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| MURRAY
RIVER HISTORY & INFO If you found information on this website useful, help us keep it FREE and current! Donate a few dollars and help keep us going! |
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More than a hundred million years ago a great river was born. Settlers carved a niche out of semi arid country against the incredible odds that had to be surmounted last century. No ordinary people could have survived the trials and tribulations of nature and market forces over the years.
Paddle steamers plied its full length, carrying wool, wheat and goods to and from the settlements along the Murray's banks, sometimes as far as the Darling junction. But little by little, the railway took away the business; and the river never quite made it as a highway of trade. Then came irrigation. Introduced to the Riverland in 1887 by Canadian George Chaffey, it transformed the northern section of the Murray into a lush paradise. First Renmark appeared, followed by community-based settlements at Pyap, Lyrup, Berri, Barmera, Loxton and Waikerie. Soon the Riverland had become South Australia's Orchard. It remains so today.
Its flow controlled by an ingenious system of locks, once a vital commercial artery and still South Australia's lifeline, the Big River is today a playground for travelers voyaging on paddleboats and houseboats. It's big in diversity, too. Escape the daily bustle by walking its heritage trails along the river or through the mallee country, named for the hardy tree which covers the region. Enjoy its many water sports. Discover its romantic past in museums and restored paddleboats. Taste the year round sunshine in its fine wines and
fruits. Follow its course to where it opens into lakes and flows into the Southern Ocean.
Whatever your choice, the Big River, with its ever changing scenery and spacious grandeur
provides the ultimate escape.
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Mark Twain compared it
favourably with the
Mississippi River when he visited late in the 1800's. And indeed, a decade or two before he
came, it seemed as if the Murray might well become another Mississippi.
Today the Murray meanders through South Australia's heartland
to the sea giving its modern day explorers unforgettable encounters with abundant
wildlife, historic towns, rich vineyards and orchards.
