Towns and Localities
Rural City of Wodonga

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For a map of this shire click HERE.

small green ball Bandiana
small green ball Baranduda
small green ball Barnawartha North
small green ball Belvoir (see Wodonga)
small green ball Bonegilla
small green ball Boorgunyah
small green ball Castle Creek
small green ball Dry Creek (see Barnawartha North)
small green ball Ebden
small green ball Ebden Weir (see Mitta Junction)
small green ball Gateway Island (see Wodonga)
small green ball House Creek
small green ball Huon Creek
small green ball Killara
small green ball Leneva
small green ball Leneva West
small green ball Mitta Junction
small green ball Mitta Junction Reservoir (see Mitta Junction)
small green ball Wodonga
small green ball Wodonga West

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BandianaApproximate Location: SE suburb of Wodonga.
Schools: SS4691 initially opened as an annexe to the Wodonga Primary school in 1952, was fully independent by 1958 and was still operating in 2003.

Baranduda
Approximate Location: 15 km south east Wodonga.
Comments: Rural town named after the aboriginal name of a local swamp.
Cemetery: There may have been a cemetery here. See click here.

Barnawartha North Approximate Location: 8km NE of Barnawartha and 15km NW of Wodonga.
Comments: As one of the schools was initially known as Dry Creek (see below), I assume that part of this locality also had that name.
Schools: This school opened in 1870 as Rural School 52 and was initially known as Dry Creek. It became SS1202 in 1873. School renamed to Barnawartha North about 1877. It was unstaffed in 1953.
Also see: Barnawartha and Barnawartha South on the Shire of Indigo page.

BonegillaApproximate Location: On western edge of Lake Hume and due east of Wodonga.
Schools: SS1749 opened in 1876 and closed in 1946.
SS4634 opened in 1952 and closed in 1971.

BoorgunyahApproximate Location: On Murray River NNE of Barnawartha North. Township surveyed and proclaimed in 1859 although the township never developed.

Castle CreekApproximate Location: About 10km SW of Wodonga.

EbdenApproximate Location: On the western edge of Lake Hume, 2km SE of Bonegilla and 15km east of Wodonga.
Comments: Named after Charles Hotson Ebden who later became the Victorian Treasurer.

House CreekApproximate Location: 10km SW of Wodonga.
Comments: Gold found in the area in 1861.
Schools: SS2266 House Creek  opened in 1880 to serve both the House Creek and Huon Creek communities, was temporarily closed in 1884, closed in 1917, re-opened in 1921 and finally closed in 1926.

Huon CreekApproximate Location: Locality just over 5km from and WSW of Wodonga.

KillaraApproximate Location: Locality just east of Bandiana and a bit over 5km east of Wodonga.

LenevaApproximate Location: 10km south of Wodonga on the Wodonga-Beechworth Road.
Comments: Reversed spelling of Avenel.
Schools: SS1506 opened in 1875, operated part-time with SS2195 Leneva West in 1917/1918, part-time with SS1672 Wooragee North (Indigo Upper) in 1922 and closed some time after 1962.

Leneva WestApproximate Location: 5km SW of Leneva on the Wodonga-Beechworth Road.
Schools: SS2195 Middle Creek West opened in 1879 and was part-time with SS1673 Wooragee North (see Indigo Upper) from 1884 until both resumed full-time operation in 1901 or 1902. The school was renamed Leneva West in 1916. It closed in 1917, re-opened later that year part-time with SS1506 Leneva, closed in 1918, re-opened in 1921 and finally closed in 1949.

Mitta JunctionApproximate Location: 10km east of Albury-Wodonga.
Schools: SS4080 opened in 1922 and closed some time after 1970. In its early days the school was located in the Mitta Junction Reservoir township which is now gone, and it was possibly also called the Ebden Weir school.

WodongaApproximate Location: One of the twin cities of Albury/Wodonga where the  Hume Highway crosses the Victoria/NSW border, with Albury on the NSW side of the Murray and Wodonga on the Victorian side. �Roughly� halfway between Melbourne and Sydney.
Short history: In 1836 Paul Huon took up the 'Woodonga Station' (please note the original spelling) of 41,000 acres. Woodonga is an aboriginal word for an edible nut. Charles Huon sent by his brother Paul to occupy land in his name gave the name 'Belvoir' to the homestead erected 100 yards south of Wodonga Creek (east side of Wodonga/Albury Road on the "Woodonga Station").
The Customs House was where the old butter factory is now situated on the east side of the road, coming from Albury. Many were the ruses used to avoid customs duty. Some people would purchase new clothes in Albury and wear them home, carrying their old garments. There was no duty on clothes worn or used garments.
The town was named Belvoir after Lord Belvoir of Leceistershire when it was surveyed in 1851 but reverted to Wodonga in 1869.
In 1870/1 the name 'Belvoir' appeared in Government Gazettes and was brought into general usage in 1874.
Another source says that although surveyed and proclaimed as the township of Wodonga in 1852, it was commonly called Belvoir from 1856 until 1869.
In 1873 the railway from Melbourne reached Wodonga and there were great celebrations, a ball and a banquet. Following that event, the railway buildings began to appear south of the railway.
Until 3rd March 1876 Yackandandah was part of Wodonga, until the Shire of Wodonga separated from the Shire of Yackandandah. Up until this date Yackandandah ended at the Lincoln Causeway which divides Albury and Wodonga. From that date the name Wodonga was adopted in place of Belvoir. Belvoir was surveyed in 1852 and named after Lord Belvoir of Leicester.
In the book 'A Tale of Twin Cities' by Desmond Martin, page 27 reads: 'In 1836 Paul Huon sent his brother Charles to take up Wodoonga. Charles built a mud brick home. This first homestead was named Belvoir [pronounced beaver] in direct reference to the Duke of Buckingham's residence, and acknowledgment of his assistance to Charles' father'. In 1835 William Wyse took up Mungabareena on the north side of the Murray River on behalf of Charles Hotson Ebden, then crossed the water to Bonegilla which became Ebden's permanent run and station.
Wodonga is a Aboriginal name meaning 'bullrushes', which grew in the creek near the homestead where the Huon family lived. (Wendy, with reference to work by Rosemary Boyes).
Suburbs: Gateway Island is in the northern part of Wodonga and presumably part of the Murray River flats..
Newspapers: See Newspapers page for a list of Wodonga newspapers.
Schools: Belvoir National School 378 opened in 1857 and became Belvoir Common School 37 in 1862. SS 37 renamed from Belvoir to Wodonga in 1873 (a few years after the name change of the town itself). Currently situated in Brockley St. This school became a Higher Elementary School in 1938 and was separated into a Primary and High School in 1954.
In 1870, SS1058 opened in Wodonga West (known as Greeen Hills), moved in 1877, became part-time with Bandiana SS2222 in 1903, closed in 1950, and was partially destroyed by a bushfire in 1952.
In 1959, SS4814 opened in Lawrence St, Wodonga West.
In 1971, Wodonga South SS5042 opened in Jarrah St, Wodonga after the closure of Bonegilla SS4634 using much of its equipment. It was still operational in 2003
In 1963, a Technical School opened in High St and moved in 1968 to Mitchell St (is now called Mitchell College).
In 1960/2 the HS moved to between Woodland and Brockley Streets.
Cemetery: For details of the Wodonga/Belvoir cemetery click here. Also see the Albury Crematorium.
Churches: Rev Francis Neale was appointed as Methodist minister to Albury in 1856.
Buildings: A Timber court was built in 1859 and replaced by a brick building on the corner of High and Wodonga Streets in 1877. Besides Petty Sessions, it also operated as a County Court. A new court house was erected in 1920.
The Wodonga Free Library was built in High Street in 1915 and operated until 1971 when the library moved into the new Civic Centre. The old building is now used as commercial premises.
Records: Various rate books, school records, etc. held by Wodonga Family History Society.
Family History Group and Historical Society: Click here.
Books: See the Wodonga and Albury entries on the Books page.

Wodonga WestApproximate Location: 5km west of Wodonga.
Schools: When SS1058 first opened in 1870 it was called Green Hill(s). In 1903, it operated part-time with Baranduda. The school didn�t operate during 1945 and 1946 and closed in 1950.
SS4814 Wodonga West opened in 1959 and was still operational in 2003.

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Last updated on 01 September 2021