Picola is a town 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 ...

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 ...

, Australia. At the , Picola had a population of 206.

History

The name Picola is thought to derive from an Aboriginal word for either rushing water or an Aboriginal sub-group. During the 1800s, the towns of Picola and

Nathalia Nathalia ( ) is a town in northern Victoria, Australia. The town is located within the Shire of Moira local government area on the banks of Broken Creek and on the Murray Valley Highway. At the 2021 census, Nathalia had a population of 1,982. ...

competed for farmland

selection Selection may refer to: Science * Selection (biology), also called natural selection, selection in evolution ** Sex selection, in genetics ** Mate selection, in mating ** Sexual selection in humans, in human sexuality ** Human mating strategie ...

. Picola was close to the coach route from

Echuca Echuca ( ) is a town on the banks of the Murray River and Campaspe River in Victoria, Australia. The border town of Moama is adjacent on the northern side of the Murray River in New South Wales. Echuca is the administrative centre and largest s ...

Tocumwal Tocumwal ( ) is a town in the southern Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia, in the Berrigan Shire local government area, near the Victorian border. The town is situated on the banks of the Murray River, north of the city of Melbourne. ...

and had a general store, a

Union Church A united church, also called a uniting church, is a church formed from the merger or other form of church union of two or more different Protestant Christian denominations. Historically, unions of Protestant churches were enforced by the state ...

and a primary school which was established in 1879. However, Picola fell behind, likely due to its lack of a substantial watercourse compared to Nathalia's position on 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 ...

. Picola Post Office opened on 24 August 1878 and closed in late 2010. The

Australia Post Australia Post, formally the Australian Postal Corporation, is the government business enterprise that provides postal services in Australia. The head office of Australia Post is located in Bourke Street, Melbourne, which also serves as a post o ...

outlet was then taken over by the Picola Hotel, until early 2011. On 15 December 1896, the railway line was extended from Nathalia to Picola. It closed on 8 December 1986. It was used to transport wheat, livestock and red gum from the

Barmah National Park The Barmah National Park, formerly Barmah State Park, is a national park located in the Hume region of the Australian state of Victoria. The park is located adjacent to the Murray River near the town of Barmah, approximately north of Melbourne ...

. The town was once known as 'the hook' because it was at the end of a railway line. Federal Hall was established in 1900, later known as Picola Memorial Hall and Picola Public Hall. It has been burnt down and rebuilt twice: on 19 August 1936, leading the wooden building to be replaced by a brick structure, and on 12 April 1939. Water was carted from Broken Creek until a town dam and water tank was constructed in 1950. A book about the history of the hall was written by Jeanette Holland in 2010. After the

silo art A silo (from the Greek language, Greek σιρός – ''siros'', "pit for holding grain") is a structure for storing Bulk material handling, bulk materials. Silos are used in agriculture to store fermented feed known as silage, not to be co ...

project in Picola was completed in December 2020 as part of the

Silo Art Trail A silo (from the Greek σιρός – ''siros'', "pit for holding grain") is a structure for storing bulk materials. Silos are used in agriculture to store fermented feed known as silage, not to be confused with a grain bin, which is used t ...

, Picola has experienced a tourism boom, leading to owner Bruce Agnew refurbishing and reopening the Picola Hotel on 17 November 2021. Painted by Jimmy Dvate, it features flora and fauna from the Barmah National Park. There are plans to paint a second mural. Picola has a mixture of irrigated, wheat and timber milling farms. At the , farming accounted for 37.2% of employment, with 9.9% dairy farming.

Arts and culture

Picola Public Hall hosts a monthly old-time dance featuring local bands and musicians, as well as themed dances during holidays.

Transportation

Picola is serviced by two return

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 ...

coach services on weekdays originating in

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 ...

: both connect in

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, ...

, with train services 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 ...

Southern Cross station Southern Cross railway station (until 2005 known as Spencer Street station) is a major railway station in Docklands, Melbourne. It is on Spencer Street, between Collins and La Trobe Streets, at the western edge of the Melbourne central busi ...

. The Picola Hotel serves as the ticket agency.

Sport

The town is home to

Picola United Football Club The Picola United Football Netball Club, nicknamed the Blues, is an Australian rules football and netball club playing in the Picola & District Football League. The club is based in the small Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Vict ...

competing in the

Picola & District Football League The Picola & District Football Netball League is an Australian rules football and netball league affiliated with the AFL Victoria Country. The league covers a large area of northern Victoria, Australia, Victoria and southern New South Wales f ...

, and the Picola Bowls Club, competing in the Murray Bowls Association.

References

Towns in Victoria (Australia) Shire of Moira {{Hume-geo-stub