Albury, New South Wales

Albury (postcode: 2640, {{coor dm|36|03|S|146|54|E|region:AU-NSW}}) is a city in New South Wales, located on the Hume Highway on the northern side of the Murray River. Its population is 42 438 (2001 Census). It is approximately 550 km from the state capital Sydney, but only 300 km from the Victorian capital Melbourne. It is separated by the Murray from its twin city in Victoria, Wodonga. Of all the twin towns on the Murray, it is the only one where the larger town is on the New South Wales side of the river.

History

Albury was founded mainly as a customs post when Victoria and New South Wales were independent colonies which imposed tariffs on each other's goods. Albury's proximity to Wodonga has spurred several efforts to achieve some kind of municipal governmental union (see Albury-Wodonga).

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Originally New South Wales and Victoria had different railway gauges, which meant that all travellers in either direction had to change trains at Albury and it became the busiest station in Australia. To accommodate this, a very long railway platform was needed; the covered platform is one of the longest in Australia.

Related Topics:
Railway gauge - Platform

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Sited on the main Melbourne-Sydney highway, Albury remains a major transit point of interstate commerce. It is the only major town on the Hume Highway yet to be bypassed, although construction on an internal freeway bypass has begun, after much controversy amongst the city's residents regarding its route. The other minor highways which connect to Albury are the Riverina Highway, which continues west through Berrigan and Deniliquin and east to the Hume Weir; and the Olympic Highway (renamed from the Olympic Way) which diverges left from the Hume 16 km north of Albury, into the centre of NSW, passing through Wagga Wagga and terminating with the Mid-Western Highway at Cowra.

Related Topics:
Hume Highway - Riverina Highway - Berrigan - Deniliquin - Olympic Highway - Wagga Wagga - Mid-Western Highway - Cowra

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There is a local airport which has scheduled daily flights to Sydney and Melbourne through two carriers, QantasLink and Regional Express, in addition to charter services.

Related Topics:
QantasLink - Regional Express

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Victoria Cross recipient Albert Chalmers Borella is buried in Albury, and the road leading from Albury Airport to the city was re-named Borella Road in 1979, in his honour.

Related Topics:
Victoria Cross - Albert Chalmers Borella

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