B R
I E F C H R O N O L O G Y O
F E U R O P E A N S E T T L E
M E N T
I
N T H E M U R R A Y V A L L E
Y S O U T H A U S T R A L I A
By Peter J REILLY... 1997
1802 ... Mathew
Flinders charts the coastline of SA as part of his
circumnavigation of the Australian continent.
1830 ... Capt
Charles Sturt's expedition discovers, and traces the River Murray
to the sea.
1831 ... Capt Collett Barker inspects the
coast of Gulf St Vincent, treks to Mt Lofty and, from the
heights, observes "a considerable indentation in the
coastline," subsequently named Barker Inlet; ... He
then inspected the Murray Mouth area, where he is attacked, and
killed, by natives.
1836 ... Colony of South Australia
proclaimed, and Wellington became the first crossing point on the
Murray in SA.
1837 ... At the Colony's first land sale,
Morphett bought 4,000 acres on the west bank, around Wellington.
1838 ... Hawdon and Bonney were the first
to overland cattle from NSW, they followed the Murray into SA. On
12th March they discovered and named Lake Bonney. Eyre, Sturt and
others shortly followed and soon hundreds of thousands of sheep
and cattle were travelling this route annually; - Lake Bonney and
Overland Corner became favourite resting and crossing spots to
the overlanders, who, river permitting, could re-cross the river
in the vicinity of present day Blanchtown. The alternative was to
trek around Nor-West Bend. Either way, the route became generally
known as The Sydney Road.
1838 ... Duttons of Kapunda took up the
Nikalapko pastoral lease on the north bank opposite present day
Cadell.
1839 ... Governor Gawler's "Goolwa
to Nor-West Bend Expedition"; - travelling in sailboats with horsemen
accompanying them on the bank, the party travelled from near Goolwa to
North-West Bend from where a contingent of horsemen made a cross country dash to
Mt Bryan resulting in Henry
Bryan becoming lost, never to be seen again. - Some rash decisions plagued
this expedition, which was otherwise notable for including ladies with a view of
dispelling settlers fear of the natives.
1840 ... Morphett installed and operated
a ferry, at Wellington.
1841 ... Tit-for-tat slaying between
Overlanders and Aborigines culminated in the Rufus River Massacre
of August 27th; - Edward John Eyre was made Protector of
Aborigines. - Moved to his Moorunde lease near
"Blanchtown", and ended white settlers fear of the
Murray aborigines. At the time he was the only white settler
between Wellington and Nor-West Bend.
1841 ... Campbell and Levy (overlanders)
took up Nor-West Bend Station, an area of 361 sq.mls around
present day Morgan.
1844 ... Roonka [176ml] on the west bank,
homesteaded by the McBeans, it soon became a staging point for
Overlanders and Explorers.
1845 ... McFarlanes arrived and settled
on east bank at Wellington.
1846 ... A Murray/Darling flood, noted in
the diaries of Sturt's "Central Australia" expedition.
1846 ... Cook brothers took up runs on
east bank around Tailem Bend.
1847 ... Murbko [178ml] on the east bank
homesteaded by the McLeans, they were the first to use fences on
sheep runs.
1850 ... Governor Young and party ascend
the Murray to the Rufus on horseback, and continued to the
Darling via whaleboat.
1851 ... Chambers Bros. took up the
Cobdogla run opposite present day Kingston and successfully bred
fine horses. In time their runs extended from the NSW border to
Purnong and their Taylorville homestead became the hub of
Riverland affairs. The imposing North Adelaide mansion,
"Carclew", was their city home.
1852 ... Gundagai flood undermined Eyre's
irrigation dam at Moorunde: - In a prelude to his foreshadowed
steamboat attempt, Francis Cadell voyaged from Swan Hill to
Wellington in a canvas boat.
1853 ... Chapman occupied the east bank
in vicinity of Lock 5#.
1853 ... Randell then Cadell took the
first steamboats up the Murray River and into NSW.
1855 ... Edwards settled Coninka at what
we now call Murray Bridge. It became a popular spot to 'swim'
stock and wagons across the river. The water was usually calmer
than at Wellington.
1856 ... Napper built a storehouse,
traded and irrigated at Lake Bonney where, in 1863, he built his
'Accommodation House'. His wife is credited as the first
white-woman settler in the region.
1859 ... 'Overland Corner Hotel' opened
for business.
1861 ... Craignook, a huge station around
Purnong, settled by Thomson.
1863 ... Blanchtown (surveyed in 1855)
proclaimed a Riverboat Port.
1864 ... Edwards Crossing (Murray Bridge)
chosen as site for bridge.
1870 ... First officially recorded flood
peaked 11M at Morgan. It washed away homesteads at Craignook
[117ml] and Murbko [177ml].
1871 ... Gebhart took up Markaranka run,
on north bank near Cadell.
1873 ... Bridge at Edward Crossing
completed. (Murray Bridge)
1876 ... Benjamin Walker built a
flour-mill at Mannum.
1877 ... J and D Shearer began making
farm machinery at Mannum.
1878 ... Railway reached Nor-West Bend,
Morgan officially proclaimed.
1879 ... Railway reached Murray Bridge,
but did not cross the river.
1884 ... Railway finally crossed the
river at Murray Bridge and settlement boomed as lines spread out
across the mallee.
1887 ... Renmark began as a Chaffey Bros.
irrigation project.
1890 ... A Darling flood peaked 8.25M at
Morgan.
1891 ... Pastoral Leases expire, ending
the era of the huge stations.
1894 ... Willow planting began on
riverbanks to aid high water navigation.
1906 ... Loxton surveyed, but stagnated
until a second wave of ex-servicemen arrived in 1949.
1910 ... Waikerie got going with private
blockies, after failing as a commune in 1890's.
1911 ... Berri instigated as fruit
growing district.
1917 ... Flood reached 9.7M at Morgan.
1919 ... Cadell irrigation area opened
and allotted to ex-servicemen.
1922 ... Blanchtown Weir/Lock completed
it had taken 7 years.
1925 ... Second 'bridge' for railway
alone completed at Murray Bridge.
1929 ... Lower Murray Reclamation and
Irrigation Scheme completed; Gov. Jervois (1877-83) had
instigated this levee building and swamp drainage scheme.
1931 ... Flood peaked 9.8M at Morgan and
breached some levees.
1952 ... Flood peaked 8.6M at Morgan.
1955 ... Flood peaked 8.3M at Morgan and
pre-empted the 1956 flood.
1956 ... Flood peaked 12.3M at Morgan,
breached all levees and was the highest flood recorded since
white settlement. Traditionalists argue that it was only the
'locks' that made it higher than the 1870 flood.
1974 ... Flood peaked 8.5M at Morgan (old
annual floods peaked about 5-7M, but by 1974 the Snowy Mountains
Water Management Scheme, designed to 'even out' the Murray's
fluctuations, was fully operational.)
----------------------------------------
PRE-HISTORY FLOODS - Scientific data has
revealed that a 1,100BC flood rose to a level of 12.6M at Morgan,
and another in 1,780AD reached 14.3M.
1st COMMERCIAL VOYAGES UP THE MURRAY:
SA Government offered 2,000-pounds reward, to the first two steamship to reach the Darling junction.. - Capt Francis Cadell had the 105ft 'Lady Augusta' built in Sydney with 2x20hp steam engines.. - William Randell built his own 55ft 'Mary Ann' at Gumeracha and Mannum, with a single 8hp engine and the, now infamous, "square" boiler.
March ...... W R
Randall started, but shallow water in Penn Reach stopped him.
[231ml]
Aug- 5 ...... River rising, Randall and the Mary Ann
again set off from Noa-No landing.
Aug-18 ..... Mary Ann had boiler trouble, spent two
days repairing it.
Aug-21 ..... Mary Ann spent this Sunday a few miles
above Moorundee. [170ml]
Aug-22 ..... Mary Ann moored vicinity Warru Station
(Nor-West Bend). [202ml]
Aug-25 ..... Cadell left Goolwa with Governor Young
and invited guests aboard the Lady Augusta and barge. They
regularly steamed from before sunrise, until darkness halted
them.
Aug-28 ..... Lady Augusta spent this Sunday moored at
Moorundee Station. [166ml]
/
Mary Ann spent same Sunday moored at Chapman's Station.
[344ml]
Aug-29 ..... Lady Augusta took on wood and spent
night at Warru Station. [205ml]
Aug-30 ..... Mary Ann entered NSW [406ml]
Sept- 3 ..... Lady Augusta entered NSW
/
Mary Ann passed the Darling junction. [517ml]
Sep- 6 ...... Lady Augusta moored in the Darling and
lay over throughout Sunday 7th.
Sep-11 ..... Lady Augusta passed site of present day
Mildura. [551ml]
Sep-12 ..... Mary Ann passed through Euston. [697ml]
Sep-13 ..... Lady Augusta passed through Euston.
Sep-14 ..... Mary Ann passed the Murrumbidgee
junction, and moored about. [772ml]
/
Lady Augusta steams past the moored Mary Ann at 10.30pm..
Sep-15 ..... Mary Ann reclaimed the lead, the boats
continued to leapfrog due to mishaps and wooding-up stops.
Sep-17 ..... Lady Augusta arrived at Swan Hill about
mid-day. - The Mary Ann arrived a few hours later.
Much dancing and celebrating occurred at Swan Hill. Cadell left his barge to be loaded with wool, and went exploring up-river as far as the Gunbower [948ml]. In the end, he had to go fifty miles up the Wakool to load the wool; - Randall continued up-river.
Sept-24 ..... Randell had difficulty with a submerged reef (Murrumbidgee Reef 1055/1056ml), but managed to get through to Maiden's Punt [1067ml] and was heartily welcomed by locals.
FRANCES CADELL; spent a lot of time exploring and clearing snags in the Murray and Murrumbidgee, where he traded with a variety of steamers until about 1860. He then returned to the sea, spent some time in New Zealand then moved on to the Dutch East Indies. He antagonised many in the East Indies, where, in 1879, it is reported he met his death, either at the hands of a mutinous crew or some disgruntled East Indies Islanders.
WILLIAM RANDALL; committed himself to the Darling, though he traded throughout the Murray/Darling system; He built boat-yards and docks at his Reedy Creek station, and a town called Mannum grew-up around him; "His" town boomed until 1884, when the Murray Bridge railway stole the freight trade, and Mannum's importance declined: - In his later years "W R" was active in SA politics but he remained involved in the river and its trade until he died, in 1911.
© P J Reilly 1998 ..... E-mail Inquiries
ChronolyRmv.doc/980215
For a chronology on the progress of South Australia as a whole, click on > Flinders Ranges Research: