Cobram, Victoria

Cobram is situated on the Murray River which forms the border between

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Victoria, Australia and New South Wales. Its twin town of Barooga is

Related Topics:
Victoria, Australia - New South Wales - Barooga

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located on the other side of the Murray River. Surrounding Cobram are

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a number of orchards and wineries. The population of Cobram is approximately 4700 with another 1500 in Barooga.

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The area is thought to have been occupied by the Bangarang Aborigines prior to white settlement. Charles Sturt explored the Murray downstream of the present townsite in 1830 and, in 1838, he led a droving party with 300 head of cattle through the district, en route to South Australia. Cobram station was taken up in 1845 by Octavius Phillpotts.

Related Topics:
Aborigines - Charles Sturt - 1845

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A store, post office and school were in operation by 1880 and a sawmill was set up in 1883. In 1886 locals lobbied for the extension of the railway into the area as a terminus could act as a collection point and shipment centre for the wheat-growers. The site was chosen by a surveyor, and the selector who owned the land in question soon broke it up into town lots which went on sale in 1887. All of the usual infrastructure - hotels, businesses, a school, a doctor, a foundry, banks, a cordial factory, stores, churches and a newspaper - had appeared by late 1888 when the first train arrived. The railway signalled the decline of the river trade but the paddlesteamers were still a part of the passenger service in the early days of the town. A punt service was established in 1889 and the first bridge was opened in 1902.

Related Topics:
1880 - Railway - 1888

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However, change was not dramatic and the town grew very slowly until the 1940s when a major boom occurred.

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At the end of World War II the government decided to use the area for a major soldier settlement scheme. Moreover, Italian immigrants, who first arrived in the 1920s, began to migrate in far greater numbers after 1945 and they are a significant presence to this day. Consequently, irrigation surged forwards and many dairy farms and orchards were established.

Related Topics:
World War II - Italian immigrants - Irrigation

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In 1949 the Soldier Settler's League formed the Murray-Goulburn Co-operative for the manufacture and marketing of their dairy produce. It became the largest organisation of its type in the world and it is now one of the state's largest milk producers and a major player in the local economy. The Co-op set up a cheese factory at Cobram in 1951 which has since diversified and it is still a significant employer.

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The Peaches & Cream Festival is held biennially around the Australia Day weekend in January.

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Major industries apart from the Murray Goulburn Co-Operative factory are the Meiji Dairy Corporation milk processing plant, a large abbotoir and orange juice factories.

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The town has one government high school and a consolidated school, an Anglican 4-12 college, a Catholic primary school and a special developmental school. It also has a district hospital with emergency department and an associated nursing home for the elderly.

Related Topics:
Anglican - Catholic

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Smaller towns located nearby include Strathmerton, home of a large Kraft cheese processing plant, Yarroweyah, Katamatite, Koonoomoo and the larger towns of Yarrawonga on the Victorian side and Tocumwal on the New South Wales side.

Related Topics:
Strathmerton - Yarrawonga - Tocumwal - New South Wales

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