SWAN HILL

Swan Hill

Quick facts

Population approximately 10,000
344 kilometres north-west of Melbourne
Set beside the Murray River
Home of the renowned Pioneer Settlement Museum.

Swan Hill was named by European explorer Major Thomas Mitchell, who visited in 1836. Since then, fortunes have been made here; first by the early squatters and later by the farmers whose crops thrived thanks to irrigation from the river. Today you explore original residences or Australia’s first open-air museum. The Pioneer Settlement Museum near the centre of town is famous as a recreated port town of the paddle steamer era.

Swan Hill is also the perfect place to experience some of the most unspoilt and rugged sections of the Murray River as it winds it way through a 10-kilometre section of state park land. Explore the river on the 105-year-old Paddle Steamer Pyap or the MV Kookaburra. Alternatively you can take an overnight trip on a houseboat and explore the river at your own pace. Nearby Lake Boga is a delightful spot to enjoy a range of water sports from parasailing to waterskiing, sailing to swimming.

The Swan Hill region is also becoming known for its wines and fine quality produce so it’s definitely worth visiting some of the local cellar doors and farm gates to sample some of the distinctive flavours of the region.

Activities and attractions

Discover the town’s rich colonial past at the Pioneer Settlement Museum. The museum protrays a nineteenth century Murray River settlement and is famous for its unique display of what were once everyday items.
Visit the Tyntyndyer homestead – built in the mid 1800s, the residence is now open as a fascinating living history museum.
Take a river cruise on the Paddle Steamer Pyap or MV Kookaburra.
Enjoy excellent fishing within a 35-kilometre drive of Swan Hill – this is a great area to catch the famed Murray cod.
Play a round at one of six golf courses in the region, including the renowned Murray Downs Golf and Country Club.
Make the most of first-rate tennis, bowls and aquatic sports facilities.
Visit the Swan Hill Regional Art Gallery – see art that reflects the region in the Access Gallery, and the changing exhibition program in the Main Gallery.
Enjoy swimming and water skiing at Lake Boga near Swan Hill.
Explore natural bushland, lakes and billabongs and the diverse range of plants and abundant wildlife and bird life at the Nyah and Vinifera State Forests and Boundary Bend.
Sample the local gourmet offerings such as peaches, nectarines, almonds and olives at farm gates throughout the region.

Major events