Towns in Australia

Exploring Australia, town by town

Murchison VIC

Murchison

Postcode: 3610

Murchison is a small rural village located on the Goulburn River in Victoria, Australia. Murchison is located 167 kilometres from Melbourne and is just to the west of the Goulburn Valley Highway between Shepparton and Nagambie.

The surrounding countryside contains orchards, vineyards and dairy farms and also HM Prison Dhurringile. At the 2001 census, Murchison had a population of 663.

The Ngooraialum tribe were the aboriginal inhabitants of the area. The first explorer to enter the Goulburn Valley was Thomas Mitchell who crossed the Goulburn River at Mitchellstown. The first Europeans to visit what would become the site where the drovers Joseph Hawdon and Charles Bonney who drove cattle between Mitchellstown and Adelaide.

The town grew further in 1875 with the arrival of the first paddlesteamer. At that time, Murchison had six hotels, a number of general stores, two flour mills and numerous stores and services.