Echuca Moama holiday tradition becomes a home and tourism business

More than 30 years after first bringing their family to Echuca Moama for a summer holiday, Lynn and Rowan Mason now call the region home and welcome holidaymakers of their own at Torrumbarry’s Wisps of Wool Retreat.

Their journey from regular visitors to local tourism operators is featured in Murray Regional Tourism’s The Way We Holidayed campaign, which shares real holiday stories and traditions from across the Murray region.

The Masons first brought their four children to Echuca in the early 1990s, staying at Riverside Caravan Park (now Moama Riverside Holiday Park) and returning year after year.

The kids fished from the jetty, rode bikes around the park and swam at Moama Beach, while mornings often included a walk across the old bridge into Echuca.

“I remember thinking we hadn’t needed a jumper once,” Mrs Mason said.

“The kids lived in their bathers and there was this real sense of freedom. As the sun went down, the caretaker would ride through the caravan park ringing his bell and all the kids knew it was time to come home.”

“We had no idea then that first summer holiday would become an annual tradition and end up shaping the next 30 years of our lives.”

Eventually, Lynn and Rowan rented a house in Echuca for six months to see whether their love of the area extended beyond holiday mode.

They later bought land and built their own family holiday home in Torrumbarry in 2011. The region also became the setting for some of the family’s biggest milestones. Their son married at Perricoota Station in 2013, and their nephew later married at the family property. In 2019, Lynn and Rowan moved to the Murray region permanently.

Their connection to tourism came full circle when they established the award-winning Wisps of Wool Retreat, formerly known as The Shearing Shed House. Its distinctive design and individual, locally inspired touches have also earned the property recognition through a number of design awards. Located just 20 minutes from Echuca Moama, the country retreat offers restorative stays, intimate weddings and hosted gatherings near the Murray River.

“Back then, we were the family arriving for our Murray holiday. Now we’re the ones welcoming other families here,” Mrs Mason said. “There’s something really special about that. You wonder whether somebody staying with us now might be at the beginning of a tradition they’ll still be talking about decades from now.”

Murray Regional Tourism CEO Cameron Sutton said the Mason family’s story was a particularly strong example of the lasting connection many visitors develop with the region.

“The Mason family first came here as holidaymakers. They kept returning, eventually made the region home and now they’re part of the local tourism industry themselves,” Mr Sutton said.

“It’s a great example of what we’ve seen throughout The Way We Holidayed, that the places people return to year after year can become much more than somewhere they go on holiday.”

The Mason family’s story was one of those shared with Murray Regional Tourism following a public callout earlier this year for photographs, memories and traditions from Murray region holidays. It has now been developed into a short, animated campaign video with Lynn voicing their story and website content using the family’s own photographs and memories.

The Way We Holidayed brings together real visitor stories, archival material and contemporary Murray experiences, encouraging people to return to an old favourite, discover what has changed or start a new holiday tradition of their own.

Explore the campaign content at visitthemurray.com.au