Corowa  New South Wales

On the Murray River at the border between NSW and Victoria, Corowa spends a full week each year celebrating itself as the birthplace of Australian Federation.

The claim to nationhood stems from the fact that, in 1893, a conference of the Corowa Federation League popularised the issue of endowing Australia’s six separate colonies with uniform legislation, although Federation was not inaugurated until 1901.

Corowa flourished in its early days through a local gold boom, expanding agriculture and vibrant river trading. The generator of much of the district's founding prosperity was one of Australia's first captains of industry, John Foord, who built his wealth on beef, wool, a fleet of paddle-steamers, a private punt which provided miners with their only river-crossing and his own town, Wahgunya, which eventually became Corowa.

Fisherfolk love to try their luck in the local river stretches in search of the fabled Murray cod, Australia’s best-eating freshwater fish. Paddle steamers and hired houseboats still ply the river.