A river crossing had been developed on the Goulburn River by overlanders following the route used by explorer Thomas Mitchell, and this was later used by the mail route from Melbourne to Sydney, established in 1838. A hotel, church and blacksmith were later set up, serving traffic travelling along the river system to Adelaide. The town was surveyed in 1868, with land sales in 1870. The Post Office opened on 2 May 1870, it was proclaimed as the private town of "Nagambie" in 1872, and the Nagambie railway station was opened in 1880. It is now served by V/Line on the Shepparton Line to Melbourne. Nagambie sits on the shores of Lake Nagambie, an artificial lake created by the Goulburn Weir in 1891, where rowing regattas and waterskiing tournaments are held.The town holds the Australian Rowing Championships semi-regularly.
Events and Attractions
Nagambie is home to the Nagambie Lakes - which form a regional reservoir, and venue for many state and national rowing championships. The Nagambie Lakes Regatta Centre is one of Victoria's major water sports facilities. The venue offers a 2000m, fully buoyed, National Standard rowing and canoeing course. Nagambie On Water is an annual community event, featuring water themed activities, grape stomping, river to pub races and many other elements. This event is held in March each year. New Year's Eve Fireworks are also held in the Nagambie Lakes area. Nagambie Lakes Community Market runs monthly on the banks of Lake Nagambie and a Farmers Market on the fourth Sunday of the month at picturesque Tahbilk Winery.
Wine
Nagambie gives its name to the Nagambie Lakes wine region, a subregion of the Goulburn Valley wine region. The town hosts the Goulburn Valley Vintage Festival in March each year, and the Shiraz Challenge in November. A number of wineries are situated in the area, including Mitchelton, and Tahbilk.
Highway Bypass
The Goulburn Valley Highway was originally routed through the centre of Nagambie, bringing often large volumes of through traffic from Melbourne and Seymour en route to Shepparton and southern New South Wales. The town was bypassed in 2013 with the completion of the freeway standard road routed on the eastern side of the town, from the previous limit of the freeway, to 6 km north of Nagambie. The effect of the removal of the through traffic is a dramatically quieter environment. Business and trade in the town generated by vehicle stops has also dried up, this is expected to be taken up by a petrol station & fast food complex to be located on north and southbound locations on the bypass freeway. Whilst the town has experienced a decline in traffic, there has been recent development of significant housing estates. These include the Elloura Lake Nagambie Development and further estate development in the north and south of the area. It is now possible to travel from Melbourne to Shepparton on a freeway standard road without travelling through any of the towns previously served by the Hume and Goulburn Valley highways.
Education
Nagambie has a Catholic school and a Public School.
