BENALLA Benalla is another of those towns on the Hume Highway that deserves an extended stopover. A visit to the Rose Gardens and/ or Catholic Church will cement this is objective. Benalla is also a heritage town, and recent efforts are bringing positive results. The site was originally taken up as a pastoral run 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. The Post Office opened on 1 December 1844 but named Broken River until 1 January 1854 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, Thales Australia ammunition factory and aviation. The rose gardens and the annual Rose Festival dating from 1967 have contributed to tourism. Benalla has a regional airport YBLA (BLN) which began life as a major RAAF training base during World War 2 and now also serves as the home of the Gliding Club of Victoria as well as a ballooning and ultraligt centre. Benalla is where champion cyclist Baden Cooke was born and the place of war hero Sir (Ernest) Edward "Weary" Dunlop's education. The churches in Benalla are all century plus buildings. The Catholic and Anglican being grand and unique design. The hotels in Benalla are spread throughout the town. The railway being the catalyst for two of the pubs. The Benalla War Memorial incorporates the Weary Dunlop acknowledgement. The Benalla Museum is also the info centre and gives a good insight into the history of the area. To get the most out of Benalla a two day visit is recommend Heritage diary