Gundowring and Gundowring Upper

Gundowring and Gundowring Upper are rural localities in north-east Victoria situated along the middle reaches of the Kiewa River, a few kilometres east of Dederang and 40 km south-east of Wodonga. There is also Gundowring North, about 30 km from Wodonga.

The Gundowring pastoral run, which was taken up in 1838, extended along the Kiewa Valley, occupying the area now bearing its name. It is thought that the name was derived from an Aboriginal word describing a place with water and/or suitable for camping. The Gundowring homestead (c1860) is on the Victorian Heritage Register.

The relatively narrow Kiewa Valley pastoral run was occupied by farmers in the 1860s, and a school at Gundowring was opened in 1871. An Anglican church was opened in 1888. Grazing was the main rural activity, with a trend to dairying, particularly with the opening of a large dairy processor at Kiewa. Tobacco has been grown at various times, including the 1960s.

Apart from a school, an Anglican church, a hall and a recreation reserve, the main feature of Gundowring has been the pattern of farms along the valley.

Gundowring and Gundowring Upper schools closed in 1953 when Kiewa Consolidated opened. The consolidation of dairy holdings since the 1970s has reduced the population.

The census populations of Gundowring and Gundowring Upper have been:

At the 2011 census farm employment in Gundowring, Gundowring Upper and adjoining localities varied between 25% and 29% of all employment. At the 2011 census dairy farming was higher in Gundowring Upper (17.3%) than in Gundowring (10.6%).