What is the Hume Highway?
The Hume Highway is the main inland road between Sydney and Melbourne. It is roughly 850 kilometres long and is named after Hamilton Hume, an explorer who traveled through the region in 1824.
Hamilton Hume and William Hovell led an expedition from near Sydney to Port Phillip Bay in 1824 and 1825. Their route across the inland slopes helped open the region to settlers, and the highway later followed a similar corridor.
Today the highway passes major centers including Goulburn, Yass, Gundagai, Albury and Wodonga, crossing the Murray River on the border between New South Wales and Victoria. In Victoria the road continues past Wangaratta, Benalla and Seymour to Melbourne.
A fully divided freeway
The Hume was gradually upgraded to a four-lane divided road over several decades. The final town bypass, at Holbrook, opened in 2013, which meant drivers could travel between Australia's two largest cities without stopping at a single traffic light.
The road is one of the country's busiest freight corridors, carrying large numbers of trucks between the two cities every day. Rest areas, roadhouses and driver reviver stops are spread along the route to reduce fatigue.
Famous stops include the Dog on the Tuckerbox statue near Gundagai and the Big Merino in Goulburn. The drive usually takes around nine hours without long breaks.
Did You Know?
The Hume Highway is designated as the M31 for much of its length.