Yarrawonga

Yarrawonga is a town in the Shire of Moira local government area in the Australian state of Victoria. In the 2021 census, Yarrawonga had a population of 8,661 people.

Geography
The town is located approximately 264 km north-east of the state capital, Melbourne, situated on the south bank of the Murray River, the border between Victoria and New South Wales.

Yarrawonga's twin town of Mulwala is on the other side of the Murray River.

History
Yarrawonga is Aboriginal, meaning 'cormorant’s nesting place,' 'where the cormorant builds' or 'yarra' meaning 'waterfalls,' and 'wonga' meaning 'pigeon.' It is believed the Mulla Walla people occupied the area before the first white settlers arrived in 1842.

Yarrawonga was founded as a village in 1868, with a Post Office being opened on 28 November 1874, and a courthouse the very same year. It was connected by rail to Melbourne in 1886.

Yarrawonga was proclaimed a shire in 1891, It was renamed from 'North Yarrawonga Shire' (1891) to 'Yarrawonga Shire' in 1893.

Yarrawonga Weir and Lake Mulwala were constructed in the late 1930s as part of the Murray-Darling Irrigation Scheme.

Historically, one of the major industries in the Yarrawonga/Mulwala area has been the explosives factory, which was constructed in Mulwala over 1942–43. It is now operated by French company Thales but remains an Australian Department of Defence asset.

The Yarrawonga Magistrates' Court closed on 1 January 1990.

Demographics
In the 2016 census, Yarrawonga recorded a population of 7,930, 51.1% female and 48.9% male. The median age of the Yarrawonga population was 50 years, 12 years above the national median of 38. 81.9% of people living in Yarrawonga were born in Australia. The other top responses for country of birth were England 2.4%, Scotland 0.7%, New Zealand 0.5%, India 0.4% and the Philippines 0.4%. 88.4% of people spoke only English at home; the next most common languages were 0.2% Italian, 0.2% Gujarati, 0.2% Punjabi, 0.2% French and 0.1% German.

In the 2021 census, Yarrawonga recorded a population of 8,661 people, 51.5% female and 48.5% male. The median age of the Yarrawonga population was 52 years, 14 years above the national median of 38. 84.8% of people living in Yarrawonga were born in Australia. The other top responses for country of birth were England 2.2%, New Zealand 0.7%, the Philippines 0.6%, Scotland 0.6%, and Germany 0.5%. 90.6% of people spoke only English at home; the next most common languages were 0.3% Filipino, 0.3% Italian, 0.3% Punjabi, 0.3% Cantonese, and 0.2% Urdu.

Sport
The Yarrawonga Football Club (the 'Mighty Pigeons') participates in the Ovens and Murray Football League in the sport of Australian rules football, which has produced Barry Mitchell, Joel Smith, Ben Dixon, and Tom Lonergan as well as Caleb Mitchell.

Transport
Yarrawonga is served by a standard gauge branch railway, which branches off the Melbourne-Sydney line at Benalla and terminates at Oaklands in New South Wales.

Attractions
Yarrawonga's main attraction is Lake Mulwala, formed by the damming of the Murray River. The lake is a popular location for activities such as boating, kayaking and fishing. There are two crossings of the Murray between Yarrawonga and Mulwala; across the weir (a stock route carrying a single lane of traffic); and a bridge over Lake Mulwala. This bridge contains an unusual bend and dip in the middle, a result of miscommunication between the two state governments.

Popular culture

 * Niel McBeath wrote the song "I'm Going Back Again to Yarrawonga", published in 1919 and later recorded by Ella Shields and Leonard Hubbard in 1992 and 1996 respectively.
 * Yarrawonga is also home to Australia's Tallest Man, Kewal Shiels, measuring 7 ft.

Notable people

 * Anne Curtis, actress, TV host personality