‘The Drought,’ Australian Star, 29 April 1902, 6.
Transcript: The continued drought has caused the Albury station yard to have quite an animated appearance this week from the increased amount of labour that is being employed in consequence of the hundreds of tons of chaff and compressed hay arriving from Ballarat, Wangaratta, Benalla, Kyneton, Goulburn Valley, and other agricultural districts in Victoria… If the drought continues agents consider that the outlook will be serious, as there will soon be a dearth of fodder, even in Victoria, if orders from the drought-stricken stations continue to come in at the same, rate as at present.
Story:
Albury/Wodonga’s role as a pathway for people, animals and goods was accentuated during the Federation Drought. Many Riverina graziers attempted to ride out the shortfall in pasture by purchasing fodder from farms in Victoria. As this newspaper article illustrates, the Albury station yard became a hive of activity as huge volumes of chaff and hay flooded in by rail from Victorian regions. However, the caution contained at the end of this article proved prophetic. Within months, settlers in the northern districts of Victoria were also facing desperate shortages of fodder as the water famine continued.