Benalla (36°33′S 145°58′E) is an agricultural town of about 10,000 people located just off the Hume Freeway in north-eastern Victoria, Australia, about 40 kilometres south of Wangaratta. Its Local Government Area is the Rural City of Benalla.
The site was originally taken up by the Reverend Joseph Docker in 1838 and called Benalta Run, from the Aboriginal word for Musk Duck. A town was laid out on the site in 1846. It is famous for its roses.
The Broken River can cause extensive flooding. There is a park and walking track along the river at Benalla, featuring a ceramic sculpture community that was created as part of an employment project for local artists some years ago.
Industries include agricultural support services, tourism, a medium density fibreboard factory, ammunition factory and aviation (Benalla is a major gliding centre and also the scene of some hot air ballooning). Benalla has a regional airport YBLA (BLN).
Benalla is where champion cyclist Baden Cooke was born and the place of war hero Sir (Ernest) Edward 'Weary' Dunlop's education. Benalla is also home to Australian rock artist Lisa Maxwell.
The station is on the main railway line between Sydney and Melbourne and is served by VLine services from Albury as well as a twice daily Countrylink XPT service to and from Sydney.
