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Benalla is an agricultural city of about 10,000 people located just off the Hume Freeway in north-eastern Victoria, Australia, about 40 kilometres south of Wangaratta. Its Local Government Area is the Rural City of Benalla. Overview The site was originally taken up as a pastoral run by the Reverend Joseph Docker in 1838 and called Benalta Run, from the Aboriginal word for Musk Duck. A town was laid out on the site in 1846. The Post Office opened on December 1, 1844 but named Broken River until January 1, 1854 The Broken River can cause extensive flooding. There is a park and walking track along the river at Benalla, featuring a ceramic sculpture community that was created as part of an employment project for local artists some years ago. Industries include agricultural support services, tourism, a medium density fibreboard factory, Thales Australia ammunition factory and aviation. The rose gardens and the annual Rose Festival dating from 1967 have contributed to tourism. Benalla has a regional airport YBLA (BLN) which began life as a major RAAF training base during the second world war and now also serves as the home of the Gliding Club of Victoria as well as a ballooning and ultralight centre. The Goulburn Ovens Institute of TAFE has a campus in Benalla which includes the Benalla Performing Arts and Convention Centre opened in 2004 by Lynne Kosky MP, the then Minister of Education and Training. Benalla is where champion cyclist Baden Cooke was born and the place of war hero Sir (Ernest) Edward "Weary" Dunlop's education. Benalla railway station is on the North East railway line and is served by VLine services between Melbourne and Albury as well as a twice daily Countrylink XPT service to and from Sydney. In October 2002 Benalla was the scene of a rail accident when a B-Double semi trailer collided with a heritage steam train. Three people were killed and a fourth received severe burns when the locomotive rolled onto its side.The driver of the truck was charged but later acquitted of culpable driving. Sport The town has an Australian Rules football team competing in the Goulburn Valley Football Leagueand a team ( Benalla All Blacks) competing in the Ovens & King Football League. Benalla has a horse racing club, the Benalla Racing Club, which schedules around eleven race meetings a year including the Benalla Cup meeting in early October. Golfers play at the Benalla Golf Club on Mansfield Road,or at the course of the Golden Vale Golf Club on Golden Vale Road, Benalla. Notable residents Edward "Weary" Dunlop - Surgeon and World War II Prisoner of War. |
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