Gundagai
Gundagai is a small town (population 1,900 in 2016) in the Riverina region of the Australian state of New South Wales. Gundagai is situated on the Murrumbidgee River, some 390 km south-west of Sydney. Gundagai is an ideal stopping point on a driving trip on the Hume between Sydney and Melbourne, having a range of accommodation, good services, and a few points of interest to see before moving on. The township is close to the freeway, and doesn't require that much of a diversion.
Understand
Gold mining made Gundagai both prosperous and a centre for bushranging, giving the town a romantic bush appeal that resulted in it becoming a byword for outback towns in Australia. Many outback stories, songs and poems reference Gundagai, including Jack O'Hagan's songs Where the Dog Sits on the Tuckerbox, Along the Road to Gundagai and When a Boy from Alabama Meets a Girl from Gundagai, as well as Banjo Patterson's The Road to Gundagai and the traditional ballad Flash Jack from Gundagai. The town is also mentioned in Henry Lawson's tale Scots of the Riverina and C.J. Dennis' The Traveller.
History
In 1838, against the advice of the local Aboriginal people, the town was built on flood-prone flats on the northern banks of the Murrumbidgee River. In 1852, severe flooding virtually destroyed the European settlement and 83 of the 250 townsfolk lost their lives. The toll would have been higher but for two Aboriginals who came to the rescue in bark canoes, saving 48 people. The town relocated further up the slopes of Mt Parnassus, and the highest street in the original town, Sheridan Street, is now the main street.
Get in
By car
Gundagai is on the Hume Highway, the major route between Sydney and Melbourne, around 4½ hours drive south of Sydney.
By train
A bus service connects with the train services to Cootamundra, twice a day.
By bus
Most Sydney to Melbourne or Melbourne to Canberra coaches will drop you in Gundagai.
Get around
There is no public transport. The main town shopping strip has ample parking, as does just about everywhere else you might want to go.
South Gundagai is a few kilometres distance across the flood plain of the Murrumbidgee from the more major North Gundagai. You can drive via the freeway, but if you are staying at one of the southern motels (like the Tuckerbox or the Bushman's Retreat, count on it being nearly an hours walk back to the main shopping strip in the north.
- Gundagai Taxi Service - 24 hr - ☏ +61 13 10 08
See
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The dog did what?
The song Five Miles From Gundagai describes a long list of hardships encountered by early settlers on the way here, the last of which is that the dog "sat on" the tucker box. This doesn't sound like much of a problem until you realize the line has been censored for Victorian sensibilities: originally, the dog shat in the tucker box, which contained their food supplies. |
- 1 The Dog on the Tucker Box, Snake Gully (5 miles North of Gundagai). This famous bronze statue, a minor landmark on the Hume Highway on the Sydney side of Gundagai, was unveiled by then Prime Minister Joseph Lyons in 1932 as a tribute to outback pioneers. There are highway services, as well as an interpretive walk located here. Count on spending 30 minutes or so. Free.
- The Murrumbidgee River passes through Gundagai. There are old railway and road bridges crossing the river, which are worth a visit if you are in to that sort of thing. The bridges were some of the longest in Australia at the time they were built. The flood plain of the river divide the town into two, separated by green space with a walkway/cycleway between areas. The Hume Highway crosses the river and flood plain on a 1.1 km bridge.
- Historic Buildings. Gundagai has an historic courthouse, and post office. It has a restored abandoned railway station. Wander down Sheridan Street for a look at some of the town's oldest buildings. Don't miss the old flour mill in Sheridan Lane, or the Prince Alfred Bridge, Australia's longest timber bridge, built in 1866.
- Dr Charles Gabriel's glass-plate photographs, which depict Gundagai life in the early 1900s, in the Gabriel Gallery.
- 2 Rusconi's Marble Cathedral. Inside the Visitor Centre there is a small room that exhibits Frank Rusconi's marble masterpiece. This marble model of a cathedral took Rusconi, the sculptor of the Dog on the Tuckerbox, 20 years to build, by putting together 20,948 pieces of marble collected from the state of New South Wales. This little extravagance is well worth the small fee. $5.
- 3 Gundagai Museum, ☏ +61 2 6944 1995. 09:00-15:00. This museum exhibits tools and agricultural machines from the area.
- Gundagai Railway Museum. See details and get the free self-guided tour on the visitor centre website.
- Gundagai Architectural Heritage Walk. A pleasant 2-km stroll viewing many historic points of interest. See details and get the free self-guided walking tour on the visitor info centre website.
Do
Events
- The Snake Gully Cup, in November, is a two-day horse-racing carnival that includes the Dog on the Tuckerbox Festival.
- The Turning Wave Festival, 3rd weekend in September, is a celebration of Irish/Australian culture with song, dance, poetry readings and markets.
Buy
Souvenirs can be bought at the service centre where the dog on the tucker box statue is located. Naturally, various souvenirs featuring the famous "dog on the tucker box" can be found here.
Eat
- 1 Gundagai Bakery, 184 Sheridan Street (in the centre of town on the main shopping strip), ☏ +61 2 6944 1192. M-Sa. Historic Gundagai Bakery, built in 1864 & believed to be the longest continually running bakery in Australia. Fresh daily menu of bakery items with fresh breads, rolls, sweet pastry, cakes, pies, sausage rolls & fresh-made sandwiches. Devonshire tea. Quick coffee n cake or a light lunch to eat in or takeaway.
- 2 McDonald's, 143 Mount St (On Hume Hwy at South Gundagai), ☏ +61 2 6944 3322. M-Th 06:00-22:00, F-Su 06:00-23:00. Not otherwise particularly notable, but it's the only Maccas between Albury and Canberra and heavily advertised on the Hume. Dining room, McCafe, Play Area, Drive Thru, Free Wi-Fi.
- 3 Gundagai District Services Club, 254 Sheridan Street, Gundagai, ☏ +61 2 6944 1355. 5:30-9:30PM. The club dining room offers good-value Australian and Chinese food.
Drink
- 4 Criterion Hotel, 172 Sheridan Street. Standard-issue country pub with bistro and pizzeria open 7 nights a week. Nice terrace in the back. Basic accommodation also available.
Sleep
Thanks to its popularity as a halfway stopping point between Sydney and Melbourne, Gundagai has an outsized range of accommodation. Most of it is identikit 3-star-ish motels but there are a few outliers.
Budget
- 1 Gundagai Cabins & Tourist Park, 1 Nangus Rd, Gundagai, ☏ +61 2 6944 4440, info@gundagaitouristpark.com.au. Gundagai Cabins & Tourist Park has fully self contained, air conditioned cabins and on-site vans, each with individual ensuite. There are 40 drive through undercover powered ensuite sites, all with sullage disposal. There are powered and unpowered camp sites.
Mid-range
- Bushmans Retreat Motor Inn, 116 Mount St, ☏ +61 2 6944 1433. Dining room open 7AM-11PM (M-Th) 8AM-10PM (Friday, Saturday & Sunday). Coin operated laundry, pay phone in office. Night bell, parking for trucks, buses & trailers. Swimming pool (summer only).
- Church House B & B Gundagai, 91 Punch St, ☏ +61 2 0269 1455. Sitting on a hillside overlooking the Murrumbidgee River flats the Church House B&B is just a leisurely two minute stroll from the town centre of Gundagai.
- 2 Gabriel Motor Inn, 240 Sheridan St, ☏ +61 2 6944 1311. Modern style motel rooms and ensuites with reverse cycle, split system air-conditioners.Queen beds in all rooms.All rooms non smoking and 1st floor.
- Garden Motor Inn, West St, ☏ +61 2 6944 1744. Safe off-road parking outside one of 22 ground floor accommodation units. Painted in light, soft colours, sweeping views of town, the mighty Murrumbidgee Valley and surrounding hills from almost every window.
- 3 Sovereign Inn Gundagai, 26-28 West St (1st Gundagai Exit of Hume Hwy when travelling South, 2nd Gundagai Exit of Hume Hwy when travelling North), ☏ +61 2 6944 1655. 37 units and family suites with cable TV, in-room Internet connectivity, radio with alarm clock, direct dial telephone, coffee- and tea-making facilities.
- 4 Tuckerbox Motor Inn, 87-97 Mount St (on the Hume Highway at South Gundagai), ☏ +61 2 6944 0300. Newest four-star motel in Gundagai.
- 5 Gundagai Motel, 264 Sheridan Street, Gundagai (As you enter from the highway, to the right), ☏ +61 2 6944 1066, enquiries@gundagaimotel.com.au. The rooms are clean, and the owners are very friendly. $68 single, $72 double.
- 6 Poets Recall Motel, 37 West St, ☏ +61 2 6944 1777. A small motel with excepts from famous poets in front of every room.
Splurge
- Kimo Estate (Araluen), 1218 Nangus Rd, Nangus (12 km W of Gundagai), ☏ +61 2 69442385. Deluxe farm stay accommodation geared at weddings. The A-frame "ecohuts" for two come equipped with private hot tubs. $600.
- 7 Wattle Tree Hill, 31 Hanley St, ☏ +61 421 691 533. Quite possibly the nicest place to stay in Gundagai, with two gorgeous rustic-chic studios perched on a hill above Gundagai. Kitchen lite facilities with kettle, microwave, BBQ. Designed for two but can fit four in a pinch. From $280.
Go next
North on the Hume Highway to Yass and Sydney. South to Albury and Melbourne. Go on Gocup Rd and the B72 Snowy Mountains Highway east to Tumut, Cooma, Jindabyne and Bega.
Day trips are possible to Tumut, Cootamundra, Wagga Wagga, Canberra among other places.
| Albury ← Holbrook ← Tarcutta ← | SW M31 NE | → Yass → Sydney |