Albury
Transport
Airport
Located 5km from the CBD. Passenger numbers are rapidly increasing with some 215,000 passenger movements in the last year. It is the second busiest NSW regional airport. Daily passenger services to Sydney are operated by Qantaslink, Rex and Virgin Blue, whilst Rex operates daily services to Melbourne and Brindabella Airlines services Canberra five days a week.
Rail
Albury is a major station on the main Sydney-Melbourne rail corridor. Albury is a significant passenger and freight rail terminal.
Road
Albury is centrally located between capital cities, 3 hours to Melbourne or Canberra, 6 hours to Sydney and 9 hours to Adelaide via high-speed highway connections.
Education
University
The Charles Sturt University hosts two campuses located in the City of Albury and the Thurgoona campus which is a multi-award winning development with a commitment to sustainable community living. The university campus in Albury offers courses in Business, Education, Science and some Arts faculties.
TAFE
The Riverina Institute of Technical and Further Education caters for about 6000 students and offers around 500 courses in nine training divisions.
Schooling
A variety of schooling options exist in Albury with both Government and private school options catering for the needs of around 20,000 students annually.
|
Government |
Private |
Total |
Secondary schools |
3 |
4 |
7 |
Primary schools |
9 |
6 |
15 |
Pre-schools |
|
|
9 |
Murray Conservatorium
Established for over 25 years, the conservatorium is affiliated with the Charles Sturt University and provides courses in voice, musicianship and early childhood music.
Industry
Albury Wodonga has emerged from its rural roots to become one of Australia’s fastest growing economic regions. Located on the main transport and telecommunications corridor that links Australia’s major cities making national and international markets highly accessible.
Albury Wodonga is strategically located to access 70% of Australia’s population which resides within the triangle formed by Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney.
The mature local economy demonstrates a diverse industrial and commercial base.
The top five employment sectors are in the manufacturing, retail, education, health and professional services industries.
Massive and sustained growth has been achieved in the manufacturing sector which takes advantage of readily available raw materials, attracting major food processing, wood products and textile firms.
Established major manufacturing companies include:
- Visy
- Shorko
- Moore
- Norsk Skog
- National Foods, and
- ION Transmissions
- Whilst household names established in Albury Wodonga include:
- Uncle Tobys
- Sunicrust
- Lufkin
- Weller
- Yakka
- Onkaparinga
- Braemar
- Pal, and
- Whiskas
Hospital & Medical Services
Albury Wodonga has a comprehensive medical infrastructure to meet the health and welfare demands of a growing community. The service provides essential care for over 300,000 people across the region.
Home to five first class hospital facilities, three public and two private, the latest being a state of the art cancer treatment hospital, a first for regional Australia.
With 200 resident General Practitioner and Specialists operating in most major medical fields, with the exception of brain and open-heart surgery.
|
Est |
Beds |
Services |
Albury Base |
1990 |
157 |
Full Services including: |
Wodonga |
|
120 |
Full Services including: |
Albury Wodonga Private |
1979 |
103 |
5 Operating theatres + Day Surgery Units |
Murray Valley Private |
1999 |
30 |
Specialist oncology unit with post operative care and acute medical services |
Mercy Hospital |
1920 |
30 |
Specialist Geriatric evaluation and management, palliative and aged care, allied health and day therapy. |
Retail & Financial Services
Albury caters for all retail and financial needs with a selection of vibrant and dynamic shopping options. The major Centrepoint Shopping Centre is Albury’s fashion capital, whilst Myers, Target and K Mart offer a range of department store catering for the whole family.
Additionally Albury CBD has several major street shopping precincts, which offer an extensive range of specialist retail and personal services, so essential in a growing city.
Locally at Thurgoona, the whole retail area is set for a major expansion with the construction of a new supermarket and specialist shops designed to cater for the new Thurgoona centre.
Cultural Diversity
Albury offers a varied and professional cultural experience for its residents,all tastes are catered for, including:
- Performing Arts Centre
The annual subscription season from March – November attracts national and international stars. The program offers something for everyone, from Shakespeare to Symphony, Comedy to Dance, Drama to Magic!
- Regional Museum
In addition to housing a local historical display of the region, the museum also hosts a variety of touring displays, which are of interest to all. - Art Gallery
Informative and educational, the gallery hosts a permanent display as well as a variety of touring exhibitions, such as Art Express. - Regent Cinema
A state-of-the-art complex with 9 cinemas regularly screening 10 different movies each week. - Cinema Under the Stars
Annually January – March, a variety of films are shown free to the public. - Border & Regional Film Festival
An annual event since 2002, this free event continues to promote emerging short filmmakers throughout regional Australia. - Community Events
A range of community events are available through the year, including Carols by Candlelight, The Wood Fired Oven, Christmas story times and the annual Albury Eisteddford.
Sporting & Recreational Pursuits
Albury caters for a very extensive range of sporting activities for all age groups and all levels of competence. From the professional to the amateur, Albury can offer the following activities organised competitively or simply for fun.
- Golf Courses
- Lawn and hardcourt tennis
- Equestrian
- Cricket
- Australian Rules football
- Athletics
- Archery
- Angling
- Aero Club
- Badminton
- Baseball
- Basketball
- Billiards
- BMX
- Bocce
- Boxing
- Bushwalking
- Canoeing
- Croquet
- Cycling
- Ultimate Frisbee
- Gymnastics
- Hockey
- Lawn Bowls
- Netball
- Orienteering
- Rugby League
- Rugby Union
- Recreational running
- Shooting
- Soccer
- Softball
- Squash
- Swimming
- Table tennis
- Ten-pin bowling
- Triathlon
- Volleyball
- Water polo
- Water skiing
- Wheelchair sports
- Sailing
History of Albury
The history of the Albury-Wodonga region, pre and post European settlement, has been intrinsically linked to the mighty Murray River running through its heart.
The original inhabitants of the Albury and Wodonga area were the Wiradjuri Aboriginal people. Explorers Hume & Hovell discovered the river in 1824 and named it the Hume River.
In 1829 Charles Sturt discovered the Hume River downstream at its junction with the Murrumbidgee River, and not realising it was the Hume, named it the Murray River.
European settlement followed from about 1835 when the land was used primarily for farming and grazing. In 1838, the NSW government commissioned surveyor Thomas Townsend to survey a township at the “crossing place.” The town of Albury was approved an published in the Government Gazette in April 1839.
Settlement was minimal until the 1850’s, at which time the town of Wodonga had also been created and both the villages became vital river ports. In 1851 separation was achieved between northern and southern NSW. The border was proposed as the Murrumbidgee River, well to the north of Albury. Due to a clerical error, the boundary was fixed at the Murray River and the new State was named Victoria.
The first bridge over the Murray was built in 1860, and with a growing population came the need to establish industries to ensure reliable food supply.
With the arrival of the main railway link between Sydney and Melbourne in the 1870’s came more substantial growth. It also spelt the end of the paddle steamer era. The concept of damming Australian rivers for irrigation and flood mitigation had long been considered, however it was not until 1919 that work commenced on Hume Weir. Completed in 1936, the weir holds more water than Sydney Harbour and has become a popular recreational and water sports attraction.
However the most significant growth occurred in the post second world war years, particularly from 1970, when the cities were designated as a national growth centre and the Albury Wodonga Development Corporation was established.
At the 2006 Census Albury-Wodonga recorded a population of 96,288. This represented an increase of 24,000 residents since the 1996 census or an impressive 33% population growth in that period.
With continued private and public investment in the region, the future of Albury is looking strong.
