Benalla, Victoria

Benalla Victoria
Aerial view from the east
Benalla Location in Rural City of Benalla
Coordinates	36°33′07″S 145°58′54″E / 36.55194°S 145.98167°E / -36.55194; 145.98167Coordinates: 36°33′07″S 145°58′54″E / 36.55194°S 145.98167°E / -36.55194; 145.98167
Population	9,328 (2011 census)
• Density	365.8/km2 (947.4/sq mi)
Established	1840s
Postcode(s)	3672
Elevation	169.5 m (556 ft)
Area	25.5 km2 (9.8 sq mi)(ABS Community Profile)
Location	40.5 km (25 mi) SW of Wangaratta 212 km (132 mi) NE of Melbourne 61 km (38 mi) E of Shepparton
LGA(s)	Rural City of Benalla
State electorate(s)	Euroa
Federal Division(s)	Indi
Mean max temp Mean min temp Annual rainfall 22.0 °C 72 °F 8.7 °C 48 °F 670.5 mm 26.4 in

Benalla /bəˈnælə/ is a small city located on the Broken River in the High Country north-eastern region of Victoria, Australia, about 212 kilometres (130 mi) north east of the state capital Melbourne. At the 2011 census the population was 9,328.

It is the administrative centre for the Rural City of Benalla local government area.

Prior to the European settlement of Australia, the Benalla region was populated by the Taungurong people, an Indigenous Australian people.

It was first sighted by Europeans during an expedition of Hamilton Hume and William Hovell in 1824, when the area, first named "Swampy" was noted as agricultural settlement. The expedition was followed by that of Major Thomas Mitchell in 1834.

Reverend Joseph Docker settled in 1838 creating a pastoral run called Benalta Run, said to be from an Aboriginal word for musk duck. An attack by indigenous people on the camp of sheep herders George and William Faithful became known as the Faithful Massacre; eight settlers were killed in the incident. Following the massacre in 1839 a police station was established and the name of the settlement became Broken River.