Swan Hill Settlement 

This 'seven acres of living history' features an entire main street of more than fifty buildings and a collection of lovingly restored old cars, trucks and tractors. There's even an old steam train, wagon rides for the kids and one of the famous 'canoe trees'–an ancient river gum out of which an Aboriginal man, centuries ago, made himself a bark canoe to cross the Murray.

A wonderful time to soak up the atmosphere of the Pioneer Settlement is at dusk when a spectacular light show illuminates the village for the 'sound and light tour'–a 45 minute journey in which visitors are transported past all the Settlement's attractions. The tour concludes with the ghostly emergence from the night of the mighty Paddle steamer 'Gem'.

Further Information

Long ago steamers like the 'Gem' plied their trade along the Murray and turned Swan Hill into a major port. Today you can still take a river cruise on the Paddle steamer 'Pyap' or 'MV Kookaburra'. As the earthen banks of the river glide slowly past, you realise how the pace of life was so different in that bountiful era of river trade now forever gone.