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WALBUNDRIE
Population:
First settled:
Main industries:
FAST FACTS
- Many roads lead to Walbundrie, the "Riverina's crossroads" -- from Albury, Howlong, Rand, Urana, Lockhart, Alma Park, Culcairn and Walla. That means many travellers passing or taking a break.
- Walbundrie was originally Piney Range, named for stands of Cypress pines in the district.
- Walbundrie Public School started classes in January 1878 in a stone schoolhouse that cost £446 ($892). It still stands. Nineteen students attend the new Walbundrie Public on Culcairn Road. Its motto is: "Deeds not Words".
- A race between the horses of station owners marked the first Walbundrie show in 1911. It was first over a creek in "Wire Paddock", before moving to today's site near the old stone school.
- Born John Fuller in the NSW town of Appin in about 1830, bushranger Dan "Mad Dog" Morgan held up the Walbundry homestead. He was shot at Peechelba Station, near Wangaratta in 1865. His head was shaved and his hair was used to make a tobacco pouch.
FIVE THINGS TO DO
1. Test drive the region's biggest and best hamburger ($7.50 with the lot), generously hand-crafted by the girls at the Walbundrie Co-op -- a vibrant community meeting place.
2. Throw a line into the waters of the shady Billabong Creek.
3. Step into the historic Walbundrie Hotel for a coldie and a friendly chinwag with popular publicans Paul and Karen Beesley.
4. You might have to cool your heels until spring but the Walbundrie Show on October 1 is worth the wait.
5. Just a 10-minute drive from Walbundrie you'll find Morgan's Lookout, a rocky hilltop outcrop that bushranger Dan Morgan is believed to have used as a vantage point to keep an eye out for approaching victims and police.
FAMOUS NAMES
Matt Fowler: Since the six-times Ovens and Murray premiership player switched from the Walbundrie Tigers to the Albury Tigers at 16, he has booted more than 700 goals and clocked up 300-plus games.