Gundagai (pop. 1,970) is a historic town in New South Wales, Australia. It is located along the Murrumbidgee River. Despite its small population, the town has an outsized national reputation. Gundagai has been frequently referenced in music and literature as a classic representation of small-town Australia.
The town is probably most famous for its association with the legend of the dog on a tuckerbox (lunchbox). The dog features in a number of poems and songs about the area. In some versions, the dog faithfully guards its owner’s tucker (food). A statue of the dog was erected near Gundagai in 1932. It has since become a popular tourist attraction. Gundagai has hosted the Dog on the Tuckerbox Festival annually since 1992.
One of the deadliest natural disasters in Australian history occurred in Gundagai in 1852, when the town was hit by a severe flood. At least 80 townspeople—about a third of Gundagai’s population at the time—died due to the flood. Several Aboriginal men, including Yarri (alternatively spelled Yarry, Yarrie, or Yarra) and Jacky Jacky, helped rescue dozens of settlers from the floodwaters. In 1875, Yarri and Jacky Jacky received breastplates and money from the grateful townspeople. In 1990, the town established a memorial honoring the men’s actions. Statues of Yarri and Jacky Jacky were erected on the town’s main street in 2017. 
The land on which the town sits has been traditionally inhabited by the Wiradjuri people, one of the largest Aboriginal groups in New South Wales. The area was first encountered by European explorers in 1824. In the 1830’s, a settlement was established on a floodplain north of the Murrumbidgee River. Members of the local Aboriginal community warned settlers that the land was known for serious floods, but their concerns were ignored. Gundagai was officially recorded as a town in 1838. Following the 1852 flood, the town was rebuilt on higher ground north of the old site.
During the 1860’s and 1870’s, many bushrangers were active in the area. Bushrangers were Australian outlaws whose crimes usually included highway robbery and murder. One of the most famous bushrangers who operated near Gundagai was Andrew George Scott, also known as Captain Moonlite.
In the late 1800’s, Gundagai was the site of several gold rushes, which boosted the area’s mining industry. The Prince Alfred Bridge, the first bridge to span the Murrumbidgee, opened in 1867. The bridge was torn down in 2021. The first railway line through Gundagai was completed in 1886. Gundagai became a municipality in 1889.
