Katandra

The people of Katandra West in the fruit bowl of the Goulburn Valley are justifiably proud that celebrated artist Ellis Rowan was working and living in the town when she painted Chrysanthemums and Marguerites which won first and second prizes in the 1888 Centennial Exhibition in Melbourne. Trouble is, you have to spend an hour or so driving to the regional capital to study Rowan's works in the Shepparton Art Gallery's collection. The collection also includes paintings by Arthur Boyd, Frederick McCubbin, Arthur Streeton, Rupert Bunny and Margaret Preston. The cemeteries at Katandra and neighbouring Tungamah are sprinkled with the graves of district pioneers, while the heritage buildings on Tungamah's main street are classified by the National Trust. The town, which takes its name from a station on the vast Tallyaroopna run which was divided into two properties in 1848, is at the centre of an orchard and dairy district developed as a soldier settlement for Diggers who served in World War II.