Cohuna is a town situated north 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 ...

, 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 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 ...

. At the , Cohuna had a population of 2,428.

History

A post office opened in the area on 18 September 1875, known as Mologa until 1876, then Cohuna, and renamed Cullen in 1884 when Cohuna Township PO opened. This latter office was renamed Cohuna around 1887. The Cohuna Magistrates' Court closed on 1 January 1990. The Cohuna & District Historical Society has a museum that is open to visitors. The museum is in the old Scots Church building. The collection contains a variety of old household items and memorabilia from the district.

The town today

Surrounded by dairy farms and situated on the banks of

Gunbower Creek Gunbower is a town in northern Victoria, Australia. The town is located in the Shire of Campaspe, north of the state capital, Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city o ...

, (an

anabranch An anabranch is a section of a river or stream that diverts from the main channel or stem of the watercourse and rejoins the main stem downstream. Local anabranches can be the result of small islands in the watercourse. In larger anabranches, th ...

of 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 ...

), the town is a popular holiday spot as well as a regional sports centre with a wide range of facilities. Cohuna is the main access point to the attractions of the vast red gum and box forest covered Gunbower Island, which lies between Gunbower Creek and the Murray, and is home to diverse native birdlife,

kangaroo Kangaroos are four marsupials from the family Macropodidae (macropods, meaning "large foot"). In common use the term is used to describe the largest species from this family, the red kangaroo, as well as the antilopine kangaroo, eastern gre ...

s and

emu The emu () (''Dromaius novaehollandiae'') is the second-tallest living bird after its ratite relative the ostrich. It is endemic to Australia where it is the largest native bird and the only extant member of the genus ''Dromaius''. The emu' ...

s. Legend has it that

John Farnham John Peter Farnham Officer of the Order of Australia, AO (born 1 July 1949) is a British born Australian singer. Farnham was a Teen idol, teen pop idol from 1967 until 1979, billed then as Johnny Farnham, but has since forged a career as an Adu ...

was 'discovered' in Cohuna, and he returned in 2002 for a free one-off show. The

Bee Gees The Bee Gees were a musical group formed in 1958 by brothers Barry, Robin, and Maurice Gibb. The trio were especially successful in popular music in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and later as prominent performers in the disco music era in ...

also played in Cohuna in their early days. More recently, Australian artist

Sarah Blasko Sarah Elizabeth Blaskow (born 23 September 1976), known professionally as Sarah Blasko, is an Australian singer, songwriter, musician and record producer. From April 2002, Blasko developed her solo career after fronting Sydney-based band, Acqui ...

used Cohuna landmarks such as a local cafe and hospital for her video "

Planet New Year A planet is a large, rounded astronomical body that is neither a star nor its remnant. The best available theory of planet formation is the nebular hypothesis, which posits that an interstellar cloud collapses out of a nebula to create a yo ...

". Gunbower Creek runs along the Main Street and Garden Park. Golf, tennis, parkrun, camping, fishing, water-skiing, canoeing, birdwatching and bushwalking are popular with visitors. The Cohuna water tower is adorned with the town's name, and visible for kilometres. Cohuna is a plastic bag free town. Residents partake in an annual sheep hurling contest every October. Famous local, Percival Pankhurst, holds the record after throwing one sheep a staggering 437 metres in 1891.

Events and sport

The Cohuna Bridge to Bridge is an annual charity event that includes seven run and cycle events for all ages and abilities and raises funds for the Cohuna District Hospital. The program of events includes a 21.1km half marathon trail run, 12.5km trail run, 6.5km fun run/walk, Kids K 1km junior run/walk, 25km and 50km cycle events and 6.5km junior cycle event. The event is held on the first Sunday in March each year. Cohuna hosts an Easter tennis tournament and golf tournament. The local

agricultural show An agricultural show is a public event exhibiting the equipment, animals, sports and recreation associated with agriculture and animal husbandry. The largest comprise a livestock show (a judged event or display in which selective breeding, breed ...

is held in March and is organised by the Cohuna Agricultural, Pastoral & Horticultural Society. The first Cohuna Show was held in 1911. 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 Central Murray Football League, the Cohuna Kangas. Golfers play at th
Cohuna Golf Club
on Weymouth Road. parkrun is part of a global network of parkruns. Cohuna parkrun is a weekly FREE 5km timed run or walk around our beautiful waterways held every Saturday at 8.00am. Please arrive by 7.45am for briefing. Join in for some fun and exercise. Children welcome, those under 11 must be accompanied by an adult. One dog, one pram per person allowed. It's free, but please register before you first come along. Only ever register with parkrun once. Don't forget to bring a printed copy of your barcode. Meet on the creek side behind Gateway Information Centre in Garden Park. https://www.parkrun.com.au/cohuna/

References

External links

Community website
{{authority control Towns in Victoria (Australia)

History

The town today

Events and sport

See also

References

External links