Bundalong

Bundalong is a rural locality on the Murray River in north-eastern Victoria, 15 km east of Yarrawonga. It overlooks the river where it is joined by the Ovens River and widens to the east end of Lake Mulwala.

‘Bundalong’ is thought to be derived from an Aboriginal word meaning joined.

The first school to open in the district was at Bundalong South in 1878, about 10 km away on the road to Wangaratta. Six years later another school was opened closer to the Murray River. First named Bundalong, then Esmond, it was moved in 1903 to the Bundalong Village Settlement. The Village Settlement also had a Congregational church and a hotel. Its school closed in 1936, and the Bundalong South school closed in 1970.

Bundalong was given a brief description in the 1903 Australian handbook:

Bundalong now consists of a number of houses, mostly in a ribbon along the shoreline. There are boat launching ramps, a general store, a tavern/restaurant, a caravan park and State Forest to the east and south along the rivers. Winds reported at 250 km per hour and hail from a tornado caused extensive damage to the town in 2013.

Bundalong's census populations have been: