Wodonga
Wodonga (pronounced /wəˈdɒŋɡə/;[2] Pallanganmiddang: Wordonga)[3] is a city on the Victorian side of the border with New South Wales, 324 kilometres (201 mi) north-east of Melbourne, Australia. It is part of the twin city of Albury-Wodonga and is located wholly within the boundaries of the City of Wodonga LGA and is separated from its twin city in New South Wales, Albury, by the Murray River. As of 2021 Wodonga and its suburbs have a population of 38,949[4] and combined with Albury, the two cities form the urban area Albury-Wodonga with a population of 97,793.[5] There are multiple suburbs of Wodonga including Bandiana, Baranduda, Barnawartha, Bonegilla, Ebden, Huon Creek, Killara, Leneva and Staghorn.
This article is about the city in Victoria, Australia. For the local government area, see City of Wodonga.
Wodonga
Victoria
38,949 (2021 census)[1]
1,049.8/km2 (2,719/sq mi)
1852
3690
152 m (499 ft)
37.1 km2 (14.3 sq mi)
- 559 km (347 mi) SW of Sydney
- 324 km (201 mi) NE of Melbourne
- 353 km (219 mi) SW of Canberra
- 307 km (191 mi) NE of Bendigo
- 69 km (43 mi) NE of Wangaratta
Wodonga produces a gross domestic product of $2.5 billion per year on average.
History[edit]
Founded as a customs post with its twin city Albury on the other side of the Murray River, the town grew subsequent to the opening of the first bridge across the Murray in 1860. Originally named Wodonga, its name was changed to Belvoir then later back to Wodonga.
The Post Office opened 1 June 1856 although known as Belvoir until 26 July 1869.[6]
It had previously been regarded as the smaller, less prosperous cousin of the two. Whilst still somewhat smaller than Albury, economic growth in both areas has ameliorated such distinctions.
The local Indigenous Waywurru name for the area, "Wordonga", refers to an edible plant or nut found in lagoons.[3]
Sport[edit]
Like much of country Victoria, Wodonga has a large and valued sporting culture. There are many sporting grounds in, and around, the area, and they are often frequented by the public in a social manner, when not being used for organised sport.
There are three Australian rules football clubs in Wodonga, the Wodonga Football Club, the Wodonga Raiders Football Club and the Wodonga Saints Football Club. Wodonga and Wodonga Raiders compete in the Ovens & Murray Football League, while the Wodonga Saints compete in the Tallangatta & District Football League. There are many other sporting clubs in the region. Brisbane Lions dual-premiership player Daniel Bradshaw and celebrated St. Kilda forward Fraser Gehrig are originally from Wodonga.
Wodonga is also home to a number of cricket clubs which compete in the Cricket Albury Wodonga (CAW) competition. These include the Belvoir Eagles, Wodonga Bulldogs and Wodonga Raiders.
Cyclists are catered for by the Albury Wodonga Cycling Club.[10] The Albury Wodonga Cycling Club holds club races most weekends, is part of the Riverina Interclub and hosts the annual John Woodman Memorial Wagga to Albury Cycling Classic.
Golfers play the course at SS&A Wodonga on Parkers Road.[11]
Wodonga has two rugby league clubs called the Wodonga Wombats and Bonegilla Gorillas that play in the Murray Cup. Former clubs include the Wodonga Storm and Wodonga Bears, both of whom were involved in Victorian Rugby League competitions.
Australian Socceroos Archie Thompson and Joshua Kennedy played for soccer team Twin City Wanderers as children. Wodonga Diamonds Football Club and Wodonga Heart Football Club are two other soccer clubs based in Wodonga. All three clubs compete in the Albury Wodonga Football Association, in which Wodonga Diamonds helped establish and is historically the most dominant club. In early 2014, a new club representing the region and playing its games in Wodonga was founded as Murray United F.C. Murray United's senior structure has since ceased to exists, and now the club only fields junior teams throughout various tiers of Junior NPL.
Wodonga's Tennis Centre is the largest inland tennis complex in Australia and incorporates not only tennis but also croquet and lawn bowls. The centre has 32 natural grass courts, 8 synthetic grass courts with lights for night use, and 10 plexicushion courts with lights for night use.
Wodonga has a horse racing club, the Wodonga & District Turf Club, which schedules around seven race meetings a year including the Wodonga Cup meeting in November.[12]
The Albury-Wodonga Motorcycle Club are located at Diamond Park on the southern part of Gateway Island, on the north side of the Murray River and organise motor cycle events.[13] The motorcycle speedway track has hosted important events including the final of the 2024 Australian Speedway Championship.[14]
Wodonga also has a BMX club, which is situated in a complex near the home ground of local AFL team, Wodonga Raiders.
Wodonga has a radio-controlled car site with both on-road and off-road tracks on the Lincoln Causeway, next to the speedway track.
Economy and infrastructure[edit]
Industry[edit]
Major secondary industries based in Wodonga include a logistics distributions hub (LOGIC), a large cattle market, a pet food factory (Mars Petcare), a can factory (Visy), a cardboard box factory (Visy Board), a hydraulic hose manufacturer (Parker Hannifin), an abattoir, a foundry (Bradken), a polypropylene film manufacturer (Taghleef Industries (formerly Shorko) a concrete pipe & pole manufacturer (Rocla) and a transformer manufacturer (Wilson Transformer Company) as well as a variety of other smaller enterprises. It also serves as a central point for the delivery of government services to the surrounding region.
It houses the Australian corporate headquarters for Mars. Wodonga is the site of an Australian Army logistics base and a training centre for Army technical apprentices, the Army Logistic Training Centre, which is based at Latchford Barracks and Gaza Ridge Barracks.[17] It is also the home of a campus of La Trobe University and Wodonga Institute of TAFE.
Several experiments in cross-border governance in an attempt to bring the cities of Albury and Wodonga together have been tried. (See Albury-Wodonga for details.)
v2food is set to open a manufacturing plant, that will use locally-grown ingredients, in Wodonga in the second quarter of 2020.[18] However, the plant was closed in 2023.[19]
Education[edit]
From 2006, the three government high schools have merged to form a senior college for Years 10, 11 and 12, known as Wodonga Senior Secondary College, and a school for Years 7, 8 and 9, known as Wodonga Middle Years College, on two campuses; Felltimber and Huon Campus.[26] The former 3 public high schools in Wodonga were Wodonga High School, Mitchell Secondary College and Wodonga West Secondary College. Wodonga High School celebrated its 50th birthday in 2005.
Private schools in Wodonga include: Catholic College Wodonga, Trinity Anglican College, Victory Lutheran College, Mount Carmel Christian School, St Augustines Primary School, St Monicas Primary School and St Francis of Assisi Primary School (formerly Frayne College).[27]
Higher education is locally served by the Wodonga Institute of TAFE and La Trobe University. The regional Albury–Wodonga campus of La Trobe University was established in 1991 and provides courses in education, health sciences, biology, and business. The Albury-based campuses of Charles Stuart University, TAFE NSW and the University of New South Wales Rural Clinical School of Medicine are also closely located to Wodonga.
Wodonga is also home to the Flying Fruit Fly Circus School, the educational arm of The Flying Fruit Fly Circus, that provides educational services with an emphasis on the performing arts and contemporary circus training. In 2003 a devastating fire destroyed the school's facilities at, then Wodonga High School,[28] and the school relocated to Wodonga West Secondary College (now Wodonga Middle Years College Felltimber Campus).[29]