Tooleybuc is a town in the western

Riverina The Riverina () is an agricultural list of regions in Australia, region of south-western New South Wales, Australia. The Riverina is distinguished from other Australian regions by the combination of flat plains, a climate with significant seaso ...

district 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 ...

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 ...

. The town is located on the Mallee Highway, southwest of the state capital,

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 ...

and north west of

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 ...

. Situated on the banks of 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 ...

across from Piangil in the neighbouring state of Victoria, at the , Tooleybuc has a population of 277. The town is in the

Murray River Council The Murray River Council is a local government area in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. This area was formed in 2016 from the merger of Murray Shire with Wakool Shire. The combined area comprises and covers the northern ban ...

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 ...

. The Tooleybuc Bridgekeepers Cottage close to the Tooleybuc Bridge is of particular local historic interest. It is open to the public.

History

The Post Office opened on 1 February 1873 and closed in 1885. However, a Post Office agency has been run in the town for many years, usually in the General Store. In 1876 the settlement at Tooleybuc was described in the following terms:

Tooley Buc is on the New South Wales side of the river, and is on the mail road between Swan-hill and
Balranald Balranald is a town within the Local government in Australia, local government area of Balranald Shire, in the Murray (New South Wales), Murray region of far south-western New South Wales, Australia. The town of Balranald is located where the ...
, being nearly equidistant between the two places. There is no township, but there is a good deal of settlement in the neighbourhood. A store and post-office are attached to the public-house. Tooley Buc is a crossing-place for sheep and cattle.

Heritage listings

Tooleybuc has a number of heritage-listed sites, including: * 222 Main Road: Tooleybuc Bridge over Murray River Tooleybuc is home to a historic

bridge A bridge is a structure built to Span (engineering), span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or railway) without blocking the path underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, whi ...

over the Murray River. Constructed in 1925, the bridge was designed to rise to let

paddle steamers A paddle steamer is a steamship or steamboat powered by a steam engine driving paddle wheels to propel the craft through the water. In antiquity, paddle wheelers followed the development of poles, oars and sails, whereby the first uses were wh ...

through. In 1974, the paddle steamer "Pevensey" collided with the bridge after passing through the open bridge heading upstream. The steamer attempted to move to the south bank after clearing the bridge, but was caught in the strong current and swept sideways into the east side of the bridge. The bridge sustained no noticeable damage, but the "Pevensey" suffered some damage to her upper works. After being pulled off by a team of locals who were gathered to see her come through the bridge, the "Pevensey" refueled and made minor repairs, before heading upstream to

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 ...

Culture

The town in conjunction with nearby township Manangatang has 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 competing in the Central Murray Football League. The town first established a football team in 1903, in the Lines Football Association. This became the Nyah-Piangil Football Association soon after, and Tooleybuc won its first Premiership in 1923, defeating

Woorinen Woorinen is a town located in the Rural City of Swan Hill, Victoria, Australia. Woorinen R.S. post office opened on 1 February 1915, renamed Woorinen on 1 April 1919 and was closed on 24 September 1993. References Towns in Victoria (s ...

by 1 point. As a member of the Mid Valley Football Association, Tooleybuc won the Premiership in 1935. The Association became the Mid-Murray Football League, and Tooleybuc made the Grand Final on six occasions, but only managed one Premiership, when they defeated Lalbert by 32 points in 1965. In 1997, a re-organisation of football leagues in the area resulted in the creation of the Central Murray Football League. In 2004 the Tooleybuc and Manangatang football clubs merged to form the Saints. The senior team lost the Grand Final to Kerang Football Club in 2004, and won the Premiership in 2007, defeating Balranald Football Club by 45 points. In the 2011 season, the Saints won the Reserves and Under-15 Premierships. Tooleybuc Central SchoolSchool Websit
Tooleybuc Central School
/ref> is a K-12 school. It began as a primary school in 1916, and in 1952 surrounding small schools were absorbed into it to form the Central School. It has students from the NSW towns of Kyalite, Goodnight and

Koraleigh Koraleigh is a small village in the west of the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. The village is on the Murray River and in Murray River Council local government area. Koraleigh is northeast of Nyah, Victoria and south of Tooley ...

, as well as farm areas within that range. It also serves students from Victoria, especially for high school, for the towns and localities of Nyah, Nyah West, Wood Wood, Piangil, Natya, Kooloonong and surrounding areas.

References

External links

Murray River Council
- Official site {{authority control Towns in the Riverina Towns in New South Wales Populated places on the Murray River Murray River Council