Picola is a town in the

Shire of Moira Moira Shire Council is a Local Government Area in the Northern Victoria Region of Victoria, Australia. Located in the north-east part of the state, it covers an area of . As at August 2021 the population was 30,522. It includes the towns of C ...

in northern

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. At the , Picola had a population of 206.

History

The name Picola is thought to derive from an Aboriginal word for either rushing water or an Aboriginal sub-group. During the 1800s, the towns of Picola and

Nathalia Nathalia ( ) is a town in northern Victoria, Australia. The town is located within the Shire of Moira local government area on the banks of Broken Creek and on the Murray Valley Highway. At the 2021 census, Nathalia had a population of 1,982. ...

competed for farmland

selection Selection may refer to: Science * Selection (biology), also called natural selection, selection in evolution ** Sex selection, in genetics ** Mate selection, in mating ** Sexual selection in humans, in human sexuality ** Human mating strat ...

. Picola was close to the coach route from

Echuca Echuca ( ) is a town on the banks of the Murray River and Campaspe River in Victoria (state), Victoria, Australia. The border town of Moama is adjacent on the northern side of the Murray River in New South Wales. Echuca is the administrative cen ...

Tocumwal Tocumwal ( ) is a town in the southern Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia, in the Berrigan Shire Local government in Australia, local government area. The town, north of the city of Melbourne, lies on the northern bank of the Murray ...

and had a general store, a

Union Church A united church, also called a uniting church, is a denomination formed from the merger or other form of church union of two or more different Protestant Christian denominations, a number of which come from separate and distinct denominationa ...

and a primary school which was established in 1879. However, Picola fell behind, likely due to its lack of a substantial watercourse compared to Nathalia's position on the

Broken Creek Broken Creek is a creek in northern Victoria, Australia. The creek diverges from Broken River immediately downstream from the former Lake Mokoan (now decommissioned) near Benalla and flows in a north-west direction. The creek passes through ...

. Picola Post Office opened on 24 August 1878 and closed in late 2010. The

Australia Post Australia Post, formally the Australian Postal Corporation and also known as AusPost, is an Australian Government-State-owned enterprise, owned corporation that provides postal services throughout Australia. Australia Post's head office is loca ...

outlet was then taken over by the Picola Hotel, until early 2011. On 15 December 1896, the railway line was extended from Nathalia to Picola. It closed on 8 December 1986. It was used to transport wheat, livestock and red gum from the

Barmah National Park The Barmah National Park, formerly Barmah State Park, is a national park located in the Hume (region), Hume region of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victoria (Australia), Victoria. The park is located adjacent to th ...

. The town was once known as 'the hook' because it was at the end of a railway line. Federal Hall was established in 1900, later known as Picola Memorial Hall and Picola Public Hall. It has been burnt down and rebuilt twice: on 19 August 1936, leading the wooden building to be replaced by a brick structure, and on 12 April 1939. Water was carted from Broken Creek until a town dam and water tank was constructed in 1950. A book about the history of the hall was written by Jeanette Holland in 2010. After the

silo art A silo () is a structure for storing bulk materials. Silos are commonly used for bulk storage of grain, coal, cement, carbon black, woodchips, food products and sawdust. Three types of silos are in widespread use today: tower silos, bunker s ...

project in Picola was completed in December 2020 as part of the

Silo Art Trail A silo () is a structure for storing bulk materials. Silos are commonly used for bulk storage of grain, coal, cement, carbon black, woodchips, food products and sawdust. Three types of silos are in widespread use today: tower silos, bunker s ...

, Picola has experienced a tourism boom, leading to owner Bruce Agnew refurbishing and reopening the Picola Hotel on 17 November 2021. Painted by Jimmy Dvate, it features flora and fauna from the Barmah National Park. There are plans to paint a second mural. Picola has a mixture of irrigated, wheat and timber milling farms. At the , farming accounted for 37.2% of employment, with 9.9% dairy farming.

Arts and culture

Picola Public Hall hosts a monthly old-time dance featuring local bands and musicians, as well as themed dances during holidays.

Transportation

Picola is serviced by two return

V/Line V/Line is a statutory authority that operates Regional rail, regional passenger rail and Intercity bus service, coach services in the Australian state of Victoria (state), Victoria. It provides passenger train services on five Commuter rail, ...

coach services on weekdays originating in

Barmah Barmah is a town in the state of Victoria, Australia. Barmah has the distinction of being located north of the border with the state of New South Wales. New South Wales is north of Victoria, with the border being the westward-flowing Murray Ri ...

: both connect in

Shepparton Shepparton () (Yorta Yorta language, Yortayorta: ''Kanny-goopna'') is a city located on the floodplain of the Goulburn River (Victoria), Goulburn River in northern Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, approximately north-northeast of Mel ...

, with train services to

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 ...

Southern Cross station Southern Cross railway station (until 2005 known as Spencer Street station) is a major railway station in Docklands, Victoria, Docklands, Melbourne. It is on Spencer Street, between Collins Street, Melbourne, Collins and La Trobe Street, La Tr ...

. The Picola Hotel serves as the ticket agency.

Sport

The town is home to Picola United Football Club competing in the

Picola & District Football League The Picola & District Football Netball League (PDFNL) is an Australian rules football and netball league. The league covers a large area of northern Victoria (state), Victoria and southern New South Wales from Shepparton in the south to Jerild ...

, and the Picola Bowls Club, competing in the Murray Bowls Association.

References

{{authority control Towns in Victoria (state) Shire of Moira