Swan Reach is a town located in the

Shire of East Gippsland The Shire of East Gippsland is a local government area in Gippsland, Victoria, Australia, located in the eastern part of the state. It covers an area of and as of the had a population of 48,715. It includes the towns of Bairnsdale, Benambra ...

, Victoria

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 ...

. It is situated east of the state capital,

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 ...

and is located approximately halfway between the townships of

Bairnsdale Bairnsdale (locally ) (Gunai language, Ganai: ''Wy-yung'') is a city in East Gippsland, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, situated in a region traditionally inhabited by the Tatungalung clan of the Gunaikurnai people. The estimated popu ...

and Lakes Entrance on the Tambo River. Swan Reach falls under the jurisdiction of the

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 ...

. According to the 2016

Australian Census The Census in Australia, officially the Census of Population and Housing, is the national census in Australia that occurs every five years. The census collects key demographic, social and economic data from all people in Australia on census nig ...

Swan Reach and the surrounding area had a population of 751 people. The region did not have much population until the establishment of sawmills on the Tambo River between 1864 and 1870. With the influx of settlers, farming, dairy and cheese factory came into being. In 1875, the Tambo school was established and later hotels and shops were set up in the area. Swan Reach Post Office opened on 1 February 1880. It was known from around 1906 to around 1911 as Swan Reach West in anticipation of a surveyed Swan Reach township to the east being established. Nearly everyone currently residing in Swan Reach was born in Australia and they speak predominantly English. Religion is not very diverse with 100% of residents being

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

or subscribing to no religion. Swan Reach has one

pub A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the late 17th century, to differentiate private ho ...

, one

petrol station A filling station (also known as a gas station [] or petrol station []) is a facility that sells fuel and engine lubricants for motor vehicles. The most common fuels sold are gasoline (or petrol) and diesel fuel. Fuel dispensers are used to ...

, and one

general store A general merchant store (also known as general merchandise store, general dealer, village shop, or country store) is a rural or small-town store that carries a general line of merchandise. It carries a broad selection of merchandise, someti ...

. These are all located on the

Princes Highway Princes Highway is a major road in Australia, extending from Sydney via Melbourne to Adelaide through the states of New South Wales, Victoria (Australia), Victoria and South Australia. It has a length of (along Highway 1) or via the former ...

, which runs through the centre of the town and forms the main road.

Sports

Swan Reach also has an oval and netball court, with an

Australian Rules 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 ...

football team and

netball Netball is a ball sport played on a rectangular court by two teams of seven players. The primary objective is to shoot a ball through the defender's goal ring while preventing the opposing team from shooting through their own. It is one of a ...

teams competing in the Omeo & District Football League. The town's

hockey ''Hockey'' is a family of List of stick sports, stick sports where two opposing teams use hockey sticks to propel a ball or disk into a goal. There are many types of hockey, and the individual sports vary in rules, numbers of players, apparel, ...

club plays in the East Gippsland Hockey Association, although they have played their home games for the past few seasons in the nearby town of Lakes Entrance.

References

Towns in Victoria (state) Shire of East Gippsland {{Gippsland-geo-stub