Benalla
Benalla is a small city located on the Broken River gateway to the High Country north-eastern region of Victoria, Australia, about 212 km north east of the state capital Melbourne. At the the population was 10,822.
It is the administrative centre for the Rural City of Benalla local government area.
Prior to the European settlement of Australia, the Benalla region was populated by the Taungurung people, an Indigenous Australian people. A 1906 history recounts that prior to white settlement "as many as 400 blacks would meet together in the vicinity of Benalla to hold a corrobboree". The area was first sighted by Europeans during an expedition of Hamilton Hume and William Hovell in 1824 and was noted as an agricultural settlement called "Swampy". The expedition was followed by that of Major Thomas Mitchell in 1834.
Rev. Joseph Docker settled in 1838 creating a pastoral run called Benalta Run, said to be from an Aboriginal word for musk duck. Docker's property was intended to lend its name to the new township (”Benalta“) but through a clerical error in the Sydney Survey department it became known as 'Benalla'. An attack by indigenous people on the camp of sheepherders George and William Faithful became known as the Faithful Massacre; eight settlers were killed in the incident. Following the massacre, in 1839 a police station was established and the name of the settlement became Broken River. The post office opened on 1 December 1844 originally named Broken River. A bridge was built over the Broken River in 1847 and the following year the town was surveyed. In 1861, it was proclaimed a town. It was proclaimed a city in 1965.
In 1936, the Benalla Centenary Race was held.
It is the administrative centre for the Rural City of Benalla local government area.
Prior to the European settlement of Australia, the Benalla region was populated by the Taungurung people, an Indigenous Australian people. A 1906 history recounts that prior to white settlement "as many as 400 blacks would meet together in the vicinity of Benalla to hold a corrobboree". The area was first sighted by Europeans during an expedition of Hamilton Hume and William Hovell in 1824 and was noted as an agricultural settlement called "Swampy". The expedition was followed by that of Major Thomas Mitchell in 1834.
Rev. Joseph Docker settled in 1838 creating a pastoral run called Benalta Run, said to be from an Aboriginal word for musk duck. Docker's property was intended to lend its name to the new township (”Benalta“) but through a clerical error in the Sydney Survey department it became known as 'Benalla'. An attack by indigenous people on the camp of sheepherders George and William Faithful became known as the Faithful Massacre; eight settlers were killed in the incident. Following the massacre, in 1839 a police station was established and the name of the settlement became Broken River. The post office opened on 1 December 1844 originally named Broken River. A bridge was built over the Broken River in 1847 and the following year the town was surveyed. In 1861, it was proclaimed a town. It was proclaimed a city in 1965.
In 1936, the Benalla Centenary Race was held.
Map - Benalla
Map
Country - Australia
 |
 |
| Flag of Australia | |
The ancestors of Aboriginal Australians began arriving from south east Asia approximately 65,000 years ago, during the last ice age. Arriving by sea, they settled the continent and had formed approximately 250 distinct language groups by the time of European settlement, maintaining some of the longest known continuing artistic and religious traditions in the world. Australia's written history commenced with the European maritime exploration of Australia. The Dutch navigator Willem Janszoon was the first known European to reach Australia, in 1606. In 1770, the British explorer James Cook mapped and claimed the east coast of Australia for Great Britain, and the First Fleet of British ships arrived at Sydney in 1788 to establish the penal colony of New South Wales. The European population grew in subsequent decades, and by the end of the 1850s gold rush, most of the continent had been explored by European settlers and an additional five self-governing British colonies established. Democratic parliaments were gradually established through the 19th century, culminating with a vote for the federation of the six colonies and foundation of the Commonwealth of Australia on 1 January 1901. Australia has since maintained a stable liberal democratic political system and wealthy market economy.
Currency / Language
| ISO | Currency | Symbol | Significant figures |
|---|---|---|---|
| AUD | Australian dollar | $ | 2 |
| ISO | Language |
|---|---|
| EN | English language |