Mount Beauty is a town in north-eastern
Victoria
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India
* Victoria (state), a state of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital
* Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...
,
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 ...
. The town lies alongside the
Kiewa River
Kiewa River, a perennial river that is part of the Murray catchment within the Murray-Darling basin, is located in the Alpine bioregion, in the Australian state of Victoria.
The Kiewa River is also known by several variations on its name in ...
, at the junction of the
Kiewa Valley Highway
Kiewa Valley Highway is a rural highway which traverses the Kiewa Valley near the alpine regions of Victoria, Australia, connecting the eastern Wodonga suburb of Bandiana to Mount Beauty, at the foot of Mount Bogong in the Alpine National Pa ...
and Bogong High Plains Road in the
Alpine Shire
The Shire of Alpine is a local government area in the Hume region of Victoria, Australia, located in the north-east part of the state. It covers an area of and in August 2021 had a population of 13,235.
It includes the towns of Bright, Dinne ...
local government area.
History
The town was originally established by the
State Electricity Commission of Victoria
The State Electricity Commission of Victoria (SEC, SECV or ECV) is a government-owned electricity company in Victoria, Australia. Originally established to generate electricity from the state's reserves of brown coal, the SEC gradually monopoli ...
to house construction workers from the
Kiewa Hydroelectric Scheme
The Kiewa Hydroelectric Scheme is the largest hydro-electric scheme in the Australian States and territories of Australia, state of Victoria (Australia), Victoria and the second-largest in mainland Australia after the Snowy Mountains Scheme. The ...
in 1949,
passing to the control of the local shire council in 1967 after construction was completed.
Post Offices opened at Tawonga South (to the north) on 15 April 1943 and at Mount Beauty on 17 February 1947. Post Offices known as No 2 Camp, No 4 Camp, and No 5 Camp, Mount Beauty were open in the 1949-1953 period.
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Attractions
The climate of Mount Beauty is truly seasonal, with chilling winters, cool wet springs, warm summers with blue skies and colourful autumns. Each season has its own attractions, including skiing, bushwalking, horse riding, gliding, bike riding (mountain and road) as well as fishing (river and lake). Mount Beauty has its own annual music festival, mountain bike competition and regular weekend markets on the first Saturday of each month. There are also many four wheel drive tracks in the local area.
The town is a launching point for trips to the Falls Creek ski
Skis are runners, attached to the user's feet, designed to glide over snow. Typically employed in pairs, skis are attached to ski boots with ski bindings, with either a free, lockable, or partially secured heel. For climbing slopes, ski skins c ...
resort, and to the Bogong High Plains
The Bogong High Plains (), part of the Victorian Alps of the Great Dividing Range, are a section of plains located in the Alpine National Park in the Australian state of Victoria and are situated south of Mount Bogong.
In winter this area is ...
. To this end there are several ski hire shops, eateries, and a bus company doing daily trips to and from the resort at Falls Creek, 32 km distant.
This town also has great views to the mountains, such as Mount Bogong
Mount Bogong, located in the Alpine National Park and part of the Victorian Alps of the Great Dividing Range, is the highest mountain in Victoria, Australia, at above sea level.
The Big River separates the massif of the mountain from t ...
and the peaks that are of interest to many of the tourists coming through the town.
Climate
The town is quite wet with an average annual rainfall of , falling largely in the winter months. It rains on 142 days of the year, with the majority of rain days between May and October. On account of its southern latitude nearing the 37th parallel, summers have a notable chill about them when compared to slightly northward towns such as Corryong
Corryong is a town in Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, east of Albury-Wodonga, near the upper reaches of the Murray River and close to the New South Wales border. At the , Corryong had a population of 1,348.
The post office opene ...
, with a strong seasonal lag from springtime through to high summer (in line with its rainfall pattern). The site is at an altitude of above sea level and it may snow on occasion.
Sports
The town in conjunction with neighbouring township Dederang
Dederang is a town in north east Victoria. The town is located on the Kiewa Valley Highway, in the Alpine Shire Local government in Australia, 329 kilometres from the state capital, Melbourne. Dederang is located in the Kiewa River valley. At ...
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 Australian rules football playing field, oval field, often a modified ...
team, Dederang-Mount Beauty, competing in the Tallangatta & District Football League
The Tallangatta and District Football League (TDFL) is an Australian rules football competition in north-eastern Victoria (state), Victoria and the southern border area of the Riverina region of New South Wales. The clubs compete across four c ...
.
Golfers play at the Mount Beauty Golf Club on Tawonga Crescent.
References
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Towns in Victoria (state)
Alpine Shire
Company towns in Australia