The capital ships in the Echuca-Moama paddlesteamer fleet celebrate the arrival of PS Melbourne in November last year.
The PS Melbourne is getting up a head of steam for the summer school holiday rush when it expands its weekend sailing schedule to daily, dramatically boosting the number of people going up and down the Murray – from both sides of the river.
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And it has been a few big weeks for the region’s fleet – the Canberra almost sank and the Australian Star will undertake her long-awaited maiden voyage on October 5.
But with the weather warming up and the Canberra high and dry on the Moama slipway, PS Melbourne owner and Moama slipway manager Adam Auditori has taken a tongue in cheek look at generations of twin town rivalries around whether Moama or Echuca is the heartbeat of the twin towns.
He said “in news which has surprised absolutely nobody north of the Murray – but which has caused several people south of it to suddenly become very interested in the weather forecast – Moama has again made an outrageously compelling case for being the region’s premier tourist destination”.
“Echuca, Victoria, has long traded on a charming façade of historic streets, river nostalgia and a rather enthusiastic relationship with heritage tourism,” Mr Auditori said.
“But when the ledger is opened, the whistles counted and wharves measured, Moama’s supporters say the verdict is as clear as a sunny afternoon on the Murray – why settle for Echuca when Moama is right there?” he said.
“The most obvious evidence is floating plainly on the river; Moama is home to eight paddlesteamers, while Echuca can offer only four.
“Which is, by local calculation, twice the romance, twice the steam and twice the opportunity to point dramatically toward the horizon while holding an ice cream.
“Echuca may respond four paddlesteamers is still a respectable number but in Moama we gently suggest four is what happens when a town stops counting halfway through a proper fleet.”
Mr Auditori said on dry land, the contest remains no less decisive.
He said Moama Bowling Club, Mloama RFSL and Rich River Golf Club are widely regarded by admirers as bigger and better venues than their Echuca counterparts.
“Then there is the more leisurely setting of Moama’s Botanic Gardens – Echuca did have some but ripped them out to build the civic centre in 1950,” Mr Auditori observed.
The PS Melbourne berthing on the Echuca side of the river after arriving in the twin towns in November last year.
“Moama also has the region’s allegedly superior restaurant: Riverbank, perched right on the banks of the Murray River, where diners can enjoy fine food with a view which does not require a heritage plaque to explain its charm,” he quipped.
“Echuca, meanwhile, demolished its world-famous Oscar W’s restaurant – a decision Moama boosters continue to regard as a remarkable contribution to the cause of cross-border tourism.
“And while Echuca may have many more pubs than Moama, local mathematicians insist quantity is no substitute for quality.
“Moama requires only the one: the Border Inn, confidently described by its admirers as the best pub this side of the Dividing Range.”
But the paddlesteamer skipper didn’t stop there, moving on to sport and public spaces.
He said Moama has the Jack Eddy Oval, while Echuca’s Victoria Park remains in development limbo and inaccessible to the public.
For travellers hoping to actually visit a park, rather than admire the concept of one from a distance, this is considered a meaningful distinction. “Moama also has six shipwrights, Echuca, by comparison, has none so who is most capable of maintaining the vessels which make a river town look like a river town?” Mr Auditori joked.
“The wharf comparison may be even more difficult for Echuca enthusiasts to navigate. Moama’s is 30 years older than Echuca’s, providing an extra three decades of timber, tales and entirely legitimate opportunities to say ‘they don’t build them like they used to’.
“More importantly for visitors arriving in numbers, Moama Wharf has a stated capacity of 1800 passengers per day, compared with Echuca’s capacity of 500.
“Moama’s industrial credentials are equally impressive,” he added.
“It has a working slipping facility, while Echuca has only a condemned dry dock, meaning Moama can repair riverboats, whereas Echuca can offer a stern historical warning and a fence.”
Mr Auditori said local supporters attribute this capacity in no small part to the PS Melbourne, whose contribution to Moama’s river traffic has been, in their telling, nothing short of passenger-management infrastructure with a funnel.
He said it was an advantage tourism advocates describe as “substantial” while others, after a moment’s reflection, describe it as “very substantial indeed”.
According to him there is, however, one recent development Moama residents have found difficult to ignore.
“Echuca was voted Victoria’s best tourist town and whether this represents inspired cross-border collaboration or an unusually bold exercise in scenic borrowing depends largely on which side of the river is doing the explaining,” Mr Auditori laughed.
“Mind you, none of this is to say Echuca lacks appeal. It has history, character and a perfectly serviceable postcode,” he said.
“But Moama has history too – plus more paddlesteamers, more shipwrights, an older wharf, a higher passenger capacity, accessible sporting spaces, and venues prepared to take the edge off a rigorous day of river appreciation.
“So, when planning their next Murray getaway, visitors are encouraged to look across the water, consider the evidence, and make their own decisions.
“Echuca may be a neighbour but Moama, according to its entirely modest and unbiased residents, is the destination.
