Gundagai

Gold mining made Gundagai both prosperous and a centre for bushranging, giving the town a romantic bush appeal that resulted in it becoming a byword for outback towns in Australia. Many outback stories, songs and poems reference Gundagai, including Jack O'Hagan's songs Where the Dog Sits on the Tuckerbox, Along the Road to Gundagai and When a Boy from Alabama Meets a Girl from Gundagai, as well as Banjo Patterson's The Road to Gundagai and the traditional ballad Flash Jack from Gundagai. The town is also mentioned in Henry Lawson's tale Scots of the Riverina and C.J. Dennis' The Traveller.

There is no public transport. The main town shopping strip has ample parking, as does just about everywhere else you might want to go.

South Gundagai is a few kilometres distance across the flood plain of the Murrumbidgee from the more major North Gundagai. You can drive via the freeway, but if you are staying at one of the southern motels (like the Tuckerbox or the Bushman's Retreat, count on it being nearly an hours walk back to the main shopping strip in the north.

• Gundagai Taxi Service - 24 hr - ☏ +61 13 10 08

• 🌍 The Dog on the Tucker Box, Snake Gully (5 miles North of Gundagai). This famous bronze statue, a minor landmark on the Hume Highway on the Sydney side of Gundagai, was unveiled by then Prime Minister Joseph Lyons in 1932 as a tribute to outback pioneers. There are highway services, as well as an interpretive walk located here. Count on spending 30 minutes or so. Free. 
• The Murrumbidgee River passes through Gundagai. There are old railway and road bridges crossing the river, which are worth a visit if you are in to that sort of thing. The bridges were some of the longest in Australia at the time they were built. The flood plain of the river divide the town into two, separated by green space with a walkway/cycleway between areas. The Hume Highway crosses the river and flood plain on a 1.1 km bridge.
• Historic Buildings. Gundagai has an historic courthouse, and post office. It has a restored abandoned railway station. Wander down Sheridan Street for a look at some of the town's oldest buildings. Don't miss the old flour mill in Sheridan Lane, or the Prince Alfred Bridge, Australia's longest timber bridge, built in 1866.
• Dr Charles Gabriel's glass-plate photographs, which depict Gundagai life in the early 1900s, in the Gabriel Gallery.
• 🌍 Rusconi's Marble Cathedral. Inside the Visitor Centre there is a small room that exhibits Frank Rusconi's marble masterpiece. This marble model of a cathedral took Rusconi, the sculptor of the Dog on the Tuckerbox, 20 years to build, by putting together 20,948 pieces of marble collected from the state of New South Wales. This little extravagance is well worth the small fee. $5. 
• 🌍 Gundagai Museum, ☏ +61 2 6944 1995. 09:00-15:00. This museum exhibits tools and agricultural machines from the area. 
• Gundagai Railway Museum. See details and get the free self-guided tour on the visitor centre website. (updated Jul 2021)
• Gundagai Architectural Heritage Walk. A pleasant 2-km stroll viewing many historic points of interest. See details and get the free self-guided walking tour on the visitor info centre website. (updated Jul 2021)

Souvenirs can be bought at the service centre where the dog on the tucker box statue is located. Naturally, various souvenirs featuring the famous "dog on the tucker box" can be found here.

• 🌍 Gundagai Bakery, 184 Sheridan Street (in the centre of town on the main shopping strip), ☏ +61 2 6944 1192. M-Sa. Historic Gundagai Bakery, built in 1864 & believed to be the longest continually running bakery in Australia. Fresh daily menu of bakery items with fresh breads, rolls, sweet pastry, cakes, pies, sausage rolls & fresh-made sandwiches. Devonshire tea. Quick coffee n cake or a light lunch to eat in or takeaway. 
• 🌍 McDonald's, 143 Mount St (On Hume Hwy at South Gundagai), ☏ +61 2 6944 3322. M-Th 06:00-22:00, F-Su 06:00-23:00. Not otherwise particularly notable, but it's the only Maccas between Albury and Canberra and heavily advertised on the Hume. Dining room, McCafe, Play Area, Drive Thru, Free Wi-Fi. 
• 🌍 Gundagai District Services Club, 254 Sheridan Street, Gundagai, ☏ +61 2 6944 1355. 5:30-9:30PM. The club dining room offers good-value Australian and Chinese food. 

• 🌍 Criterion Hotel, 172 Sheridan Street. Standard-issue country pub with bistro and pizzeria open 7 nights a week. Nice terrace in the back. Basic accommodation also available. 

Thanks to its popularity as a halfway stopping point between Sydney and Melbourne, Gundagai has an outsized range of accommodation. Most of it is identikit 3-star-ish motels but there are a few outliers.

North on the Hume Highway to Yass and Sydney. South to Albury and Melbourne. Go on Gocup Rd and the B72 Snowy Mountains Highway east to Tumut, Cooma, Jindabyne and Bega.

Day trips are possible to Tumut, Cootamundra, Wagga Wagga, Canberra among other places.