The Black Stump
A 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.
Australia has a fondness for the phrase "beyond the black stump" — and Paringa has the stump to prove it. This one is the root system of a river red gum that grew on the Murray's bank near Chowilla for an estimated 500 to 600 years before the great flood of 1917 undercut it and dropped it into the river. At more than eight metres across, it is the largest of the eleven known black stumps in the country.
Its second life is the better story. In 1984, locals Frank and Diane Turton spotted the sunken giant while houseboating near Chowilla Station, about 56 kilometres upstream of Renmark. With official permission, a very large chainsaw and a raft of 44-gallon drums for flotation, they towed it down the river behind their houseboat — one of the Riverland's great feats of stubborn enthusiasm. After decades on Murtho Road, the stump was moved in 2024 to the Paringa Community Museum, beside the Paringa Bridge.
It makes a perfect five-minute leg-stretch with a long story attached — and pairs nicely with the other oversized landmarks on a Riverland road trip.
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The Black Stump — frequently asked questions
What is the Black Stump?
It is the root system of a river red gum estimated at 500-600 years old, measuring more than eight metres across — the largest of the eleven known "black stumps" in Australia. It fell into the Murray near Chowilla during the 1917 flood.
How did it get to Paringa?
In 1984 Frank and Diane Turton found it while houseboating near Chowilla Station, got permission to salvage it, floated it on 44-gallon drums and towed it roughly 56 km downriver behind their houseboat. It now stands at the Paringa Community Museum near the Paringa Bridge.
Image credits
- Paringa Bridge.jpg by ScottDavis , CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons