Towong

Distinguished and Famous people from Towong

📚 Elyne Mitchell

Elyne Mitchell moved to Towong Hill after marrying grazier, lawyer and later parliamentarian Tom Mitchell in 1935. The alpine landscape became central to her life as a writer, skier and grazier. The Silver Brumby, published in 1958, began partly because her children were unimpressed by the books supplied for their correspondence schooling. She decided to write something connected with the mountains they knew. The result grew into a much-loved series about wild horses. Her papers preserve drafts, family records and even camping lists, revealing the practical outdoor life behind stories that carried the mountain country to readers far away.

⛷️ Tom Mitchell

Tom Mitchell's career ranged across law, farming, skiing and public office. Born at Towong in 1906, he studied overseas before returning to a life closely associated with the Upper Murray. He represented Benambra in Victoria's Parliament from 1947 to 1976 and served as attorney-general from 1950 to 1952. He also held local council responsibilities and supported historical research in the district. Skiing was another serious pursuit, shared with his wife Elyne. Their Towong Hill home joined a working pastoral property with the political, sporting and literary lives of two unusually versatile people.

🐎 Jack Riley

Jack Riley is remembered around Corryong as a skilled Upper Murray bushman and as a possible inspiration for The Man from Snowy River. He met Banjo Paterson, and the connection became a strong local tradition. It remains a tradition rather than a proven identification: there is no recorded statement by Paterson confirming Riley as the poem's rider. Riley was buried in Corryong in 1914, and the local museum preserves personal effects and a recreation of his hut. His place in regional memory combines a real working life in the mountains with the enduring appeal of the literary legend.