dazjet 'n family: Swan Hill

Swan Hill is a town in the north west of Victoria, on the banks of the Murray River. There is a nice river walk which we went on. We also stuck the children in the mouth of a giant Murray Cod...

The big tourist draw card in Swan Hill is the Pioneer Settlement. We spent a couple of days and an evening exploring this re-created town.

Highlights there included: riding the horse and cart, the old Dodge car, churning butter, the old school experience, rope making and of course the many old homes, shops and businesses. We enjoyed it there more than Sovereign Hill in Ballarat, it was a lot more laid back, the volunteers friendly and welcoming and less people to have to share it with!

Gemma loved the fact that one of the horses was called Gemma and of course on site is another old paddle steamer… the Gem!

We dressed up in old clothes for these fun photos:

A ride on the Paddle Steamer Pyap along the Murray River was a journey into a bygone era. The PS Pyap has had a chequered history – she was launched in 1896 in South Australia. She originally had a steam engine but this was converted to a diesel in 1970 when she was being restored. When she was brought to Swan Hill she sank because of rotting timbers. She was refloated and refurbished, but the river depths were an issue, so dredging had to occur. Further disaster struck in 1979 when she caught fire, burning to her waterline. She was completely rebuilt again and has been taking tourists on rides ever since.

Fifteen kays east of Swan Hill is Lake Boga, an unassuming place with a big history. What sets it apart is its unique role during World War 2. After the scare of the Japanese bombing of Darwin and Broome, where a number of allied planes were destroyed, it was decided to move all the flying boats to a secret, inland but Southern base. Lake Boga was that chosen place. At one point there were something like 400 flying boats (such as the Catalina) based at the lake, where they were flown in for maintenance as well as a safe haven. Today a Catalina is on display in a hangar, with a museum paying tribute to the areas role in WW2. We spent a morning exploring this.

Geocaching often takes us to lesser known places and reveals all manner of surprises. This was certainly the case in and around Swan Hill. The Speewa Ferry is one of only 2 remaining cable ferries across the Murray River.