EXPLORING THE ADELAIDE REGION

After a short direct flight from Auckland on Air New Zealand, we touched down in Adelaide. Our focus was on the wine regions, primarily, but couldn’t help ourselves touching on some fascinating history of the area. Unfortunately, it was raining and cold, sadly we could only drive around the city, catching a well-deserved coffee at the closest café, while ducking puddles and rain.

Adelaide city was established in 1836, planned as a capital for free British settlers, being the only capital city in Australia that was not settled by convicts, which has made the locals extremely smug.

In our rental car we made our way (with the help of G.P.S.) to the Lakes Resort Hotel. The first stage of the hotel opened late in 1985 in this area named West Lakes. The resort offers a number of venues, hosting corporate and private functions, of which all were booked out. There is a gym, pool, also a 6 km circuit to work on those wishing to offload excess calories. We allowed ourselves time to check out a short, but albeit interesting concept of the area called West Lakes, before setting for the wine regions of Barossa and Maclaren Vale.

Our spacious hotel room with a king bed, came with lovely views of the lake. We took our pick and dined on the balcony, also in the restaurant/bar, while watching the rowers and the sun set. The breakfast buffet was generous with a lot of options.

Westlakes

A Place To Work And Play

While West Lakes is very much a modern suburb, the idea which gave birth to it was first proposed in the 1880s by Fredrick Estcourt Bucknall, who proposed creating an inland harbour on the upper reaches of the Port River, connected to the sea by a canal through the sand hills.

The early residents living in the burgeoning suburbs, bounding the area, also spoke of its many snakes. In 1959 the South Australian Harbours Board proposed dredging the Port Reach basin, creating a man-made lake. The land was purchased and plans for housing were drawn. Swamp reclamation commenced in 1970 with ten million tonnes of earth shifted to form the man-made lake. The plans included a channel linking the proposed lake to the sea.

The lake now provides a haven for small pleasure craft and other aquatic sports, with plentiful flora and fauna, minus the snakes. Expensive Real-Estate adorns its banks, including West Lakes Resort Hotel. In 1991 the West Lakes project was crowned the ‘best Real Estate project in the world’ by the French based International Real Estate Federation.

The West Lakes now boast of a mall complex which opened in November 1974, which includes a library.

MANNUM

One of the highlights of our trip to Adelaide, was exploring the Murray River. and Mannum seemed to be central to all our destinations.

Looking into the early history of Mannum, in 1853, Randell, a pastoralist, launched his paddle steamer, Mary Ann, at Noa-No Landing, 5km upstream from the present site of Mannum. In doing so, he opened up one of the most romantic eras in the history of Australia. However, in the period 1872-1883, many new farmers, principally of German stock, settled the land to grow cereals and for sheep production.

This paddle steamer, the first on the river Murray, pioneered the navigation route to the stations along the Murray, Murrumbidgee and Darling Rivers, and in the early years, the goldfields of Victoria.

Randell transferred his operations to the present site of Mannum in 1853 when he built a wharf, goods shed, and cottage. From this small beginning, the present township of Mannum evolved. This rich and unique heritage has provided Mannum with the opportunity to become known as the "Birthplace of the Murray River Paddle Steamers".

But this area has its troubles, past and present; The 1956 flood disaster affected many communities and townships along the Murray River with businesses and homes lost forever and Mannum was no exception.

The river rose two inches per day with the August 16 level of 120 feet eight inches expected to rise to 122 feet. The river was two feet six inches above the 1931 level of 3.5m. Sandbagging, some six feet thick and within three feet of the top of the verandah posts in front of the Mannum Hotel held back seven feet of water. The river continued to rise at a frightening rate of more than two inches per day and more than 700 volunteers assisted assisted in the efforts. The use of several pumps, along with two fire brigade units, temporarily lowered the water level behind the bank, enabling the removal of valuable equipment from the bakery and flour mill. Floodwater in Mannum peaked on the 9th September 1956 at 5.35m. Rowers could be seen rowing down the main street of Mannum and hotels continued to serve through their second storey balconies. The ferry did not recommence operating until the 4th of February 1957.

During the peak of the flood a local also saw a large gum tree float past with a fox on it and a fridge float past. On September 15, gale force south winds created havoc with waves four to five feet in height causing considerable damage. On September 21 it was reported that the immediate flood crises had passed.

Although the river has experienced high waters in subsequent years; with 3.1m in 1974 and 1.9m in 1993, it is doubtful Mannum will ever see a flood as dramatic as 1956 again.

On the way between Adelaide/ Barossa there is a fun and scenic back route to take, by taking the Mannum Ferry you take Burdett Rd that joins up with the Old Princes Hwy and then onto the A1 (Princes Hwy.)

The Mannum ferry is a dual parallel ferry and allows for a timely crossing of the river. Located at the start of Randell St in Mannum, the ferry terminal is between the Mannum Riverside Caravan Park and the Mannum Dock Museum of River History/Visitor Information Centre. This is a very efficient

24-hour ferry service with good views up and down the river whilst crossing. We were pleasantly surprised that it was FREE!! Excellent service and we were very grateful customers.

On arriving to Mannum, we were told that floods were expected. Our Bed and Breakfast was across the river, but we managed to get across as the ferry was not affected at the time. We thanked our lucky stars! Upon our return home we heard the Australian government issued a closure:

“Due to rapidly rising floodwaters and an evacuation notice being issued by the SES, the Burdett Road/ Hunter Road junction, Mannum is closed to all traffic. As a result of this closure, the free Mannum passenger ferry service will stop from 12:30pm.”

After our first ‘lucky’ ferry ride, and a short drive, we arrived at Riverview Bed and Breakfast; as an artist myself, I was delighted to find that Michael Chorney, the owner, is an artist of some renown, Colin and I spent time chatting and exchanging ideas, such fun!

The accommodation was fantastic, with views over the Murray and beyond, stunning sunsets viewed from our enclosed deck, mosquito free! Great sleep on our king bed. Very spacious open plan accommodation. Stocked up fridge with bacon, fresh eggs from their happy hens, mushrooms, fruit juice and coffee for our breakfasts. We highly recommend this wonderful, peaceful, charming place, and a host with the most!

The Mighty Murray River is one of the world's longest navigable rivers, stretches 2,700 kilometres from the mountains of the Great Dividing Range in northeastern Victoria to near Adelaide in South Australia. A mountain stream in its upper reaches, the river turns into a meandering river lined with magnificent forests of red gum and sandy beaches in its lower reaches. The region is home to plentiful wildlife, supporting over 350 varieties of birds, as well as many species of mammals, reptiles and fish. Along the banks of the river, you’ll find many house boats, with some permanent residences and a very popular well run secure marina for house boats to hire.

If you have the time to traverse the region from end to end, you will delight in the activity and diversity found along the way.

Paddle steamers were an important connection with early European settlement and development – towing large barges, paddle steamers weaved the winding course of the MurrayDarling system, supplying stations and towns with supplies, and carrying passengers and various goods to market, including mail, wheat, fruit, salt, wood, wool and other livestock products.

Camel Trains were used to transport salt from the Sunset Country (South-West of Mildura) to the Murray River along well- worn tracks 100 years ago. Led by Afghan team masters, the camel trains could persist in the sandy terrain where it was difficult for oxen, horses and other forms of transportation. The camel teams carried cargoes of wool and other heavy loads including salt from Spectacle Lakes in the Sunset Country, to the Murray River, where the salt was loaded onto paddle steamers, then returned with precious fresh water and supplies.