Strzelecki Memorial

On Saturday 18 November 2023, His Excellency the Ambassador of Poland Professor Maciej Chmielinkski and Mayor Andrew Whitehead unveiled the Memorial on Towong Hill Road.

The Memorial commemorates Sir Paul Edmund Strzelecki’s life and achievements and his ascent and naming of their highest mountain, named after his hero Tadeusz Kosciuszko. In March 1840 Strzelecki and his party walked along the Victorian side of the Murray River from Tintaldra to Bringenbrong, passing the area where Towong village now stands before continuing further along the Murray Valley. The party crossed the River again near Bringenbrong Bridge before passing Khancoban and proceeding through the bush to Geehi and to mainland Australia’s highest peaks.

Located on Towong Hill Road approximately 1.5km from Towong Bridge, the Memorial overlooks the Murray Valley. It has spectacular views overlooking the tree-lined Murray River, its anabranches and billabongs in the middle distance. Beyond, bush-covered foothills beckon visitor and locals alike to the High Country. Mt Kosciuszko (2,228m) is hidden from the view from the Memorial by the second highest mountain in the High country Mt Townsend (2,209m).

The Strzelecki Memorial on Towong Hill Road is one of three in the vicinity. Another is near Welaregang just across the Murray River at Tintaldra NSW. The third is near Tyrell’s Hut not far from the bridge crossing the Swampy Plains River on the Alpine Way.