Folklore and music
Gundagai is a town made famous by folklore and several songs such as On the Road to Gundagai and Where the Dog Sits on the Tuckerbox (Nine Miles from Gundagai). After World War II, with American servicemen in Australia, came When a Boy from Alabama Meets a Girl from Gundagai.
Tribute to the pioneers
Just north of the town stands the Dog on the Tuckerbox monument, which is a tribute to the pioneers of the Riverina region, and a group statue of the family of Dad and Dave, characters from the novel by Steele Rudd. Dad and Dave was a long-running Australian radio serial (which used On the Road to Gundagai as its musical theme) and the subject of several Australian movies.
- The latest Dad and Dave film was released in 1995 and starred Leo McKern, Joan Sutherland and Geoffrey Rush.
Murrumbidgee flood plain
Gundagai has a population of less than 3000.
Lying on a flood plain of the Murrumbidgee River, the town suffered its worst flood in 1852 when 89 people were believed to have drowned.
The long Prince Alfred Bridge, a wooden span which crosses the flood plain, has now been closed to motor vehicle traffic but pedestrians can still walk over it.
Bushranger trial
A notorious bushranger, Captain Moonlight, was tried in the 1859 Gundagai courthouse.
Other attractions
Aside from the Dog on the Tuckerbox and the Dad and Dave family group, another town attraction is the 20,000-piece Marble Masterpiece created by Gundagai stonemason Frank Rusconi, also the creator of the Dog on the Tuckerbox monument.
Ideal rest stop
Gundagai is an ideal rest stop on the Hume Highway between Sydney and Melbourne. Stay an hour or so or overnight.
Visit the tourist information centre on Sheridan St for current information on Gundagai attractions.
