Albury Cr: Open Lake Hume to houseboats

An Albury councillor has a vision for a booming houseboat industry on Lake Hume that he says could provide millions to the economy. There’s just one issue.

ALBURY NSW AUSTRALIA - Daily Telegraph: AUGUST 24, 2020: Telegraph bush special. Property growth areas around regional NSW - Albury is one of them. Lake Hume near Albury Wodonga. Picture: Simon Dallinger

An Albury councillor is demanding a water authority let houseboats on Lake Hume so the region can be home to a multi-million dollar industry.

Councillor Murray King is lobbying Goulburn Murray Water so that operators can use the popular tourism destination but GMW say there are a number of operational matters that need to be considered.

The closest town with houseboats is at least an hour’s drive and Indigo, Towong, Wongona, Albury City and Greater Hume councils have backed Cr King’s calls.

Cr King said he had been lobbying the water since 2015 but recently launched a campaign for it to happen immediately.

“This is not about another feasibility study, it‘s to let the thing go ahead,” he said.

GMW general manager water storage services Martina Cusack said Lake Hume’s water level could vary between 10-100 per cent in any year making it impossible to have houseboats on the water.

“Additionally it is difficult to remove houseboats from the lake as boat ramps currently cannot be used below certain water levels,” Ms Cusack said.

“There is little shelter on Lake Hume from high winds and storms, which could present safety issues for houseboats.

“Therefore designated mooring points or marinas would need to be constructed to permit houseboats to berth safely, and discharge points for wastewater installed.”

Ms Cusack said GMW was open to further discussions.

“It would be critical to liaise with the relevant Victorian, NSW and Commonwealth authorities to understand how the initiative might be implemented, and the steps in gaining the necessary approvals and agreements,” she said.

“This would include creating GMW powers of regulation and enforcement of houseboats on the Victorian waters of Lake Hume.

“(We) will continue to share our experience working with the houseboat industry at Lake Eildon, a storage that is owned and operated by GMW.”

Cr King said at its lowest water level Lake Hume was still wider and deeper than Echuca and Mildura, Murray River towns that are home to hundreds of houseboats.

“That regulation may be you can’t go within 1km of the Hume Weir wall, you can’t have your boat on the water more than two weeks,” he said.

“You’d pay a nightly fee which could go to the likes of the coast guard volunteers who would give updates on weather or anything else that might cause difficulty.

“Even at its lowest water level it’s (Lake Hume) still wider and deeper than Echuca and Mildura who have hundreds of houseboats.”

Echuca’s Murray River Houseboats owner Ken Montgomery said Lake Hume had potential for a houseboat industry but the size of the lake could pose issues.

“Wide lakes can get quite choppy and houseboats on choppy water are not enjoyable,” he said.

But Mr Montgomery also said Lake Eildon had some success with houseboats.

“You‘d have a better climate than Lake Eildon in my mind, but you’re further away from Melbourne,” he said.

“But you might still attract tourists from Canberra.”

With a body of body of water seven-times the size of the Sydney Harbour, Lake Hume is a similar size to Lake Eildon which does have a houseboat industry.

Cr Murray King said he believed Lake Hume could have similar success.

“(Lake Eildon) has a booming houseboat industry. It has about 800 house boats on it and generates about $30m for the local economy,” he said.

“Albury has the benefit of a world-class regional airport where people could fly in and get shuttled out to Lake Hume and hop on a houseboat if it was for hire.

“Often people will come into town or they will motor to places like Tallangatta, Bethanga, Talgarano and all those other communities on the waters edge to go to the local pub.

“Now that we’ve got local tourism at it’s peak because they’ve taken the overseas markets away due to COVID-19, there’s no better time to start something like this.”

In a poll conducted by The Albury Wodonga News via its Facebook page, 88.6 per cent of voters were for houseboats on Lake Hume, while 11.4 per cent were against.

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