Kerang, Victoria

Kerang Victoria
Location of Kerang in Victoria (red)
Population:	3780 (2006)[1]
Postcode:	3579
Elevation:	m ( ft)
Location:	km ( mi) from Melbourne  km ( mi) from Bendigo  km ( mi) from Swan Hill
LGA:	Gannawarra Shire
State District:	Swan Hill
Federal Division:	Mallee
Mean Max Temp Mean Min Temp Rainfall 22.8 °C 73 °F 9.4 °C 49 °F {{formatnum:368.9 mm 14.5}} in

Kerang is a rural town (35°43′S, 143°55′E) on the Loddon River in northern Victoria in Australia. It is the commercial centre to an irrigation district based on dairying, horticulture, lucerne and grain. It is located  kilometres ( mi) north-west of Melbourne on the Murray Valley Highway a few kilometres north of its intersection with the Loddon Valley Highway, elevation  metres ( ft). At the 2006 census, Kerang had a population of 3780.

Kerang's symbol is a flying ibis. The area around Kerang is dotted with lagoons and lakes and is believed to have the most populous ibis rookeries in the world with an estimated 200,000 ibis using the area for breeding each year, along with many other waterbirds. It is also a popular recreational destination.

History

The Wemba-Wemba Aborigines are thought to have been the area's first occupants. Thomas Mitchell was the first European to visit the area, in 1836. Squatters began to settle in the area in 1845 and in 1848 Richard Beyes opened a public house at a river crossing near the future townsite. This was followed by a saddlery and a church. In 1857 Woodford Patchell built a bridge upriver from the settlement which drew traffic from the earlier settlement. He built a store, house and hotel that became the center of what was to become Kerang. Patchell was the first farmer in the state to use irrigation and experimented with oats, barley, maize, millet, tobacco, beet, cotton and sugarcane.

Kerang was declared a shire in 1871; at the time the settlement's population was 109. The arrival of the railway from Bendigo in 1884 and the construction of a tramway to Koondrook in 1888 led to expansion; by 1891 the population had increased to over a thousand. The spread of Patchell's irrigation ideas improved local productivity and the town continued to expand.

Burke and Wills

Main article: Burke and Wills expedition

The Burke and Wills expedition passed through Kerang on their journey to cross Australia from Melbourne to the Gulf of Carpentaria. On Sunday, 2 September 1860 the expedition camped at Booth & Holloway's Tragowell Station to the south of Kerang. On Tuesday, 4 September 1860 they passed through Kerang, crossed the Loddon and camped at Mr Fenton's Reedy Creek Run, making Camp XIII, (their thirteenth camp since leaving Melbourne).

2007 Train accident

Main article: Kerang train crash

On 5 June, 2007, a semi-trailer collided with a passenger train at a level crossing,  kilometres ( mi) north of the town, killing 11 people^[2]. This was the worst train disaster in Victoria since 1969. [1]

References

External links

• Kerang Online
• Gannawarra Shire Council - Official Website
• Burke & Wills Web A comprehensive website containing many of the historical documents relating to the Burke & Wills Expedition.
• The Burke & Wills Historical Society The Burke & Wills Historical Society.

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