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Corryong is a town in Victoria, Australia, east of Albury-Wodonga, near the upper reaches of the
Murray River The Murray River (in South Australia: River Murray; Ngarrindjeri language, Ngarrindjeri: ''Millewa'', Yorta Yorta language, Yorta Yorta: ''Dhungala'' or ''Tongala'') is a river in Southeastern Australia. It is List of rivers of Australia, Aust ...
and close to the
New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...
border. At the , Corryong had a population of 1,348. The post office opened on 1 February 1874. The town also has its own
airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial Aviation, air transport. They usually consist of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surf ...
. Corryong hosts ''The Man from Snowy River Bush Festival'', held annually in April.


Education

Corryong is supported by a variety of service clubs, a hospital and schools. It has a Catholic primary and Corryong College P-12 school. The college has approximately 300(2019) students. Corryong is also home to the Australian Institute of Flexible Learning (AIFL) which offers 100% online education to all of Australia.


Geography

Its location makes it the Victorian gateway to the New South Wales snowfields, including the
Thredbo Thredbo is a village and ski resort in the Snowy Mountains of New South Wales, Australia. It is approximately south of Sydney, accessible by the Alpine Way via Cooma, Berridale and Jindabyne. The village is built in the valley of the Th ...
ski village, and the
Snowy Mountains Scheme The Snowy Mountains Scheme, also known as the Snowy Hydro or the Snowy scheme, is a hydroelectricity and irrigation in Australia, irrigation complex in south-east Australia. Near the border of New South Wales and Victoria (Australia), Victoria, ...
. It is a way station for many travellers, particularly those on
motorcycle A motorcycle (motorbike, bike; uni (if one-wheeled); trike (if three-wheeled); quad (if four-wheeled)) is a lightweight private 1-to-2 passenger personal motor vehicle Steering, steered by a Motorcycle handlebar, handlebar from a saddle-style ...
s, travelling across Australia's highest mountains. Other tourists come to fish in the river and other nearby waterways, or to partake in horseriding around the mountain areas surrounding the town. It is also of note as the home of Jack Riley, a hermit stockman employed by John Pierce of Greg Greg Station for 23 years to run cattle at Tom Groggin upriver from . The local government uses this claim extensively in its tourist promotions, and holds The Man from Snowy River Bush Festival annually Corryong is close to the Burrowa-Pine Mountain National Park and the massive
Alpine National Park The Alpine National Park is a national park located in the Central Highlands and Alpine regions of Victoria, Australia. The national park is located northeast of Melbourne. It is the largest National Park in Victoria, and covers much of the hi ...
. The
Kosciuszko National Park The Kosciuszko National Park ( ) is a national park and contains mainland Australia's highest peak, Mount Kosciuszko, for which it is named, and Cabramurra, New South Wales, Cabramurra, the highest town in Australia. Its borders contain a mix o ...
is located nearby across the state border. Both of these areas were extensively burnt in the bushfires which raged through the region in January 2003 and in the summer of 2019/20.


Industry

Industries in the area involve mainly agriculture and forestry, particularly beef and dairy farming. The forestry industries include both the harvesting of native
eucalypt Eucalypt is any woody plant with Capsule (fruit), capsule fruiting bodies belonging to one of seven closely related genera (of the tribe Eucalypteae) found across Australia: ''Eucalyptus'', ''Corymbia'', ''Angophora'', ''Stockwellia'', ''Allosyn ...
s and of the extensive pine plantations in the area, which extend along a general high-rainfall zone from
Tumbarumba Tumbarumba ( ) is a town in New South Wales, Australia, about southwest of the state capital, Sydney. Tumbarumba is located in the South West Slopes (New South Wales), South West Slopes region at the western edge of the Snowy Mountains. The s ...
in the north-east to Shelley in the south-west.


Climate

Corryong has a borderline
oceanic Oceanic may refer to: *Of or relating to the ocean *Of or relating to Oceania **Oceanic climate **Oceanic languages **Oceanic person or people, also called "Pacific Islander(s)" Places * Oceanic, British Columbia, a settlement on Smith Island, ...
/
humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a subtropical -temperate climate type, characterized by long and hot summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between ...
(
Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...
''Cfb'' / ''Cfa'') with warm to hot, dry summers that are chilly by morning and cool, wet winters with persistent cloud cover. The seasonal range of maximum temperatures between January and July, is especially marked. Sleet occurs in winter and snow may also occur. The airport site is somewhat lower and flatter than the now-decommissioned town site, attaining greater extremes in temperature. Since 2006 there is a general increase in rainfall with a newfound tendency to fall in the summer months (though still retaining a winter peak).


Sport

Golfers play at the Corryong Golf Club on Donaldson Street, a nine-hole course. The town is the centre of the
Upper Murray Football League The Upper Murray Football Netball League (UMFNL) is an Australian rules football and netball competition based in the rural Victoria (Australia), Victorian town of Corryong, Victoria, Corryong. The UMFNL contains four clubs from around the towns ...
, 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 Australian rules football playing field, oval field, often a modified ...
competition which began in 1893. Corryong is home to two of the three foundation clubs: Corryong FC, which has been based in the town from 1893 and Federal FC, formerly the Mount Elliot Miners and renamed in 1901 to celebrate the
Federation of Australia The Federation of Australia was the process by which the six separate British self-governing colonies of Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia (which also governed what is now the Northern Territory), and Wester ...
and moved to be fully based at Corryong around the same time.


Historical grandstand

The Corryong Recreation Reserve was the home of the Grandstand, known as "The Grand Old Lady" to some locals in the Upper Murray community. In late 1902 the idea was raised for the possible building of a grandstand at the Corryong Recreation Reserve which would be shared between the Corryong Race Club & the A&P Society (today known as the Corryong & Upper Murray A&P Society Inc.). Fundraising started almost immediately through a range of means including "Bazaars", and by 1905 arrangements were in place to erect the grandstand. On 14 February 1906 an ad was placed calling for tenders, and on 22 June 1906 the contract was let for 393 with work to proceed shortly. Many years passed since the Grandstand was opened before the Corryong Racing Club left, leaving the A&P Society with sole ownership of the grandstand. Additional the neighbouring Towong Turf Club's "Towong Grandstand" was built by Tom Greenhill around the same time and done in a similar style to the "Corryong Grandstand". It's unclear when the Corryong Recreation Reserve was repurposed for
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
but sometime after both the Corryong Football Club & the Federal Football Club moved here, with each building their own clubrooms. However, by early 2014, after many years of neglect the grandstand was deemed unsafe to the public, and was fenced off to stop any public access. On 2 September 2014, it was announced that there were plans to demolish the historic 108-year-old Corryong Grandstand as part of plans to refurbish the Towong Grandstand at the Towong Turf Club. The Corryong Grandstand was not heritage listed on either the
Australian National Heritage List The Australian National Heritage List or National Heritage List (NHL) is a heritage register, a list of National heritage site, national heritage places deemed to be of outstanding heritage significance to Australia, established in 2003. The li ...
or the
Victorian Heritage Register The Victorian Heritage Register (VHR) lists places deemed to be of cultural heritage significance to the State of Victoria, Australia. It has statutory weight under the Heritage Act 2017. The Minister for Planning is the responsible Minister. ...
. After public backlash from the Upper Murray community the Facebook page "Corryong Grandstand - Stand By Me" was established on 29 September 2014 and a petition started on Change.Org. After gathering submissions from members of the community, the group had a meeting with VCAT scheduled for 10 April 2015 in Melbourne, but was later rescheduled for 8 May 2015, in Wodonga. An announcement regarding its fate was scheduled to take place on 1 June 2015. In the 10 September 2015 edition of the '' Corryong Courier'' the grandstand made the front page with the headline reading "Last Stand? Death knell sounds for grandstand."


Notable residents

* John M. Hull, a professor of religious education (born in Corryong on 22 April 1935) *
Lee Kernaghan Lee Kernaghan OAM (born 15 April 1964) is an Australian country music singer, songwriter and guitarist. Kernaghan has won four ARIA Awards and three APRA Awards, and has sold over two million albums, and as of 2021, has won 38 Golden Guitars ...
, a country musician (born in Corryong on 15 April 1964) * Corrine Grant, an actress and comedian (born in Corryong on 12 June 1973) * Horrie the Wog Dog, a terrier, unofficial mascot of the 2/1st Machine Gun Battalion (died in Corryong 12 March 1945) *
Elyne Mitchell Elyne Mitchell, Order of Australia, OAM (née Chauvel, 30 December 1913 – 4 March 2002) was an Australian author noted for the ''Silver Brumby'' series of children's novels. Her nonfiction works draw on family history and culture. Biography Sy ...
, champion skier, cattlewoman, and author of the ''Silver Brumby'' series of children's books (who died in Corryong). The local library is named after her.


See also

* Corryong Airport *
Snowy Mountains Scheme The Snowy Mountains Scheme, also known as the Snowy Hydro or the Snowy scheme, is a hydroelectricity and irrigation in Australia, irrigation complex in south-east Australia. Near the border of New South Wales and Victoria (Australia), Victoria, ...


References

{{authority control Towns in Victoria (state) Shire of Towong