SWAN REACH, SOUTH AUSTRALIA

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An historic river port, now a quiet holiday destination and centre for sheep and cereal farming and irrigated fruit and vegetable growing.
Location: 127 km north east of Adelaide on the Murray River between Blanchetown and Mannum; river level is 0.75 m above sea level, though over 80 km from the river's mouth.
Origin of name: descriptive of a section of the river where swans were plenteous.
Brief history: first settled in the 1850s, Swan Reach was one of five cattle stations in the area. It became one of the first river ports on the Murray, off loading grain and wool. When the railway reached Morgan in 1878, Swan Reach lost its importance as a port and retreated to become the quiet sleepy town it is today.
Natural features: Murray River; Yookamurra Sanctuary; Nildottie cliffs; Swan Reach Conservation Park; Ridley Conservation Park.
Built features: townships of Punyelroo (7 km downstream) and Nildottie.
Heritage features: Sandleton Museum; Swan Reach Hotel (the original Swan Reach homestead); remnants of old jetty equipment on the cliff banks; Swan Reach Aboriginal occupation sites