Primary production was the shire’s biggest economic generator.

Cr Poidevin said he had lived all his 57 years at Corowa and he believed the river had changed.

“When I was a kid in primary school I could go down the river three times a week after school a catch a feed of redfin whenever you wanted to,” he said.

“I never caught a Murray cod until I was 18, but now you cannot catch a redfin, but cod are fairly easy to catch.”

Cr Poidevin said the Murray River would continue to sustain Corowa.

“Corowa will survive and the river will survive, largely because of our location close to the source.”

Jobs but Mair struck a snag

FORMER member for Albury Harold Mair recalled his role in what was to become a significant chapter in the protection and restoration of a crucial ­element of the Murray River.

Mr Mair, 89, said the desnagging issue had been a “double-edged sword” for him.

He said the desnagging was providing important employment, but he also recognised the environmental issues.

“As soon as my attention was drawn to it, I tried to get ­something done,” Mr Mair said.

“I recognised that banks were starting to break up and that the removal of snags was also affecting fish habitat.”

Mr Mair said it had been an “amazing” time.

“Sometimes you get both sides of the coin; you don’t know which way to go, but I responded after it was drawn to my attention.”

Mr Mair said when he was growing up he spent a lot of time in and near the river in Albury.

“When I was a kid we used to go down by the Albury Sports Ground and in the summer we used to walk across the

river.

“They were building Lake Hume at the time and we used ride our bikes out there and climb on the scaffolding.

“I used to swim the Murray at Noreuil Park.”

Erosion from boats a danger

ANGLERS and landholders in the Corowa area fear speed and wakeboarding boats are causing irreparable damage to the Murray River.

They say the boats are causing chunks of bank to fall into the river and are also undermining trees at an alarming rate.

And Corowa Mayor Gary Poidevin has echoed those concerns.

Former Albury-Wodonga resident Chic Logie has owned the property he calls Rivergold near Corowa for 25 years.

He is alarmed at the rate of bank erosion.

“The banks from Lake Hume to Yarrawonga are soft loamy soils and they wash badly, whereas below Yarrawonga they tend to be more clay and they don’t wash as much,” Mr Logie said.

Mr Logie, who was born in Albury and has lived all his life on the river, said he remembered when there were rapids at Noreuil Park and how he used to jump off the old Union Bridge.

“You could walk most of the way down the river from the bridge to Noreuil Park,” he said.

“They used to drive horse and drays across the river to get loads of gravel.”

But erosion was changing the river and in 50 years it would be a lot wider and shallower.

He believed extensive rock work was needed to protect banks already being eroded or in danger of erosion.

Ernie Hawkins, who spends much of his time camping and fishing the river near Corowa, said wakeboarding and water skiing were a major issue for the river.

“It is getting worse,” he said.

“There was a wakeboarding boat on the river on Melbourne Cup weekend and it was creating waves at least 75cm high and we stood and watched as chunks of the bank fell into the river.

“We were not game to stand too close to the river because we feared we would finish up in the river.

“The number of trees falling into the water where speed-boats were operating last Christmas is incredible.”

Cr Poidevin said bank erosion was one of the most significant changes to the river he had seen.

“My personal views are the increasing number of rapid rises and falls in the river level because of irrigation demands is a factor.

“The quick fall exposes wet, heavy sandy banks that collapse and fall as the banks dry out.”

River brings tourists and their $46m a year

THE mighty Murray River might be more of an irrigation drain these days, but for Corowa Shire, it must surely be a river of gold.

The river draws 120,000 visitors to the shire each year, visitors who spend a whopping $46 million.

Corowa Visitor Information Centre manager Rachel Robinson-Minogue said tourism was the shire’s second most important economic generator.

While the gliding centre drew a lot of visitors, the river was the focal point for most visitors.

Mrs Robinson-Minogue said most of the shire’s visitors were from Melbourne and regional Victoria.

“That is our target market,” she said.

“We also get people coming here from Sydney and Canberra, as well as a lot of people who travel along the Murray before heading to Sydney, Canberra and even the NSW South Coast.”

Research showed 60 per cent of visitors were aged up to 44 and the rest were grey nomads who were on the road all the time.

“The river is the focal point over summer and we get a lot of queries about water levels,” Mrs Robinson-Minogue said.

People also came to area for the areas famous food and wine sector, to play the three great golf courses within the shire and also to experience Corowa’s culture and history.

Lawn bowls were also a major drawcard.

Mrs Robinson-Minogue said the tourism industry provided direct employment equivalent of 570 full time jobs.

“Our average length of stay is about three and a half nights and we promote Corowa as a base for people to explore Albury-Wodonga, Beechworth, Bright, Yarrawonga-Mulwala and the wineries.

“We are trying to increase the length of stay.

“Lake Mulwala is huge from a tourism point of view because they know the lake is generally at a constant level so they can swim, ski, canoe, sail and fish.

“The Lake Mulwala Cod Classic has grown into the biggest inland fishing event in Australia.”

The shire was working hard to attract events to help bring more visitors to the area.

An example of events attraction was Autofest which would be held at Corowa from February 28 to March 1.

“We are one of the few river towns that has a caravan park right on the river,” Mrs Robinson-Minogue said.

“We have four of them right on the river and that is an amazing marketing tool.”