Swan Hill is located on the beautiful banks of the mighty Murray River. In the early 1850s, a wharf was built on the Murray River, and Swan Hill became one of the region's most important inland river trading ports. With the growth and expansion of the railways, the city’s importance as a river trading port declined.
The agricultural industry has since taken over and become a prosperous industry with vast citrus fruit farms and vineyards now surrounding the Swan Hill region. Tourism and manufacturing are also prosperous and economically important here. Today, the city combines the relaxed lifestyle and community spirit of a traditional rural town, with the facilities and modern conveniences of a much larger urban centre.
The main town centre of Swan Hill is centred around Campbell Street and the wide boulevard of McCallum Street, which crosses the Murray River Road Bridge into New South Wales.
The Murray River Road Bridge, which is heritage-listed, was built in 1896 and features a central span that can be raised to allow paddlesteamers to pass under it. The bridge was deemed to be significant for historical, aesthetic, technical and social reasons. And it’s easy to see why, with its old world charm and sections of timber construction.
Other sights worth seeing when in town include the clock tower opposite the post office, the elegant art deco style town hall built in 1935, and the gardens and war memorial along the centre of McCallum Street. In front of the Swan Hill railway station there’s also an 11-metre long giant replica of a Murray Cod, which is a former movie prop and now an iconic part of the town, reflective of its location along the Murray River.
Swan Hill is also famous for being a stopping point on the famously ill-fated Burke and Wills expedition. In 1860, locals planted a Moreton Bay fig tree on Curlewis Street to commemorate the brave explorers. It is believed to be the largest tree of its kind in Australia.
There’s no denying that at the heart of Swan Hill is the Murray River. And along its beautiful banks there are a number of parks that include picnic areas, BBQ facilities and playgrounds, which makes for an ideal family day out.
One of the most popular tourist attractions in town is the Pioneer Settlement, located at the junction of the Murray and Little Murray Rivers. The settlement offers visitors the chance to experience what this once pioneering river port town looked like in days gone by.
The wharf at the Pioneer Settlement is also where the paddle steamer cruise departs from. No visit to Swan Hill would be complete without jumping aboard the famous PS Pyap, which was first built in 1896 and has since been restored to its former glory. The hour-long cruise winds its way along this river as the captain recounts tales of the riverboat’s history and the influence paddle steamers had on the early settlement of the area.
