Shepparton

From WikiShepp: Documenting the History of the Goulburn Valley

Shepparton

Shepparton is the fifth largest city in Victoria, Australia. The population of the municipality of City of Greater Shepparton in 2005 was estimated to be at 60,403 residents.^[1] The population of Shepparton-Mooroopna is estimated at 38,773.^[2] It is located approximately 200 kilometres (120 mi) north-east of Melbourne, in the Goulburn Valley.

It houses the central administration of the City of Greater Shepparton and is central to the Greater Shepparton municipality, which includes the surrounding suburbs/townships of Tatura, Merrigum, Mooroopna, Murchison, Dookie, and Grahamvale.

History

Main article: History of Shepparton

The town developed adjacent to the Goulburn River, at a crossing point for miners travelling from the Bendigo goldfields to the new finds in the Beechworth area. As there was no bridge to link rich pastures on either sides of the Goulburn River, a punt was quickly established and the settlement became known as "McGuire's Punt".

The name Shepparton comes from a Squatter called Sherbourne Sheppard who held the Tallygaroopna Station. From about 1855 it appears in various documents as a dual name "Shepparton or McGuire's Punt". The initial spelling was Sheppardtown or Sheppardton, before coming to its present spelling when the town was surveyed. A Post Office opened on 1 February 1854 and closed in July of that year, reopening on 1 May 1858.^[3] It is sometimes imagined the name is from Shepperton in England, but this is not the case.^[4]

The railway from Seymour reached the town in 1880,^[5] and the town was soon the hub of a number of branch lines, and rail served industries.

The Royal Australian Navy has a ship HMAS Shepparton named after the city, and the 8th/7th Battalion Royal Victoria Regiment has a base at Somme Barracks, in Sobroan Street, Shepparton.

References

↑ City of Greater Shepparton
↑ Australian Bureau of Statistics (25 October 2007). "Shepparton-Mooroopna (Urban Centre/Locality". 2006 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 2009-01-25.
↑ Premier Postal History, Office List, retrieved 2008-04-11
↑ ill Wannan, Australian Folklore, Lansdowne Press, 1970, reprint 1979 ISBN 0-7018-1309-1, under "Place Names", page 422, citing William Sandry James, A History of Shepparton, 1938.
↑ Sid Brown (March 1990), "Tracks Across the State", Newsrail (Australian Railway Historical Society (Victorian Division)): pages 71–76.