Kerang, Victoria
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Kerang is a rural town on the
Loddon River The Loddon River, an inland river of the northcentral catchment, part of the Murray-Darling basin, is located in the lower Riverina bioregion and Central Highlands and Loddon Mallee regions of the Australian state of Victoria. The headwaters ...
in northern
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 ...
in
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 ...
. It is the commercial centre to an irrigation district based on livestock, horticulture,
lucerne Lucerne ( , ; High Alemannic German, High Alemannic: ''Lozärn'') or Luzern ()Other languages: gsw, Lozärn, label=Lucerne German; it, Lucerna ; rm, Lucerna . is a city in central Switzerland, in the Languages of Switzerland, German-speaking po ...
and grain. It is located north-west of
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 ...
on 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 ...
a few kilometres north of its intersection with the
Loddon Valley Highway The Loddon Valley Highway runs roughly north-west from Bendigo to Kerang on the Murray Valley Highway. It constitutes part of the direct route from Melbourne to the popular Murray River holiday areas around Swan Hill. Route Loddon Valley Hig ...
, elevation . At the , Kerang had a population of 3,893. ''Kerang'' is believed to be an Aboriginal word for
Cockatoo A cockatoo is any of the 21 parrot species belonging to the family Cacatuidae, the only family in the superfamily Cacatuoidea. Along with the Psittacoidea (true parrots) and the Strigopoidea (large New Zealand parrots), they make up the ord ...
. It is home to the largest solar and battery farm in the country which was opened in June 2019. The 50-megawatt battery system is located outside of Kerang and stores 100 per cent renewable energy. The 2,000 solar panels have become a tourist attraction and are drawing many businesses to the town.


History

The
Wemba-Wemba The Wemba-Wemba are an Aboriginal Australian people in north-Western Victoria and south-western New South Wales, Australia, including in the Mallee and the Riverina regions. They are also known as the Wamba-Wamba. Language Wemba-Wemba bears st ...
Aboriginal people Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...
are the original owners and the area's first occupants. Thomas Mitchell was the first European to visit the area, in 1836.
Squatters Squatting is the action of occupying an abandoned or unoccupied area of land or a building, usually residential, that the squatter does not own, rent or otherwise have lawful permission to use. The United Nations estimated in 2003 that there ...
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. The gold rush of 1850 in Australia attracted the miner's sons, Peter and Anders Pettersson from Herrnäs to Australia in 1853. They emigrated with 4 other miners' sons, among them Lars Fredrik Pettersson who later took the name Westblad. A couple of hired hands also went with this first group. Lars Fredrik Westblad returned to Sweden to visit his home in
Bjurtjärn socken Bjurtjärn socken is a former socken in Värmland, Sweden. It was established in 1630, when Karlskoga socken were split into two new entities. Since 1974, it has been part of the Storfors Municipality. Its largest settlement, Kyrksten, has a ...
. When he returned to Australia in 1857, two brothers went with him and later two more brothers joined them along with a cousin and a nephew. Lars Fredrik Westblad became a justice of the peace and the owner of an inn in Mia Mia which became a gathering spot for the Swedes. With three of his brothers and four sons he operated a farm of more than 40,000 acres at Kerang, northeast of Melbourne. He did well in the cattle business. The Westblad family in Australia reached considerable numbers and in 1976 about 300 descendants of Lars Fredrik gathered for a reunion in Kerang. 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 Irrigation (also referred to as watering) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow Crop, crops, Landscape plant, landscape plants, and Lawn, lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,00 ...
and experimented with oats, barley, maize, millet, tobacco, beet, cotton and sugarcane. The Post Office opened on 29 July 1858; the current
Kerang Post Office Kerang Post Office is a heritage-listed post office at 51-53 Victoria Street, Kerang, Victoria, Australia. It was designed by the Victorian Colonial Architect, George William Watson, and was built in 1886. It was added to the Australian Common ...
building dates from 1886 and is heritage-listed. An earlier Kerang office, quite distant, was renamed Wedderburn on the same day. Kerang was declared a shire in 1871; at the time the settlement's population was 109. The arrival of the railway from
Bendigo Bendigo ( ) is a city in Victoria, Australia, located in the Bendigo Valley near the geographical centre of the state and approximately north-west of Melbourne, the state capital. As of 2019, Bendigo had an urban population of 100,991, makin ...
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 The Burke and Wills expedition was organised by the Royal Society of Victoria in Australia in 1860–61. It consisted of 19 men led by Robert O'Hara Burke and William John Wills, with the objective of crossing Australia from Melbourne in the s ...
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 Tragowel 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).


Environment

Kerang's symbol is a flying
ibis The ibises () (collective plural ibis; classical plurals ibides and ibes) are a group of long-legged wading birds in the family Threskiornithidae, that inhabit wetlands, forests and plains. "Ibis" derives from the Latin and Ancient Greek word f ...
. The area around Kerang is dotted with lagoons and lakes (including
Lake Tutchewop Lake Tutchewop is a lake near in the Mallee region of Victoria in eastern Australia. In the indigenous Indigenous may refer to: *Indigenous peoples *Indigenous (ecology), presence in a region as the result of only natural processes, with no ...
) 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. Many of the wetlands have been recognised by inclusion in the
North Victorian Wetlands The North Victorian Wetlands, also known as the Kerang Wetlands, comprise an extensive series of over 100 freshwater, brackish and saline lakes and swamps on the floodplain of the Loddon River where it enters the Murray valley, in the vicini ...
Important Bird Area An Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) is an area identified using an internationally agreed set of criteria as being globally important for the conservation of bird populations. IBA was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife Int ...
and as being of international significance through listing under the
Ramsar Convention The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance Especially as Waterfowl Habitat is an international treaty for the conservation and sustainable use of Ramsar sites (wetlands). It is also known as the Convention on Wetlands. It i ...
.


Transport

Kerang is located at the junction of the Loddon Valley and
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 ...
s. Air transport is provided by
Kerang Airport Kerang Airport is located southeast of Kerang, Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victo ...
. The town is also on the Swan Hill railway line, 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 Cross ...
trains from Kerang station to
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 ...
, as well as coach services to
Balranald Balranald is a town within the local government area of Balranald Shire, in the Riverina district of New South Wales, Australia. The town of Balranald is located where the Sturt Highway crosses the Murrumbidgee River in a remote, semi-desert ...
. The Kerang-Koondrook Tramway once linked the town to
Koondrook Koondrook ( ) is a town situated on the Murray River, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. The town is located in the Shire of Gannawarra Local government in Australia, local government area, north west of the state capital, Melbourne. At ...
from 1889, being closed to passengers in 1976, and closed 1981. On 5 June 2007, a semi-trailer collided with a passenger train at a level crossing, north of the town, killing 11 people. This was the worst train disaster in Victoria since 1969.ABC News: "Crews continue search for train crash survivors" - 5 June 2007
/ref>


Community

The town has an
Australian Rules Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...
football team competing in the
Central Murray Football League The Central Murray Football Netball League (CMFNL) is a major country Australian rules football and netball competition based in northern Victoria and southwest New South Wales in Australia. History The league was formed in 1997, combining all e ...
. Kerang has a horse racing club, the Kerang Turf Club, which schedules two race meetings a year including the Kerang Cup meeting in March. Golfers play at the course of the Kerang Golf Club on Koondrook Road. Kerang also has a thriving skatepark community, with freestyle BMX and skateboarding enthusiasts regularly honing their skills at the park.


References


External links


Gannawarra Shire Council
- Official Website
Burke & Wills Web
A comprehensive website containing many of the historical documents relating to the Burke & Wills Expedition.
The Burke & Wills Historical Society
The Burke & Wills Historical Society. {{Authority control Towns in Victoria (Australia) Populated places established in 1845 Mallee (Victoria) Kerang, Victoria