Numurkah ( ) is a town in

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 ...

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 ...

, located on the

Goulburn Valley Highway Goulburn Valley Highway is a highway located in Victoria, Australia. The section north of the Hume Freeway is part of the Melbourne to Brisbane National Highway (together with Hume Freeway) and is the main link between these two cities as well a ...

, north of

Shepparton Shepparton () ( Yortayorta: ''Kanny-goopna'') is a city located on the floodplain of the Goulburn River in northern Victoria, Australia, approximately north-northeast of Melbourne. As of the 2021 census, the estimated population of Shepparton, ...

, in the

Shire of Moira Moira Shire Council is a Local Government Area in the Northern Victoria Region of Victoria, Australia. Located in the north-east part of the state, it covers an area of . As at June 2021 the population was 30,018. It includes the towns of Cobra ...

. At the , Numurkah had a population of 4,768.

History

The area was occupied by the

Yorta Yorta people The Yorta Yorta, also known as Jotijota, are an Aboriginal Australian people who have traditionally inhabited the area surrounding the junction of the Goulburn and Murray Rivers in present-day north-eastern Victoria and southern New South Wa ...

prior to European settlement. Squatters moved into the area from NSW in the late 1830s. After the pastoral runs were made available for farm selection, the township of Numurkah was surveyed in 1875, the Post Office opening 2 November 1878. The local railway station was opened on the Goulburn Valley railway in 1881, but has not seen any passenger services since 1993 when the train to Cobram was withdrawn. The station building remains in private ownership, and a footbridge crosses the line. Numurkah became the headquarters of the Murray Valley Soldier Settlement Area - one of the largest soldier settlements in Australia - after World War I. Under this scheme 700 ex-servicemen were given land to develop for agriculture. The name is thought to be derived from an Aboriginal word meaning war shield, (2003 facsimile edition) although a recent authority thinks that this is mistaken. The town hosts an art show in March, a

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...

competition in April, and

go-kart A go-kart, also written as go-cart (often referred to as simply a kart), is a type of sports car, close wheeled car, open-wheel car or quadracycle. Go-karts come in all shapes and forms, from non-motorised models to high-performance Kart rac ...

championships in September and a car show in December. The Numurkah Magistrates' Court closed on 1 January 1990.

Recreation

The town has an

Australian rules football 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 ...

team competing in the

Murray Football League The Murray Football Netball League is an Australian rules football and netball league affiliated with the Victorian Country Football League. The league covers a large area of northern Victoria and southern New South Wales from Shepparton in the ...

. Golfers play at the course of the Numurkah Golf Club on Tunnock Road. Other popular sports include: Numurkah Lawn Tennis Club, Lawn Bowls, Soccer, Gymnasium & an Outdoor Swimming Pool which is operated during the warmer months.

Biodiversity and natural features

Numurkah is a low lying town located on the floodplain of the

Broken Creek Broken Creek is a creek in northern Victoria, Australia. The creek diverges from Broken River immediately downstream from the former Lake Mokoan (now decommissioned) near Benalla and flows in a north-west direction. The creek passes through th ...

. The Broken Creek flows into the

Murray River The Murray River (in South Australia: River Murray) (Ngarrindjeri: ''Millewa'', Yorta Yorta: ''Tongala'') is a river in Southeastern Australia. It is Australia's longest river at extent. Its tributaries include five of the next six longest r ...

just north of the township of

Barmah Barmah is a town in the state of Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. Barmah has the distinction of being located north of the border with the state of New South Wales. New South Wales is north of Victoria, with the border being the west ...

. The riparian area adjacent to the creek has a dominant over-storey of ''

Eucalyptus camaldulensis ''Eucalyptus camaldulensis'', commonly known as the river red gum, is a tree that is endemic to Australia. It has smooth white or cream-coloured bark, lance-shaped or curved adult leaves, flower buds in groups of seven or nine, white flowers an ...

'' (''Red Gum''). Above the floodplain tree species include ''

Eucalyptus microcarpa ''Eucalyptus microcarpa'', commonly known as grey box, is a species of tree that is endemic to southeastern continental Australia. It has rough, fibrous or flaky bark on the trunk, smooth whitish bark above, lance-shaped adult leaves, flower bu ...

'' (Grey Box), ''

Eucalyptus melliodora ''Eucalyptus melliodora'', commonly known as yellow box, honey box or yellow ironbark, is a species of medium-sized to occasionally tall tree that is Endemism, endemic to south-eastern, continental Australia. It has rough, flaky or fibrous bark ...

'' (Yellow Box) and '' Callitris glaucophylla'' (Murray Pine). There is a small roosting population of Grey-headed flying foxes (''

Pteropus poliocephalus The grey-headed flying fox (''Pteropus poliocephalus'') is a megabat native to Australia. The species shares mainland Australia with three other members of the genus ''Pteropus'': the little red '' P. scapulatus'', spectacled '' P. conspicilla ...

'')and Little Red flying foxes (Pteropus Scapulatus). These mega-bats are important pollinators of native tree species. Their diet is nectar, pollen, and fruit. The Little Red flying fox has translucent wings and eats nectar from flowers almost exclusively. Both have long tongues for getting deep into flowers. Numurkah also is home to many species of insect eating microbats (small bats) with the Goulds Wattled Bat being the most common. These small bats live in tree hollows and play an important role in insect control eating large quantities of insects each night. Adjacent to the Golf Course, is also one of the easternmost remnants of the Northern Plains Grassland community known as the Numurkah Grassland. It is home to many native wildflowers and grasses such as Billy Button, Small Vanilla Lily, Everlasting etc.

Natural disasters

In 2012 Numurkah had some devastating floods which saw a large portion of the town flood including the local hospital which was demolished as a result.

Notable residents

* Sir Harold Leslie White (1905-92), Parliamentary Librarian of

(1947-60) and National Librarian (1960-70)

History

Recreation

Biodiversity and natural features

Natural disasters

Notable residents

References

See also