Echuca prides itself on being the ‘paddle-steamer capital’ of Australia. I didn’t know that Australia had any paddle-steamers, but there were certainly a lot here, all fully restored and in working order. In fact, they claim to have more paddle-steamers here than anywhere else in the world.

Echuca, situated on the Murray River, which runs from South Australia into Victoria, became a busy port when a railway line to Melbourne was laid down. Cargo could be shipped to Echuca, put on a train to Melbourne and then distributed to the rest of the world. Nowadays, the boats are used to transport tourists back in time.

In continuing our tour of historic Victoria, we couldn’t resist taking a slow, steam powered trip down the Murray ourselves, passing luxurious house boats for rent and restored 19th century buildings as we went. Dave was invited to inspect the wood-fired, steam-driven engine, where he found the engineer heating a pie on the pipes for lunch!

I thoroughly enjoyed exploring the historic gold fields area of Victoria, from Ballarat to the border with the next state, New South Wales. The towns have well restored and beautiful 19th century buildings, a sense of gold rush expectation and excitement and well planned attractions they are proud of. Plus some sunshine and lovely cafes for a cappuccino break. Don’t miss out on Victoria!