Cudgewa is a small town in the

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

n state of

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

. The town is located adjacent to the

Murray Valley Highway Murray Valley Highway is a state highway located in Victoria and New South Wales, Australia. The popular tourist route mostly follows the southern bank of the Murray River and effectively acts as the northernmost highway in Victoria. For all b ...

, north east of the state capital,

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 ...

. Part of the

Shire of Towong Shire is a traditional term for an administrative division of land in Great Britain and some other English-speaking countries such as Australia and New Zealand. It is generally synonymous with county. It was first used in Wessex from the beginn ...

local government area A local government area (LGA) is an administrative division of a country that a local government is responsible for. The size of an LGA varies by country but it is generally a subdivision of a State (administrative division), state, province, divi ...

, at the 2006 census Cudgewa and the surrounding district had a population of 237.

Burrowa-Pine Mountain National Park The Burrowa-Pine Mountain National Park is a national park in the Hume region of Victoria, Australia. The national park is situated approximately northeast of Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the ...

and Mount Mitta Mitta Regional Park are close to the town.

Pre-colonial History

The Victorian side of the Upper Murray area was part of the traditional country of the Wolgal People. After the invasion of Australia, around 1863, up to two hundred First Nation people were visiting the area, accompanied by almost as many dogs, hunting along Boundary Creek and Cudgewa Creek before moving on . First Nation people of this area had excellent engineering skills that was shown in their erection of fish traps on Cudgewa Creek and other local streams. Unfortunately at the time, "this constructions were too often credited to 'chance', instead of being identified as man-made structures erected according to strict laws which have evolved, within the various tribes, over period of centuries'(we now know it is over periods of millenia), as written by Jean Carmody in her 'Early days of the Upper Murray'.

Colonial History

Cudgewa Post Office opened on 2 June 1879. A Cudgewa North Post Office was open for periods between 1906 and 1930. The township was the last railway station on the

Cudgewa railway line The Cudgewa railway line is a closed railway line in the north-east of Victoria, Australia. Branching off the main North East line at Wodonga it ran east to a final terminus at Cudgewa. The High Country Rail Trail now uses most of the railway ...

. The station was opened on Thursday, 5 May 1921 and closed on Sunday, 1 March 1981. The town also had a tennis team.

Upper Murray Football League

The town has a football team involved with the

Upper Murray Football League The Upper Murray Football Netball League ''(UMFNL)'' is an Australian Rules Football and Netball competition based in the rural town of Corryong, Victoria, Australia. The league contains five clubs from around the townships & farming districts o ...

, an Australian Rules Football competition which began in 1893. Cudgewa Blues played its first season in 1893 and is one of three foundation clubs. Over the many years the club has produced many premiership winning teams most recently the back to back flags of 1999 and 2000. The club also uses the same jumpers as the Carlton FC.

References

Populated places on the Murray River Towns in Victoria (state) Shire of Towong {{Hume-geo-stub