Echuca is one of the major attractions in Victoria. In this small town there is the biggest fleet of pedal steamers in the whole world!
Echuca situated on Murray River, 205 km north from Melbourne, on the boundary of New South Wales. |
|
|
| 
| 
| 
|
| The journey on the paddle steamer was magnificient! The sun was shining, smooth breeze and wonderfull sound of water falling over the paddles and steam hissing took us to the "good old times" desribed by Mark Twain in "Tom Sawyer Adventures". |
The P.S. Canberra (1912) | 
| 
| 
The P.S. Adelaide (1866) is the third-oldest steam-driven boat in the world |
Echuca was founded in 1853 and soon thanks to the railroad become the largest inland port in Australia. Only Port of Melbourne was bigger than Echuca!
The heritage of Port Echuca is carefully presented nowadays, however it is still difficult to imagine how it used to be in Echuca heyday.
The pier you can see on the left photo is only a small fragment of the original one, stretching on 1.2 km length, with up to 240 boats loading the cargo. Notice it is 30m height - this is to accomodate ever changing river level.
In spring, the river gets much higher than in dry summer. |
Echuca wharf today, with P.S. Pevensey (1909-11) | 
Echuca wharf in XIX century | 
Flood heights | 
Distance to other ports |
| Echuca has a lot to show for the visitors. The atmoshpere of XIX port is thorougly restored. |
Port notices the boats steaming today | 
| 
| 
Kids have fun in the old port |
| Echuca is not merely a port but also a transport hub. |
|
|
Echuca railway station | 
Wool load | 
Steam engine used in workshops | 
|
|
| 
| 
Restored secret smuglers pub | 
|
| The trip on pedal steamer is the must if you are visiting Echuca. You will experience the "old good times" on the real steam boat! |
Tourists boating P.S. Alexander Arbuthnot (1916) | 
Small private pedal steamers | 
Cargo bark | 
|
| The steam boat trip is also a chance to see how people's job looked like in old days. |
The captain | 
Mooring the boat | 
Steam engine mechanic | 
|
