Mathoura

Mathoura is a small town in the Riverina region of southern New South Wales, Australia, in the Murray River Council local government area. At the , Mathoura had a population of 938. At the 2021 census the population was 1,002. The town's name may be derived from a Yorta Yorta word for 'windy'. (There is also a city called Mathura in India. ) Traditional Yorta Yorta lands lie on both sides of the Murray River roughly from Cohuna to Albury / Wodonga. They include towns such as Echuca, Shepparton, Benalla, Corowa and Wangaratta and extend northwards to just south of Deniliquin.

Mathoura is a small town in the Riverina region of southern New South Wales, Australia, in the Murray River Council local government area. At the , Mathoura had a population of 938. At the 2021 census the population was 1,002. The town's name may be derived from a Yorta Yorta word for 'windy'. (There is also a city called Mathura in India. ) Traditional Yorta Yorta lands lie on both sides of the Murray River roughly from Cohuna to Albury / Wodonga. They include towns such as Echuca, Shepparton, Benalla, Corowa and Wangaratta and extend northwards to just south of Deniliquin. ==History - 1800s== In 1848 a reserve was established on Gulpa Creek by Surveyor Townsend. The locality became known as Redbank. By 1853 W. Moore Carter had established an inn at Redbank and in 1856¹ he was permitted to purchase at £2 10s. per acre. By 1860 Carter had about under cultivation, including a vineyard. A petition in 1859 called on the Government to put up the reserve at Redbank for sale. However, there were others who considered a more suitable position for a village was at Hill Plain, where Mr. Stuckey had erected an inn (opened in June 1860 and managed by John Atkinson). In 1860 Surveyor McCulloch laid out the township of Redbank near the site of Carter's Redbank Inn. In 1864 Carter was growing tobacco at Redbank (from which cigars were manufactured). A traveller passing through Redbank in mid-1865 stated that "Mr. Carter has established a brick public-house… situated on the bank of the Gulpa Creek". The writer added: "I observed three or four acres fenced and stocked with fruit trees, withered and dried up". In 1865 Henry Burton, a circus proprietor, purchased the Redbank Inn; he held the licence until 1878 when it was transferred to T O'Sullivan. Mathoura Post Office opened on 1 September 1867. On 4 July 1876 the Deniliquin & Moama Railway opened. The station in the township of Mathoura was called Redbank. The line was quite flat, rising only 5m between Deniliquin and Moama. Redbank Station was at the summit (13m above Deniliquin) and initially was the only other station on the line. Redbank Station had a 76,000 litre tank which could be filled by a steam pump from the Gulpa Creek in 5 hours. 1877: A visitor returning in that year noted several changes including a powerful new crane at the Redbank Railway Station, a new and commodious refreshment room adjoining the ticket office, and a drinking fountain drawing on the pure sparkling water from the Gulpha Creek. As well as the Redbank and Bowtell’s Mathoura hotel (frequented generally by selectors) there was a butcher, draper, general store, blacksmith, and wheelwright. The extensive fish hauls from the Gulpha were sold into Melbourne via Echuca. The Redbank Saw-mills including Barbour’s supplied nearly the whole trade of Deniliquin with red-gum piles, sleepers, and building timber. 1879: On 2 June 1879, the Redbank Railway Station was renamed Mathoura. One reason was that Mathoura was the Government name for the town and parish. The other was that there was another Redbank (near Hillston) in NSW and one in Victoria and goods and parcels intended for Redbank, Victoria were frequently forwarded to the ‘Mathoura’ Redbank. By 1879 it was reported that the village had about six houses of "straggling order" and was supported principally by the timber trade. By 1882 a flour mill had been established at Mathoura; there were two hotels, the Mathoura Inn and the Railway Hotel, as well as a school, a Union church and a sawmill. 1883: John Boothman, licensee of the Railway Refreshment Rooms, Mathoura, appeared before the Moama Police Court in March 1883. Constable Baynes deposed that he was on duty at the railway platform, Mathoura, at 10:30 on the night specified, when he saw dancing taking place in the ladies' waiting room and on the platform. The charge was dismissed. 1884: A bale of wool from Mathoura won third prize at the Amsterdam International Exhibition. ==Climate== ==Today== The town has an Australian Rules football team competing in the Picola & District Football League. Golfers play at the course of the Mathoura Golf Club on the Cobb Highway. ==References== Mathoura Rail Siding

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