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Murray
River Towns LYRUP |
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General Information At the beginning of 1894 the SA Government were confronted by the necessity to do something about the large number of unemployed men gathering for rallies in the streets of Adelaide. In addition to their current policy of creating relief works (some of lasting, others of limited value) they then decided to further assist by putting men on the land to establish settlements which could become self-supporting. A total of eleven settlement sites were chosen along the upper Murray and eventually established, Lyrup being one of the first. A group of 40 men and their wives, 49 single men and 114 youths and children had been selected to occupy the Lyrup settlement. The Government would transport them and their possessions to Morgan by train, then to Lyrup by paddle steamer. They would also provide basic supplies of building materials and farming equipment for the settlers to get started in their new lifestyle. The PS Ellen arrived at the Lyrup riverbank at about 8am on Thursday 22 Feb 1894. The settlers, wives and children disembarked. The food supplies, bedding, furniture, the tarpaulins intended to become shelter and other equipment & supplies were unloaded onto the riverbank. The settlers gave the captain & crew a rousing cheer as the PS Ellen departed to continue her journey to Renmark. Lyrup was born The considerable amounts of iron, timber, ploughs and heavy items which could not be fitted onto the Ellen were delivered the following Saturday by the PS Gem. Of the eleven village settlements established in 1894 Lyrup is the
only one where the Village Association still exists. Today the only function of this
association is the ownership and operation of irrigation & drainage facilities for the
horticultural blocks now owned by the association members. It also supplies domestic water
to the Lyrup Village area.
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