 1876-1936
Nick Cave, popular musician.
Sir Edward "Weary" Dunlop 1907 - 1993
Steve Johnson, Australian rules footballer with Geelong.
Ben Reid, Australian rules footballer with Collingwood.
Alipate Carlile, Australian rules footballer with Port Adelaide.
Dean Woods, former Olympic Cyclist.
Isobelle Carmody, award winning author, born 1958
Bibliography
Larsen, Wal. The Mayday Hills Railway, Wal Larsen, Bright, 1976.
O'Callaghan, Bill and Bill Findlay (1984). "Wangaratta, 1959–1984: A Silver City", City of Wangaratta.
O'Brien, Antony. Shenanigans on the Ovens Goldfields: the 1859 Election, Artillery Publishing, 2005.
Oberg, Leon. Railways of Australia, Reed, Sydney, 1975.
Thompson, John E. Focus on Victoria's Narrow Gauge Whitfield Line, Puffing Billy Society, Belgrave, 2002.
"Wangaratta: Capital of North Eastern Victoria", (1927) Committee of the Back to Wangaratta Celebrations.
Whittaker, D. M. (1963). "Wangaratta: Being the History of the Township that sprang up at Ovens Crossing and grew into a modern City", Wangaratta City Council.
Why Wangaratta, and Moments in Jazz (books on the Wangaratta Festival of Jazz and Blues).Further Information
Get more info on 'Wangaratta'.
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