Ovens River
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The Ovens River is a river in the Australian state of Victoria.
Hamilton Hume and William Hovell explored the area in 1824, naming the Ovens River. The river was called Burwang by the local Aborigines.
The river rises in the Victorian Alps and flows past Bright, Myrtleford and Wangaratta where it joins the King River.
[edit] Ovens Valley
The River flows through the Ovens Valley, which is a popular tourist destination servicing the ski fields of Mount Hotham, Mount Buffalo and Falls Creek, the Alpine National Park and the Mount Buffalo National Park. Air sports such as gliding and paragliding are also practiced here, and there is a hedge maze at Wandiligong. An abandoned railway line has been converted to a cycle trail, known as a rail trail, which stretches from Wangaratta and Beechworth to Bright.
The area is also popular for wineries, with many cyclists often taking winery tours with their rides, as well as growing hops.
Tobacco was a major industry in the valley before it was shutdown in 2006 due to the British American Tobacco and Philip Morris decision to no longer buy Australian tobacco and a Federal Government scheme to transition grower out of this industry[1]. Reminders of the valley's long and prosperous tobacco history continue to dot the valley, such as the many drying huts.
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