Echuca
Home of the Murray River Paddle Steamers
On the lands of the Yorta Yorta people.
schedule 1 min read / Updated Apr 2026
A river town at the junction of the Murray, Campaspe and Goulburn rivers, with the largest fleet of working paddle steamers in the world. In the 1880s Echuca was Australia's busiest inland port, and the original red gum wharf is still in use.
Echuca was founded in 1853 on Yorta Yorta country as a crossing point for drovers moving sheep and cattle between New South Wales and Victoria. Within 25 years it had become the largest inland port in Australia, with a wharf 332 metres long and more than 100 paddle steamers working out of it. The river trade collapsed when the railways arrived, but a dozen of the original paddle steamers were preserved and now run tourist cruises.
The Port of Echuca Discovery Centre is the main attraction, a living museum built around the restored wharf. The PS Pevensey (built 1911 and star of the All the Rivers Run miniseries), the PS Adelaide (1866, the oldest wooden-hulled paddle steamer still operating), and the PS Emmylou all offer cruises lasting from one hour to two nights.
Beyond the river, the Barmah National Park and its Ramsar-listed wetlands are 30 minutes north and are home to some of the last wild brumbies in Victoria.
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- Barking Marsh Frog (Limnodynastes fletcheri) (8613531792).jp... · Matt from Melbourne, Australia · CC BY 2.0
- CSIRO ScienceImage 4620 Paddlesteamer Emmylou on a pleasure... · Willem van Aken, CSIRO · CC BY 3.0
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