While the Bendigo Art Gallery in Victoria has helped put the regional city on the map by attracting international exhibitions and is now one of Australia’s most popular galleries, it is hoped that the MaMa revamp will help make Albury a destination, not just a stopover. The local art scene flourishes as Alburton Art Gallery and Museum (Ma Ma) in the heart of the city is being renovated for $10.5 million and is scheduled to be completed in September. Once the restoration of the gallery is complete, there will be other cultural and artistic experiences, including the opening of an indigenous Aboriginal gallery and the reopening of a new museum, as well as a number of other events and events. You can also visit the Museum of Art and Culture in Alberton, the National Gallery of Victoria and other local galleries and museums, and there are also plans to visit other museums and galleries in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Canberra, Melbourne and Sydney once the restoration of the galleries is complete.
Few towns can boast such spectacular views as Albury, where Monument Hill looks directly across Dean Street into the Murray River Valley and into the valley. Located 90 metres above the city, the hill offers stunning views of the Murray River and Alburton River Valley, as well as the Sydney Harbour Bridge. There are also a number of other historic buildings in the area, such as St. Mary’s Cathedral, which houses one of the most famous statues of Queen Victoria and a statue of King George V.
There are a number of walking trails in Albury, such as the Alburton River Valley Trail, and there is a brochure offering nine walking trails in the city.
As explained on the Albury City website, the Yindyamarra Sculpture Walk is a series of eleven sculptures created by local Aboriginal artists located in the city centre and a number of other historic buildings and public squares. Each sculpture is accompanied by an interpretative panel and video that tells the story of the artist’s life and work as well as the history of his community. There is also an excellent collection of photographs depicting most of the sculptures.
There is a footpath along the Yindyamarra Sculpture Walk, walked by local artists Hume Hovell and her husband, the late Dr John Hovesll, as well as Albury City Council.
The route from Tunnel Road to Albury is 73 km long and is defined as easy, medium and difficult. The brochure explains that the route can be covered in three stages, from the beginning of the tunnel to the end of the tunnel, through the wooded land and back again.
There is a 30 km cycle path connecting Wodonga from Old Tallangatta to Bonegilla, along the historic railway line to Lake Hume. After crossing Fowler’s Swamp Creek to enter the Ten Chain Stock Reserve, enter a private property before entering the Riverina Highway, where you cross the Hume Reservoir. If you are in the area, you can continue on the road until you reach the River Highway, which leads to a short section of the Albury Riverine Trail, the first of its kind in Australia. Once you have crossed this area, cross the Hume reservoir and go over to it, which leads to an easy walk along the water’s edge and then back into the park.
The Hume Dam is 15 km east of Albury and was built to store spring and snow water for the dry summer months. It was a response to the drought of the 1890s and resulted from the River Murray Water Agreement. Bonegilla, located on the north and east sides of Lake Hume, south of Wodonga, is an enormously important migrant camp with a population of over 2,000 people and over 1,500 horses.
More than 1,500 people lived here at the time, many of whom were born as migrant workers from South Africa, South America and the Middle East.
A 50-megawatt hydropower plant was built to optimally exploit this volume, and a 2,500-square-metre building was built on the site. Between 1886 and 1962, the two states opted for different gauge widths, which meant that passengers and freight were shifted from one state’s rail system to the other in Albury. Between 1886 and 1962, the station had a capacity of 1.5 million litres of water per day, more than twice as much as before the introduction of Eastern Standard Time. It was the second largest hydroelectric power plant in Australia and the largest in South Australia.
The Albury Library and Museum is located on the corner of Kiewa and Swift Streets and is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. It has an impressive collection, including the Circus exhibition, which reflects the history of the Albery-based Flying Fruit and Fly Circus and has featured a number of exhibitions, including those at the Australian Museum of Natural History in Melbourne and the National Library of Australia in Canberra.