Brief Echuca Moama History

Set beside the scenic mighty Murray River, the river city of Echuca in Victoria, and the river town of Moama in New South Wales combine to provide tourism, industry, and rural support centres.  Echuca - Moama are connected across the Murray River by a historic rail/road bridge and a new rail bridge.  Before these bridges were erected, the founder of Echuca, Henry Hopwood, and his rival James Maiden, the founder of Moama, both operated river punts across the Murray River.  Both men saw the potential and financial rewards in assisting travellers and their livestock to safely cross the river.  Henry Hopwood also set up a river punt across the Campaspe River in close alignment to his Murray River punt to provide a unique opportunity to charge travellers with their livestock to cross the Campaspe River then again when crossing the Murray River.  Henry Hopwood decided to set up the Bridge Hotel for weary travellers, and stockyards in front of the Hotel to coral stock as a resting point between the two rivers.  The town of Echuca grew rapidly as it soon became the main crossing point between the Goulburn, Murray, and Campaspe Rivers.  Henry Hopwood's wealth was turned into building facilities in Echuca to encourage other merchants to establish businesses in Echuca.  In later years, bullock dray traffic along the Murray River banks was replaced by steam driven paddleboats with barges.  A two mile red river gum wharf was built from Barmah Forrest timber to create the Port of Echuca to accommodate the growing paddleboat fleet.  Goods were transferred off the paddleboats to the new rail network terminating in the port for shipment to Melbourne.  The current road bridge was initially funded by the people of Deniliquin, and built solely as a rail bridge.  It did not accommodate horse or bullock drawn wagons or pedestrian traffic.  This bridge was never officially opened, but after a period of time was stormed and modified by locals in Echuca and Moama to accommodate wagon and pedestrian traffic.  For many years, all vehicle traffic on the bridge would had to stop to give way to rail traffic travelling across the bridge between Echuca and New South Wales towns that included Moama, Mathoura, Caldwell, Burraboi, Moulamein, and Deniliquin.  A subsequent rail bridge was built across the Murray River in the late 1980s to facilitate only rail traffic transitting the border, thereby leaving the original bridge just for vehicle and pedestrian traffic.  The Echuca and Moama business and community entities are closer today than in the past particularly through this internet-based directory listing service.  This Echucaweb.com.au directory serves to promote Echuca-Moama and Regional enterprises to those seeking facilities and services in this area.