Avenel is a small town in

Victoria, Australia Victoria is a state in southeastern Australia. It is the second-smallest state with a land area of , the second most populated state (after New South Wales) with a population of over 6.5 million, and the most densely populated state in Au ...

. It is in the

Shire of Strathbogie The Shire of Strathbogie is a local government area in the Hume region of Victoria, Australia, located in the north-east part of the state. It covers an area of and in June 2018 had a population of 10,645. It includes the towns of Avenel, Euro ...

local government area. At the , Avenel had a population of 1,048, up from 728 at the and 552 at the . Avenel Royal Mail Hotel

History

The Post Office opened on 2 June 1858. It is frequently stated as having been named for a village in

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...

by Henry Kent Hughes. The name "Avenel" also appears in

Sir Walter Scott Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet, playwright and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European and Scottish literature, notably the novels '' Ivanhoe'', '' Rob Roy' ...

's '' Tales from Benedictine Sources'': ''

The Monastery ''The Monastery: a Romance'' (1820) is a historical novel by Walter Scott, one of the Waverley novels. Set in the Scottish Borders in the 1550s on the eve of the Reformation, it is centred on Melrose Abbey. Composition and sources Scott had bee ...

'' (1820) and ''

The Abbot ''The Abbot'' (1820) is a historical novel by Sir Walter Scott, one of the Waverley novels. A sequel to ''The Monastery'', its action takes place in 1567 and 1568. It reaches its climax in the escape of Mary, Queen of Scots from Lochleven Castle ...

'' (1820) as the name of a castle and family, that own it. Hughes settled there in 1838, laid out the future town, and named the Hughes Creek, which flows through it. The Avenel Court of Petty Sessions closed on 25 March 1969, with the former courthouse subsequently being used by local community groups. Avenel was the hometown of

Ned Kelly Edward Kelly (December 1854 – 11 November 1880) was an Australian bushranger, outlaw, gang leader and convicted police-murderer. One of the last bushrangers, he is known for wearing a suit of bulletproof armour during his final shootout wi ...

in his younger years, where he saved a boy from drowning in the local Hughes Creek. His brother and father are buried in the Avenel cemetery. Kelly and his family went to school in Avenel. The Hume Highway passed through the town until a bypass was opened in December 1981.Hume Highway bypass of Avernel ''

CRB News The Country Roads Board was a government authority responsible for the construction and maintenance of main roads in the state of Victoria, Australia between 1913 and 1983. History The Country Roads Board (CRB) was formed to take over responsi ...

'' issue 48 March 1982 page 13

Today

The town is home to many organisations, including sporting clubs such as the

Avenel Football Club The Avenel Football Club is an Australian rules football club that was established in 1881 with evidence of a match against Seymour and many more games against other local towns up until the late 1890s when it first competed in the North East F ...

competing in the

Kyabram District Football League The Kyabram District Football League (KDL) is an Australian rules football league in Victoria. It is made up of 15 teams; the most recent additions include Dookie United in 2018 and Shepparton East in 2019. The KDL is made up of smaller country t ...

, Avenel Netball Club, Avenel Tennis Club, Avenel Cricket Club and the Avenel Bowling Club. Golfers play at the Avenel Golf Club on Bank Street. The legendary Keith Corby (aka De Silva) was honoured with Life Membership for several decades of local dominance, and his dedication to giving a helping hand with the ladies competitions. The

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a prep ...

is served by

V/Line V/Line is a statutory authority that operates regional passenger train and coach services in Victoria, Australia. It provides passenger train services on five commuter lines and eight long-distance routes from its major hub at Southern Cros ...

trains between

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

and

Albury Albury () is a major regional city in New South Wales, Australia. It is located on the Hume Highway and the northern side of the Murray River. Albury is the seat of local government for the council area which also bears the city's name – the ...

. The Goulburn Valley Horse Trials Association has been running the Avenel Horse Trials since 1967, making them one of the longest continually running horse trials in Australia. While the event is no longer run out of Avenel, it retains the name and traditions established over many years operating within the Avenel region. Many current and future Olympic contestants have tested themselves over the Avenel courses.

References

External links

{{authority control Towns in Victoria (Australia) Shire of Strathbogie Shire of Mitchell