[1] The name Mooroopna was used by the original Kaieltheban tribe living in the area and meant 'deep water hole'.

Two entrepreneurs, Joseph Hawdon and Charles Bonney, camped on the edge of Gemmill's Swamp, close to Mooroopna, in January 1838.

They were overlanding large herds of cattle and sheep from an area close to modern Seymour to Adelaide, about 1200 km by bullock dray along the Goulburn and Murray Rivers.

The first settler in the town was William Simmonds Archer who purchased land in 1860 and built his home/hotel in McLennan Street, overlooking the river.

Early commerce flowed from revenue gained by punt owners at Shepparton and in Mooroopna, who exploited the traffic from gold fields in Bendigo to those in Beechworth.

[4] Like other country towns, Mooroopna became infested with hotels and churches, the influence and numbers of both having declined since the Second World War.

Also, like other towns, Mooroopna lost young men to wars in South Africa, Europe and in Asia and has several memorials recording their names.

In the beginning, industry revolved around the processing of grains and fruit ,but in the past 30 years, Mooroopna has become a desirable residential area for nearby Shepparton.