Albury

Albury exists because someone carved trees. In 1824, explorers William Hovell and Hamilton Hume reached the Murray River and marked the crossing on a pair of trees. Within years, herders used these carvings to locate the ford. By 1836, Robert Brown had built a store near the crossing; by 1838, the New South Wales government established a township.

The 1851 separation of Victoria from New South Wales transformed Albury from river crossing to border town. The Murray became an international frontier (between separate colonies), and Albury became a customs post. A bridge went up in 1860; the railway arrived in 1881—but with a catch. Victoria used Irish broad gauge; New South Wales used standard gauge. For 80 years, passengers and freight had to change at Albury, making the station the busiest in Australia.

The 1970s Whitlam government's National Urban Growth Centres initiative designated Albury-Wodonga as a focus for decentralization. The plan called for 300,000 residents by 2000; the reality delivered around 100,000. But the investment in infrastructure—factories, housing, childcare—transformed the town from railway junction to regional hub.

Today Albury-Wodonga generates $7.67 billion in gross regional product. In 2024-25, net migration from capital cities surged 1,520%—the biggest increase of any regional hub in Australia. The median house price ($612,000) remains affordable relative to Sydney and Melbourne.

By 2026, Albury tests whether the 1970s vision of inland cities can finally succeed when housing costs force decentralization.