The Life and Times of the Murray Cod by Paul Humphries

Author:Paul Humphries
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781486312344
Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
Published: 2023-03-09T00:00:00+00:00

The Murray Fishing Company apparently originated with ‘our correspondent’ to The Argus who most likely lived on the Murray, probably at or near Echuca. Their familiarity with the subject of fish, crayfish, mussels, water birds and Aboriginal ways of fishing make this a near certainty. I have not been able to find out who this visionary was but we do know that they were the first person who is recorded as promoting an idea that culminated in a company that operated profitably for the last half of the 19th century, was an important employer in the local region, a significant owner of property and at one point dominated the supply of Murray cod and other river fish to markets as far away as Melbourne. Their name may be lost in the mists of time, but their legacy is manifest.

In January 1855, an article in The Argus showed that a semi-commercial fishery had begun in the Murray, supplying gold miners in Bendigo with fresh fish. ‘The Murray abounds in splendid fish of the cod and bream species, varying in weight from an ounce to a hundred weight each’ (The Argus, 3 January 1855), it said. In the heat of summer, to keep fish fresh and alive, they were tethered by their gills until transported overnight to Bendigo where they arrived ready for the morning market – and sold at 3 shillings per pound. This person, and certainly others, recognised that a demand existed – thanks to hungry miners – and so did a supply of fish; the former seemed insatiable and the latter inexhaustible. The correspondent hoped that ‘this is only the commencement of a very important trade, and that soon the digger’s table may be varied by as ample supply of fish at one-third of the present cost’ (The Argus, 3 January 1855).

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