Murray Downs Accommodation, Hotels, Tours & Information

Murray Downs

The Golf and Country Club estate is the hub on which the growing village of Murray Downs is developing. Five kilometres east of Swan Hill, the fledgling town is part of the historic Murray Downs sheep station which was established in the 1840s and was once an integral link in the vast Sidney Kidman chain of pastoral properties. The station homestead, was built in termite-resistant Murray pine in 1866 by Suetonius Officer, a pioneer irrigator and philanthropist. Retaining its fort-like character, the homestead is now a tearoom and museum and its spacious grounds host an animal park on the approach road to the Murray Downs village, club and resort which is becoming increasingly popular for travelling groups of golfers and bowlers. While the original Murray Downs Station might have been self-contained with its own meat, bakery, smithy and church, modern villagers are dependent on nearby Swan Hill for their stores and services. A major river town of 10,000, Swan Hill's signature is an 11m by 6m Murray cod, which shares a Curlewis Street frontage with the railway station. The giant cod symbolises the local anglers' devotion to the pursuit of the river' s favourite table fish.