The people of the river
British colonisation of South Australia came in the 1830s. For tens of thousands of years before that, the country along the river was home to Aboriginal people, who knew it as Moorundie Ruwe. At the time the British arrived, the groups here were the Ngaiawang, the Ngawait and the Erawirung, from west to east, sometimes known together as the Meru people.
Ceremonial exchanges drew people from far and wide and were major events. Along the South Australian stretch of the River Murray, estimates based on available data put the pre-European population at several thousand people, at a density of up to one person for each 0.3 to 1 square kilometre. At that time, the people living in the central River Murray area had an economy that drew on a wide range of river habitats, which were highly productive.
The oldest known Indigenous site on the River Murray, a midden of ancient mussel shells, confirmed that Aboriginal people had occupied the site for at least 29,000 years. A study of the find was published on 14 July 2020. Its dating rested on 31 radiocarbon age determinations. The study said the find took the known occupation of the area back by 22,000 years, into the last ice age.
The River Murray and Mallee Aboriginal Corporation worked with researchers from Flinders University on the study, which stands as a first step in a wider project tracking how people lived then. Trade in chert and in large sandstone grinding dishes had already been found there. The midden find adds to what is known about how the ancestors of the Aboriginal people there lived through both hard times and plentiful ones.
Renmark and the village settlements
Renmark, established in 1887, was the first district in the region. The Chaffey Brothers founded it, and they also set up the Mildura Irrigation District in Sunraysia, upstream. Other settlements followed in the 1890s, among them Waikerie, Lyrup, Moorook and Ramco.
A government response to the 1890s economic depression lay behind some of these irrigation schemes. The aim was to hold on to talent, energy and capital that might otherwise have left South Australia, through what were called Village Settlement Schemes. A Royal Commission in 1901 recommended subdividing the settlements and leasing them to individual settlers rather than village associations. In time most of them became government irrigation areas.
The oldest known Indigenous site on the River Murray, a midden of ancient mussel shells, confirmed that Aboriginal people had occupied the site for at least 29,000 years.
Soldier settlement and the Loveday camp
From 1917, blocks for soldier settlement were allocated to returning servicemen at Berri, Chaffey, Cadell and Cobdogla, and from 1946 on at Loxton and Cooltong. The soldier settlement allotments came later than the village settlements that had gone before.
In World War II, an internment camp at Loveday held people whose origins or descent were Japanese, German or Italian. Little remains today to indicate that it existed.
Water, wine and almonds
The Sunlands and Golden Heights schemes, both privately developed, were established in 1956 and 1961. As pumps became cheaper and more efficient, later development came through private irrigation, with irrigators running their own pumps to draw water from the river.
From the early 1990s water trade allowed these properties to grow further. Water was bought from pasture users in upstream states and from the lower Murray downstream. It supported growth in wine grapes and almonds. Managed investment schemes funded part of this development.
Timeline
- 29,000 years agoA midden of mussel shells shows Aboriginal occupation of the river site.
- 1887The Chaffey Brothers establish Renmark, the first district in the region.
- the 1890sFurther settlements are established along the river.
- 1901A Royal Commission recommends subdividing the settlements and leasing them to individuals.
- 1917Soldier settlement blocks are allotted at Berri, Chaffey, Cadell and Cobdogla.
- World War IIAn internment camp at Loveday holds people of Japanese, German and Italian descent.
- 1946Loxton and Cooltong are allotted for returned servicemen.
- 1956 and 1961The privately developed Sunlands and Golden Heights schemes are established.
- the early 1990sWater trade brings growth to wine grape and almond properties.
Living in the Riverland
The Riverland takes in 9,386 square kilometres along the River Murray, from the point where the river enters the state from New South Wales and Victoria down to Blanchetown. Its main towns are Renmark, Berri, Loxton, Waikerie, Barmera and Monash, along with many smaller townships. The region lies about 1.75 to 3 hours north-east of Adelaide, and 90 minutes west of Mildura in Victoria by the Sturt Highway.
Summers are warm and dry, winters relatively mild, and temperatures sit a few degrees above Adelaide's. Average summer temperatures reach 32.5 °C, the winter average is 16.2 °C, and rainfall averages 260.6 millimetres.
Questions people ask
- What is the history of the Riverland?
- At colonisation in the 1830s the country along the river was home to the Ngaiawang, Ngawait and Erawirung, sometimes known together as the Meru people, whose name for the area is Moorundie Ruwe. Renmark, the first district established in the region, was founded in 1887 by the Chaffey Brothers.
- What is living in the Riverland like?
- The region covers 9,386 square kilometres along the River Murray and lies about 1.75 to 3 hours north-east of Adelaide. The climate is Mediterranean, with warm dry summers, relatively mild winters and average rainfall of 260.6 millimetres.
- Which towns are in the Riverland?
- Its main towns are Berri, Loxton, Monash, Renmark, Waikerie and Barmera, along with many smaller townships.
- How far is the Riverland from Adelaide?
- The region is about 1.75 to 3 hours from Adelaide by road, a distance of 150 to 280 km, north-east of the city, and 90 minutes west of Mildura in Victoria via the Sturt Highway.
- Which councils cover the Riverland?
- Council areas in the region include the Berri Barmera Council and the District Council of Loxton Waikerie.