Avenel is a town in the Shire of Strathbogie, Victoria,

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. At the , Avenel had a population of 1,112, up from 1048 at the , 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 Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Herefordshire to the north-west, Worcestershire to the north, Warwickshire to the north-east, Oxfordshire ...

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 and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European literature, European and Scottish literature, notably the novels ''Ivanhoe'' (18 ...

'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 Scottish Reformation, it is centred on Melrose Abbey. Composition and sources Scot ...

'' (1820) and '' The Abbot'' (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 185411 November 1880) was an Australian bushranger, outlaw, gang leader, bank robber and convicted police-murderer. One of the last bushrangers, he is known for wearing armour of the Kelly gang, a suit of bulletproof ...

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 The Hume Highway, including the sections now known as the Hume Freeway and the Hume Motorway, is one of Australia's major inter-city national highways, running for between Melbourne in the southwest and Sydney in the northeast. Upgrading of t ...

passed through the town until a bypass was opened in December 1981.Hume Highway bypass of Avenel '' CRB News'' issue 48 March 1982 page 13

Today

The town is home to many organisations, including sporting clubs such as the Avenel Football Club competing in the Kyabram District Football League, 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 using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

is served by

V/Line V/Line is a statutory authority that operates Regional rail, regional passenger rail and Intercity bus service, coach services in the Australian state of Victoria (state), Victoria. It provides passenger train services on five Commuter rail, ...

trains between

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

and

Albury Albury (; ) is a major regional city that is located in the Murray River, Murray region of New South Wales, Australia. It is part of the twin city of Albury–Wodonga, Albury-Wodonga and is located on the Hume Highway and the northern side of ...

. 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 (state) Shire of Strathbogie Shire of Mitchell