Howlong is a town west of

Albury Albury (; ) is a major regional city that is located in the Murray River, Murray region of New South Wales, Australia. It is part of the twin city of Albury–Wodonga, Albury-Wodonga and is located on the Hume Highway and the northern side of ...

, and is situated on the

Murray River The Murray River (in South Australia: River Murray; Ngarrindjeri language, Ngarrindjeri: ''Millewa'', Yorta Yorta language, Yorta Yorta: ''Dhungala'' or ''Tongala'') is a river in Southeastern Australia. It is List of rivers of Australia, Aust ...

which separates the

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 ...

n states of

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

and

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 ...

. The town is located on the

Riverina Highway Riverina Highway is a -long state highway located in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. The road was constructed over several decades with final asphalt concrete sealing completed during the 1960s. Route The eastern terminus o ...

. There is a bridge across the Murray into Victoria. Howlong is in the

Federation Council The Federation Council, unofficially Senate, is the upper house of the Federal Assembly of Russia, with the lower house being the State Duma. It was established by the Constitution of the Russian Federation in 1993. Each of the 89 federal s ...

local government area A local government area (LGA) is an administrative division of a country that a local government is responsible for. The size of an LGA varies by country but it is generally a subdivision of a federated state, state, province, division (politica ...

. At the , Howlong had a population of 2,997.

History

Prior to the founding of the township the Surveyor-General of New South Wales at that time Major Thomas Mitchell crossed the Murray River during his exploration of the area. There is a monument to Mitchell on the Victorian side of the river which states that Mitchell and his party camped at the location on 17 October 1836 and then crossed the river slightly downstream of their camping point on the following day. Two years later Joseph Hawdon and Charles Bonney, Hawdon with a property in 'Western Port of Melbourne the capitol of Port Philip', set off on the second longest cattle drive of its kind attempted in Australia at that time driving 300 head from Howlong to Adelaide

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

. Hawdon's diary states: Also in 1838 the site of the Mitchell river crossing became the location of the first postage mail delivery by a mail carrier, John Conway Bourke when he undertook to deliver the overland mail from

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

to what would later be called

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

. The township appears to have taken its title from a property named Hoolong in the area which was owned by Isaac Rudd and was named after an Aboriginal place name meaning 'beginning of the plains'. Howlong as a township was laid out in 1854. The Post Office opened on 1 January 1861. It has frequently been noted on lists of

unusual place names Place names considered unusual can include those which are also offensive words, inadvertently humorous (especially if mispronounced) or highly charged words, as well as place names of unorthodox spelling and pronunciation, including especiall ...

Today

Howlong is now an important inland township which services the smaller villages of the area with a range of stores that meet most of the everyday needs of the people of the area. Nearby villages in the area include

Brocklesby Brocklesby is a village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the West Lindsey Non-metropolitan district, district of Lincolnshire, England. It is situated south of Habrough, south-west of Immingham, it is located close to the borde ...

, Walbundrie and Chiltern. The town is the subject in the song "By the time I get to Howlong" from

Spiderbait Spiderbait is an Australian alternative rock band from Finley, New South Wales, formed in 1989 by bass guitarist and singer Janet English, drummer and singer Kram, and guitarist Damian Whitty. In 2004, the group's cover version of the 1930s Lea ...

's album ''

Grand Slam Grand Slam or Grand slam may refer to: Games and sports * Grand slam, winning category terminology originating in contract bridge and other whist card games Athletics * Grand Slam Track, professional track and field league Auto racing * ...

''.

Sport

Howlong Australian Rules Football Ground 003

Local sporting clubs include the

Howlong Football Club Howlong is a town west of Albury, and is situated on the Murray River which separates the Australian states of New South Wales and Victoria. The town is located on the Riverina Highway. There is a bridge across the Murray into Victoria. Ho ...

, 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, which was established in 1897, and who have competed in the

Hume Football League The Hume Australian Football Netball League (HFNL), often shortened to Hume Football League, is an Australian rules football and netball competition containing twelve clubs based in the South West Slopes and southern Riverina regions of New Sou ...

since 1953 and previously competed in the

Chiltern & District Football Association The Chiltern & District Football Association was first established in 1912 from six Australian Rules Football clubs—Barnawartha, Chiltern, Chiltern Valley, Christmastown, Southern and Wodonga—in North Eastern Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Aust ...

in 1915 & 1916 and 1923 to 1952. The Howlong Football Club played in the

Ovens and Murray Football League The Ovens and Murray Football Netball League (OMFNL or O&MFNL) is an Australian rules football and netball competition containing ten clubs based in north-eastern Victoria, Australia, Victoria, the southern Riverina region of New South Wales ...

from 1911 to 1914 and again in 1919. Local golfing is done at the Howlong Golf Resort.

Gallery

File:Entering Howlong.jpg, Entering Howlong File:HowlongMechanicsInstitute.JPG, Mechanics Institute File:HowlongOldPostOffice.JPG, Old Post Office File:HowlongWarMemorial.JPG, War Memorial File:Murray howlong.jpg, Murray River, Howlong

References

External links

Howlong Football Club
{{authority control Towns in the Riverina Towns in New South Wales Populated places on the Murray River Federation Council, New South Wales