Peechelba, Victoria

Peechelba is a small town in northeastern Victoria, Australia. The town is between Wangaratta and Yarrawonga and 277 kilometres (172 mi) northwest of the state capital, Melbourne. In 2006 there were about 116 people living in and around Peechelba.[2]

Peechelba
Victoria
Peelchelba Town Entry Sign.JPG
Entering Peechelba
Coordinates36°12′S 146°14′E / 36.200°S 146.233°E / -36.200; 146.233Coordinates: 36°12′S 146°14′E / 36.200°S 146.233°E / -36.200; 146.233
Population345 (2011 census)[1]
Postcode(s)3678
Location
LGA(s)
  • Rural City of Wangaratta
  • Shire of Moira
State electorate(s)Ovens Valley
Federal division(s)Indi
Localities around Peechelba:
Boomahnoomoonah Bundalong South Boorhaman North
Wilby Peechelba Peechelba East
Boweya North Killawarra Boorahman

The town is home to a nature reserve and is close the Ovens River.

History

Peechelba Post Office opened on 2 September 1880 to the north where the town is now, and was renamed Bundalong South in 1883. In 1883 a new Peechelba office opened which closed in 1889. In 1890 Peechelba Town office opened, closing in 1969.[3] A railway station was opened in Peechelba on 31 October 1927. The line was closed on 8 December 1986.[4] A primary school was opened at Peechelba in 1880 and closed in 1903. A new school opened at Peechelba Township in 1891 and was closed in 1970.[5]

Peechelba Beef is now the largest feedlot in the Southern Hemisphere.[6]

Mad Dog Morgan

The bushranger Mad Dan Morgan held up people at Peechelba Station (farm) on the evening of 8 April 1865. The children's nurse, Alice Macdonald, was able to let the police know. They soon surrounded the main house. Jack Quinlan, a stockman at the station, shot and fatally wounded Morgan. Morgan died the next day at 1.45 p.m. His body was taken to Wangaratta and put on public show. People ripped off his hair and beard as souvenirs. His head was cut off and sent to the professor of anatomy at the University of Melbourne. He was buried on 14 April in Wangaratta cemetery.[7]

References

  1. Australian Bureau of Statistics (31 October 2012). "Peechelba (State Suburb)". 2011 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 3 December 2014.
  2. Australian Bureau of Statistics (25 October 2007). "Peechelba East (State Suburb)". 2006 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 2007-11-09.
  3. Premier Postal History, Post Office List, retrieved 2008-04-11
  4. "Peechelba East". VICSIG - Infrastructure. Retrieved 2010-01-08.
  5. "Peechelba". Towns and localities in the Rural City of Wangaratta. Rootsweb. Archived from the original on 2012-10-13. Retrieved 2010-01-08.
  6. "Education". Peechelba Beef. 2007. Retrieved 2010-01-08.
  7. Prior, Tom; Wannan, Bill (1968). A Pictorial History of Bushrangers. Sydney: Hamlyn.