Albury, New South Wales and Wodonga, Victoria are cross border cities that are geographically separated by the Murray River. Albury on the north of the river is part of New South Wales, while Wodonga on the south bank is in Victoria. In the early 1970s Albury–Wodonga was selected as the primary focus of the Whitlam Federal Labor government's scheme to arrest the uncontrolled growth of Australia's large metropolitan areas (in particular Sydney and Melbourne) by encouraging decentralisation. Together, the two cities form an urban area with an estimated population of 93,603.