The evolution of the boundary between New South Wales and Victoria with special reference to the section between Albury and Echuca

International boundaries have long been a subject of interest to political geographers. Since about 1900 a large number of techniques and methods have been applied to the study of such boundaries. The development of these methods has not been one of consistent advance and thus it is important to choose those methods which are of value to geographical analysis. Boundaries other than international boundaries have tended to be neglected by geographers generally because they are considered less important and/or less interesting. It is partly for this reason that there have been very few studies of Australian boundaries. The basic aim of this dissertation is to study the geographical factors which have influenced the development of an Australian colonial and federal boundary and the reciprocal effect of this boundary on the cultural landscape and attitudes of the people living in the borderland. In so doing it is proposed to use and test the applicability of some of the methods used for studying international boundaries. It is hoped that this will provide some valuable comparison of the characteristics of international, colonial and federal boundaries. The above paragraph sets out the general aims of this dissertation; more specifically the aims are to study the evolution of the New South Wales - Victorian boundary and the significance of a short but most important section of it - that from Echuca to Albury. The main interest is in its significance as and when a colonial boundary but it must be recognised that an important change came about in 1901 when the Australian colonies entered into a voluntary federation and so some consideration will be given to differences in the later period