Do you have Shopperdocket where you live?

I have never really looked closely at the back of the dockets that you get when you pay for  your shopping, that is until recently.  I happened to look at the back of the docket and noticed that there was an ad for two nights stay at Moama/Echuca and it was at a very reasonable price.  I thought it would make an interesting trip for us to do during the week so checked with my husband and we decided to use the offer as it had been decades since we were last there.

We had two nights staying in Moama and we spent a day in Echuca.   Part of the deal was an hour river trip.

Moama is in New South Wales and Echuca is in Victoria.  The river Murray forms the border.  In the 1870s Echuca was Australia’s largest inland port and the third largest port outside Sydney and Melbourne.

The port was used as the backdrop for a very successful Australian television series in 1984 All the Rivers Run.

This is the boat used in the tv series for the wedding ceremony.

It was a mission boat.  You can just see the cross on the top of the cabin.  The boat used to cruise the river to do baptisms, weddings, funerals etc. but it is now privately owned.

As part of the television series the tarred street was changed to dirt and wooden street guttering was installed.  The township left it like that after the filming was finished and it adds to the historical feel of the township.

Today Echuca is a tourist attraction with the opportunity to cruise on on the river in a steam driven paddlesteamer. We chose to ride on the Canberra as a nod to our past history there.

The river appears to be low particularly when you see the height of the wharf.

There are three different levels to cater for when the river is in flood.

Part of our tour of the port was a visit to the Star Hotel.

We were able to go through the tunnel that was used by the illegal drinkers.

All the paddlesteamers on the river are boats that have been restored but there is one hull that is waiting to be restored and that is from the steamer Success.  You can see what a poor state the hull is in and it will take millions of dollars to restore it fortunately they have already restored the engine.  You can click on the pictures to get a closer view.

Echuca is certainly worth the visit to explore part of Australia’s past.