Heritage & History
River trade, irrigation and pioneer stories
The best heritage & history in Paringa
Paddle-steamer wharves, irrigation museums, historic hotels and a re-created pioneer village tell the story of how the river built these towns.
The Riverland's history is the history of the river itself. Before roads and rail, the Murray was the highway of the interior, and paddle steamers carried wool and wheat downstream to ports that boomed and faded. That story is written across the region in wharves, locks, grand old pubs and pioneer settlements.
Walk the restored wharf at Morgan, once the colony's second-busiest inland port, and visit the Morgan Museum in the old railway buildings. Watch a working steamer fire up — the 1911 PS Industry at Renmark, or the venerable PS Mayflower at Morgan. Trace the river engineering at Lock 1 Blanchetown, the first of the Murray's locks, completed in 1922.
The open-air Loxton Historical Village recreates pioneer life in vivid detail. Pair these with the region's riverfronts and reserves to understand how completely the Murray once ran the life of the interior.
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4 places
Border Cliffs Customs House
FreeWhere South Australia taxed the river trade
The 1884 customs house at Port Murthoo, built to collect duties from paddle steamers crossing the border. A walking trail and quiet river reach mark one of the Murray's oddest historic outposts.
Lock 5 & the Bunyip Barge
FreeWatch boats step up the Murray in a riverside park
A 1927 lock and weir just downstream of the Paringa Bridge, set in lawned parkland with picnic tables, barbecues and the retired river barge Bunyip on display.
Paringa Bridge
A 1927 lift-span river crossing
A rare lift-span road and rail bridge over the Murray at Paringa, opened in 1927 and still in use.
The Black Stump
FreeA 600-year-old river red gum, rescued from the Murray
The huge root system of a 500-600 year old river red gum — over eight metres across and the largest of its kind in Australia — salvaged from the river and displayed at Paringa.