 Paddlesteamer on the Murray at Echuca |
At Echuca, where the Campaspe and the Goulburn run into the mighty Murray, floods –and drought – have always been a way of life. The pioneers who built Echuca's massive red gum wharf knew they had to allow for a river which even in a normal year rises and falls 7.5 metres with the seasons. During the summer months paddle steamers were tied up in rows, awaiting word of the first rise in the river for skippers and crews to abandon the town's 79 pubs, getting up steam to be off to compete for far-away cargoes.
The Port of Echuca was then Australia's largest inland river port, working a hundred vessels a week. It still does a roaring trade: six surviving paddle steamers still chug around bends in the river, whistles screeching, steam spurting, as they have done for over a century now.
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