Mooroopna - History

History

The name Mooroopna was used by the original Kaieltheban tribe living in the area and meant 'deep water hole'. This refers to a very deep part of the Goulburn River behind the old Mooroopna Hall. The Kaielthebans (population 50 in 1841) were part of the Bangerang race living in the region before the arrival of Europeans.

Two entrepreneurs, Joseph Hawdon and Charles Bonney, camped on the edge of Gemmill's Swamp, close to Mooroopna, in January 1838. They were overlanding large herds of cattle and sheep from an area close to modern Seymour to Adelaide, about 1200 km by bullock dray along the Goulburn and Murray Rivers. Three years later, squatters settled in surrounding areas running sheep on the well-grassed plains. The first settler in the town was William Simmonds Archer who purchased land in 1860 and built his home/hotel in McLennan Street, overlooking the river. He was followed by W. H. Morrell who selected most of the remaining township. Early commerce flowed from revenue gained by punt owners at Shepparton and in Mooroopna, who exploited the traffic from gold fields in Bendigo to those in Beechworth. The Post Office opened on 19 April 1873.

Thirty years later, the population had reached 812 and the town then prospered, hindered often by droughts and damaging floods. It is now the second largest urban area in the Goulburn Valley.

Mooroopna became a centre for local commerce especially after the beginning of irrigation from the early 1880s. The first school was opened in 1874, the first bank in the same year, the punt in 1875, the Mooroopna Hospital in 1876 and the railway from Seymour in 1880. Like other country towns, Mooroopna became infested with hotels and churches, the influence and numbers of both having declined since the Second World War. Also, like other towns, Mooroopna lost young men to wars in South Africa, Europe and in Asia and has several memorials recording their names.

The Historical Society of Mooroopna was established in 1983 and exists to collect, collate and display items and material relevant to the history of Mooroopna and the surrounding district.