Benalla, Victoria
Encyclopedia
is a city of just over 9,000 people located just off the Hume Freeway
Hume Highway
The Hume Highway/Hume Freeway is one of Australia's major inter-city highways, running for 880 km between Sydney and Melbourne. It is part of the Auslink National Network and is a vital link for road freight to transport goods to and from the two cities as well as serving Albury-Wodonga and...
in north-eastern Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, about 40 kilometres (24.9 mi) southwest of Wangaratta
Wangaratta, Victoria
Wangaratta is a cathedral city of almost 17,000 people in the northeast of Victoria, Australia, about from Melbourne along the Hume Highway, with Benalla to the southwest, and Albury-Wodonga to the northeast. It is located at the junction of the Ovens and King rivers which flow from the...
. Its Local Government Area is the Rural City of Benalla
Rural City of Benalla
The Rural City of Benalla is a Local Government Area in Victoria, Australia. It is located in the north-eastern part of the state. It has a population of 13,523 and an area of 235,059 ha...
.
Overview
The site was originally taken up as a pastoral run by the Reverend Joseph Docker in 1838 and called Benalta Run, from the Aboriginal word for Musk DuckMusk Duck
The Musk Duck is a highly aquatic, stiff-tailed duck native to southern Australia. It is the only living member of the genus Biziura. An extinct relative, the New Zealand Musk Duck or de Lautour's Duck , once occurred on New Zealand, but is only known from prehistoric subfossil bones...
. A town was laid out on the site in 1846. The Post Office opened on 1 December 1844 but named Broken River
Broken River (Victoria)
The Broken River is a minor river in Victoria, Australia that is a part of the larger Murray-Darling Basin. It flows into the Goulburn River near Shepparton...
until 1 January 1854
The Broken River can cause extensive flooding. There is a park and walking track along the river at Benalla, featuring a ceramic sculpture
Sculpture
Sculpture is three-dimensional artwork created by shaping or combining hard materials—typically stone such as marble—or metal, glass, or wood. Softer materials can also be used, such as clay, textiles, plastics, polymers and softer metals...
community that was created as part of an employment project for local artist
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
s some years ago.
Industries include agricultural support services, tourism
Tourism
Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Tourism has become a...
, a medium density fibreboard factory, Thales Australia ammunition factory and aviation
Aviation
Aviation is the design, development, production, operation, and use of aircraft, especially heavier-than-air aircraft. Aviation is derived from avis, the Latin word for bird.-History:...
.
The rose gardens and the annual Rose Festival dating from 1967 have contributed to tourism.
Benalla has a regional airport
Benalla Airport
Benalla Airport is located east of Benalla, Victoria, Australia.Benalla Airport is the home of the Gliding Club of Victoria...
YBLA (BLN) which began life as a major RAAF training base during World War 2 and now also serves as the home of the Gliding Club of Victoria
Gliding Club of Victoria
The Gliding Club of Victoria was founded in 1937 and moved to the Benalla Airport in 1953. It held the World Gliding Championships at Benalla in 1987 when the new club house was built....
as well as a ballooning
Ballooning
Ballooning may refer to:* Hot air ballooning* Balloon * Ballooning * Ballooning degeneration...
and ultralight centre.
The Goulburn Ovens Institute of TAFE
Goulburn Ovens Institute of TAFE
Goulburn Ovens Institute of TAFE, also known as GOTAFE, is a Technical and Further Education institute located in the north east region of Victoria, Australia based on the Goulburn and Ovens rivers, and is the largest regional TAFE in Victoria, and a specialist centre for food processing, equine...
has a campus in Benalla which includes the Benalla Performing Arts and Convention Centre opened in 2004 by Lynne Kosky
Lynne Kosky
Lynne Janice Kosky is a former Australian politician and senior minister in the Parliament of Victoria. She represented the electoral district of Altona in the Victorian Legislative Assembly for the Australian Labor Party from 1996 to 2010...
MP
Victorian Legislative Assembly
The Victorian Legislative Assembly is the lower house of the Parliament of Victoria in Australia. Together with the Victorian Legislative Council, the upper house, it sits in Parliament House in the state capital, Melbourne.-History:...
, the then Minister of Education and Training.
Benalla is also the home of GRADA, a regional academy of dramatic art offering courses in Acting, Dance and Production. GRADA: GOTAFE Regional Academy of Dramatic Arts
Benalla is where champion cyclist Baden Cooke
Baden Cooke
Baden Cooke is an Australian professional racing cyclist for UCI ProTour team .Cooke began competitive cycling at 11. He completed secondary school at Galen College in Wangaratta, Victoria....
was born and the place of war hero Sir (Ernest) Edward "Weary" Dunlop
Edward Dunlop
Lieutenant Colonel Sir Ernest Edward "Weary" Dunlop, AC, CMG, OBE was an Australian surgeon who was renowned for his leadership while being held prisoner by the Japanese during World War II.-Early life and family:...
's education.
Benalla railway station
Benalla railway station, Victoria
Benalla is a railway station on the North East railway in the city of Benalla, Victoria, Australia. Located at the Midland Highway level crossing close to the centre of town, the station is served by both V/Line Albury-Wodonga line and CountryLink Melbourne - Sydney passenger services...
is on the North East railway line and is served by V/Line
V/Line
V/Line is a not for profit regional passenger train and coach service in Victoria, Australia. It was created after the split-up of VicRail in 1983. V/Line is owned by the V/Line Corporation which is a Victorian State Government statutory authority...
services between Melbourne and Albury
Albury, New South Wales
Albury is a major regional city in New South Wales, Australia, located on the Hume Highway on the northern side of the Murray River. It is located wholly within the boundaries of the City of Albury Local Government Area...
as well as a twice daily Countrylink
CountryLink
CountryLink is the operator of passenger rail services in country New South Wales, Australia and into Queensland and Victoria. It is an operating brand of the Rail Corporation New South Wales, a government-owned entity...
XPT
CountryLink XPT
The XPT is the main long-distance passenger train used in regional New South Wales, Australia. It operates on key eastern seaboard routes including the Sydney-Melbourne and Sydney-Brisbane services...
service to and from Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
.
Retailers
Benalla has many large retailers, including a ColesColes Supermarkets
Coles Supermarkets is an Australian supermarket chain owned by Wesfarmers. It has 741 stores nationally Coles Supermarkets is an Australian supermarket chain owned by Wesfarmers. It has 741 stores nationally Coles Supermarkets is an Australian supermarket chain owned by Wesfarmers. It has 741...
, Woolworths, Target Country, Aldi and a Mitre 10 Home & Trade
Mitre 10
Mitre 10 is the trading name of retail and trade hardware store chains, over 700 locations throughout of Australia. Operations are based on a co-operative system where the store owners are members of the national group and each has voting rights...
.
Sport
The town has an Australian rules footballAustralian rules football
Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...
team (Benalla Saints) competing in the Goulburn Valley Football League
Goulburn Valley Football League
The Goulburn Valley Football League is an Australian rules football competition based in the Goulburn Valley region of Victoria, Australia...
and a team (Benalla All Blacks) competing in the Ovens & King Football League
Ovens & King Football League
300px|thumb|right|O&K 2007 Thirds Grand Final between Whorouly and North WangarattaThe Ovens & King Football League is a minor country Australian rules football league based in Northeastern Victoria in the vicinity of Wangaratta and more recently Benalla....
.
Benalla has a horse racing club, the Benalla Racing Club, which schedules around eleven race meetings a year including the Benalla Cup meeting in early October.
Golfers play at the Benalla Golf Club on Mansfield Road, or at the course of the Golden Vale Golf Club on Golden Vale Road, Benalla.
Benalla is also the closest major centre to Winton Motor Raceway
Winton Motor Raceway
Winton Motor Raceway is a Motor Racing track in Winton, near Benalla, Victoria, Australia.-History:The Benalla Auto Club began planning for a permanent racing track around 1958. In 1960 it was decided to build the track at Winton Recreation Reserve and was completed in twelve months...
, a privately owned motor racing circuit which holds motor racing event at all levels of domestic competition, including V8 Supercar
V8 Supercar
V8 Supercars is a touring car racing category based in Australia and run as an International Series under Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile regulations...
.
Notable residents
- Robin CloseRobin CloseRobin Close is a former Australian rules footballer who played for Essendon in the VFL during the late 1960s and 1970s....
- Former AFL footballer - Essendon FC - Baden CookeBaden CookeBaden Cooke is an Australian professional racing cyclist for UCI ProTour team .Cooke began competitive cycling at 11. He completed secondary school at Galen College in Wangaratta, Victoria....
- Olympic Cyclist, Commonwealth Medalist and Winner of Tour de France Green Jersey - Tommy DunderdaleTommy DunderdaleThomas Dunderdale was a professional ice hockey forward. Born in Australia, he moved to Canada at the age of 17, in 1904. He played in Winnipeg for three seasons, from 1906 to 1910. In 1910, he joined the Montreal Shamrocks of the National Hockey Association , before moving on to the Quebec...
- Member of the Hockey Hall of FameHockey Hall of FameThe Hockey Hall of Fame is located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Dedicated to the history of ice hockey, it is both a museum and a hall of fame. It holds exhibits about players, teams, National Hockey League records, memorabilia and NHL trophies, including the Stanley Cup... - Edward "Weary" DunlopEdward DunlopLieutenant Colonel Sir Ernest Edward "Weary" Dunlop, AC, CMG, OBE was an Australian surgeon who was renowned for his leadership while being held prisoner by the Japanese during World War II.-Early life and family:...
- Surgeon and World War IIWorld War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
Prisoner of WarPrisoner of warA prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...
. - Albert Ernest KitsonAlbert Ernest KitsonSir Albert Ernest Kitson KBE, CMG was a British/Australian geologist and naturalist, winner of the Lyell Medal in 1927.-Early life:...
- Geologist and Naturalist - Tom LongTom Long (actor)-Early life:Long was born on 3 August 1968 in the United States when his Australian parents were there at the time, and grew up on a farm near Benalla, Victoria...
- Actor - Lisa MaxwellLisa Maxwell (musician)Lisa Anne Maxwell is an Australian rock/pop/alternative artist from Benalla, North East Victoria, Australia. To date she has released on EP Lisa Anne Maxwell is an Australian rock/pop/alternative artist from Benalla, North East Victoria, Australia. To date she has released on EP Lisa Anne Maxwell...
- Rock/Pop/Alternative solo artist. - Tom RockliffTom RockliffTom Rockliff is a current Australian rules football player for the Brisbane Lions in the Australian Football League ....
- AFL footballer for Brisbane FC - Hugh SawreyHugh SawreyHugh Sawrey CBE was an Australian artist and founder of the Australian Stockman's Hall of Fame, Longreach...
- Prominent Australian Artist, works displayed worldwide - Mark SeymourMark SeymourMark Seymour is an Australian musician and vocalist best known for his work as the frontman and songwriter of rock band Hunters & Collectors...
- Lead singer of Hunters & CollectorsHunters & CollectorsHunters & Collectors were an Australian rock music band formed in Melbourne in 1981, fronted by singer-songwriter and guitarist Mark Seymour, they developed a blend of pub rock and art-funk...
and solo artist. - Nick SeymourNick SeymourNick Seymour is a musician, painter, and record producer. He is best known for being the bass guitarist in the Australasian rock group Crowded House and brother to Mark Seymour of another successful group; Hunters and Collectors.- Biography :Born in Benalla, Victoria, Australia, Seymour studied...
- Bass player in Crowded HouseCrowded HouseCrowded House are a rock band, formed in Melbourne, Australia and led by New Zealand singer-songwriter Neil Finn. Finn is the primary songwriter and creative director of the band, having led it through several incarnations, drawing members from New Zealand , Australia and the United States...
. - Jarrad WaiteJarrad WaiteJarrad Waite is an Australian rules footballer in the Australian Football League .Jarrad was born in Devonport, Tasmania. He was recruited as the number 46 draft pick in the 2001 AFL Draft from Benalla under the father-son selection rule...
- AFL footballer for Carlton F C - Hector WallerHector WallerHector Macdonald Laws Waller, DSO & Bar was the captain of the light cruiser HMAS Perth in World War II. In a naval career spanning almost 30 years, he served his country in two world wars...
- captain of the light cruiser HMAS PerthHMAS Perth (D29)HMAS Perth was a Modified Leander class light cruiser operated by the Royal Australian Navy during World War II. She was constructed for the Royal Navy , and commissioned as HMS Amphion in 1936...
in the Second World War