Kerang, Victoria

Infobox Australian Place | type = town
name = Kerang
state = vic


caption = Victoria Street in central Kerang
lga = Shire of Gannawarra
postcode = 3579
est =
pop = 3780 (2006)Census 2006 AUS | id = SSC25859 | name = Kerang (State Suburb) | accessdate = 2007-10-01 | quick = on]
elevation= 78
maxtemp = 22.8
mintemp = 9.4
rainfall = 368.9
stategov = Swan Hill
fedgov = Mallee
dist1 = 277
dir1 =
location1= Melbourne
dist2 = 129
dir2 =
location2= Bendigo
dist3 = 60
dir3 =
location3= Swan Hill

Kerang is a rural town 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 km to mi|279|precision=0|spell=UK|wiki=yes north-west of Melbourne on the Murray Valley Highway a few kilometres north of its intersection with the Loddon Valley Highway, elevation m to ft|78|precision=0|spell=UK|wiki=yes. 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. The Post Office opened on 29 July 1858. An earlier Kerang office, quite distant, was renamed Wedderburn on the same day. Citation
last = Premier Postal History | title = Post Office List | url = https://www.premierpostal.com/cgi-bin/wsProd.sh/Viewpocdwrapper.p?SortBy=VIC&country= | accessdate = 2008-04-11 ]

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

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).

Transport

Kerang is located at the junction of the Loddon Valley and Murray Valley Highways. Air transport is provided by Kerang Airport.

The town is also on the Swan Hill railway line, served by V/Line trains from Kerang station to Melbourne, as well as coach services to Balranald. The Kerang-Koondrook Tramway once linked the town to Koondrook from 1889, being closed to passengers in 1976,cite journal
year = 1997
month = March
title = Rail passenger service withdrawals since 1960
author = Chris Banger
journal = Newsrail
publisher = Australian Railway Historical Society (Victorian Division)
pages = pages 77–82 ] and closed 1981. ["Newsrail" (Australian Railway Historical Society) March 1990 (Vol 18 No 3)] On 5 June, 2007, a semi-trailer collided with a passenger train at a level crossing, km to mi|6|precision=0|spell=UK| north of the town, killing 11 people [ [http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/train-crash-truckie-sorry/2007/06/06/1181084316656.html "Train crash truckie 'sorry'", "The Age", 6th June 2007] (Retrieved 6th June 2007)] . This was the worst train disaster in Victoria since 1969. [ [http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200706/s1943337.htm ABC News: "Crews continue search for train crash survivors" - June 5, 2007] ]

Community

The town has an Australian Rules football team competing in the Central Murray Football League. Citation | last = Full Points Footy | title = Kerang | url = http://www.fullpointsfooty.net/Kerang.htm | accessdate = 2008-07-25 ]

References

External links

* [http://www.kerangonline.com.au/ Kerang Online]
* [http://www.gannawarra.vic.gov.au/ Gannawarra Shire Council] - Official Website
* [http://www.burkeandwills.net.au/ Burke & Wills Web] A comprehensive website containing many of the historical documents relating to the Burke & Wills Expedition.
* [http://www.burkeandwills.org/ The Burke & Wills Historical Society] The Burke & Wills Historical Society.