An attractive town on the banks of the lower Murray River that is the starting point of the Adelaide water-supply pipeline. The surrounding area produces, wool, beef and cereal crops.

Where is it?: Murray Riverlands. 84 km east of Adelaide; 13 metres above sea level.

Natural features: Murray River; Bird sanctuary; Mannum Waterfalls Reserve (10 km south).

Heritage features: Mannum Museum; historic paddlesteamer PS Marion (1897); Rocklea Historic Reserve Aboriginal rock shelter with paintings (16 km west); Randall Dry Dock and Beam Pumping Engine; Cowirra Historic Aboriginal Reserve

Origin of name: of Aboriginal origin, the name originally applied to a subdivision. It was given to the town when it was surveyed in 1864. The meaning or origin of the name is not known.

Mary Ann Reserve: Named after the first paddlesteamer to ply the Murray River, this park with its attractive 'band rotunda' picnic settings has the original pumping engine from the PS Mary Ann as well as a replica of the small whaleboat which Sturt rowed down the Murray to Lake Alexandrina.

Scenic Lookout: Located at the end of Crawford Crescent above the Bird Sanctuary this lookout offers excellent views over the Murray River and the town.

Paddle Boats
The Murray River is to Australia what the Nile River is to Egypt: a great and ancient river system that has shaped the past and the present and will continue into the future as a national icon.

Mannum is home to three paddle boats: Murray Princess (1986 - built Goolwa); P.S. Marion (1897 - built Milang); P.V. Mayflower (1884 - built Moama)

PS Marion

Built in 1897, the PS Marion provides a unique opportunity to experience the thrills and mysteries of the golden years of the river boats. Undertaking short cruises throughout the year on the Murray River departing from Mary Ann Reserve in Mannum, PS Marion also conducts overnight passenger cruises, including the acclaimed Rockford Steam Powered Dinners as well as being available for private charter cruises.

Visitors are welcome to view PS Marion whilst she is moored at her home at Arnold Park Wharf (museum opening times) including inspection of the galley, dining room, lounges and cabin accommodation. Join the PS Marion���s crew aboard the heritage paddle steamer for a short cruise along the mighty Murray River, departing from Mary Ann Reserve on River Lane at 11am, 1pm and 3pm at selected times throughout the year (cruising times subject to change).

PS Murray Princess

There's no better way to see the Murray River and a slice of the hauntingly beautiful and dramatic Australian outback, its unique flora and fauna, and the rich legacy of old riverside ports and indigenous culture close up than to drift unhurried and quietly under the power of the paddle-wheeler PS Murray Princess.

Captain Cook Cruises offers a unique historic and nature-based adventure, and an authentic paddlewheel experience, through some of the driest parts of the driest continent, past mallee scrub and ancient red gum forests, through towering gorges and ochre-coloured limestone cliffs. Along the way visit historic ports and lush vineyards as we navigate the Murray���s locks and big river bends.

Brief history: Prior to European settlement the area was inhabited by the Naralte Aborigines who were described by one early settler as 'very friendly and quickly picked up a smattering of English. They were willing to work ... and attempted to instruct the newcomers in their methods of hunting.' The river provided abundant food and they lived well off a diet of kangaroos, emus, wombats, goannas, lizards, ducks, turtles, fish, snakes and bird eggs.

The first European into the area was Captain Charles Sturt who, being assigned to solve the great mystery of why so many rivers flowed westward from the Great Dividing Range (often known as the question of whether Australia had an 'inland sea') rowed a whale boat down the Murrumbidgee in late 1829 and reached the junction with the Murray River on 14 January 1830. He continued down Australia's largest river passing Mannum in early February (there is a plaque beside the river recording the event) and reaching Lake Alexandrina, at the mouth of the river, on 9 February, 1830.

From this point onwards there was always the thought that the Murray River could be used for transportation and access to the western areas of New South Wales and Queensland. However it wasn't until the formal establishment of Goolwa as the port at the mouth of the Murray that this became a reality.

There was a debate as to whether Victor Harbour or Port Elliot would be the ocean port. It was eventually decided that Port Elliot was the best location but this was probably based on its proximity to Goolwa and the belief that a canal could be constructed between the two locations. In 1851 it was agreed to build a railway between Port Elliot and Goolwa at a cost of ��20,000. It ended up costing ��31,000 and wasn't completed until 1854.

PS Mayflower

By 1853 paddle steamers were operating on the Murray. The first two steamers were the 'Mary Ann' captained by William Randell and the 'Lady Augusta' captained by Francis Cadell.

By 1840 the land along the Murray River around Mannum had been surveyed and, although the river was not being commercially used at the time, some people started to lease and purchase the land. The most prominent was the explorer Edward John Eyre who took up land near the town in 1841.

The founding father of Mannum was William Richard Randell who, famously, had built the first flour mill at Gumeracha. Believing that there was money to be made by paddlesteamers on the Murray he built a boat at Gumeracha and transported it by bullock dray to a landing which is about 3 km north of present-day Mannum. The steamer was named 'Mary Ann' after Randell's mother, was 55 feet long, and it was given a trial run on the Murray on 19 February 1853. Shortly afterwards Randell made a successful trip as far as Echuca and Moama and subsequently he travelled up the Murray River as far as Menindie.

By the 1860s up to 20,000 bales of wool were being brought down the river each season. The steamers were used to move huge barges which were laden with wool. Some went to Goolwa and on to Port Elliot. Others were unloaded at Mannum and overlanded to Adelaide by bullock teams. The town was surveyed in 1868.

In the 1870s David and John Shearer established a blacksmith business in the town. They were remarkably creative building Australia's first car (a funny piece of equipment which was driven by a steam engine fired by mallee timber) and the company evolved into Horwood Bagshaw, a successful engineering company. By the 1870s and 1880s many Germans had moved into the area. Agriculture along the riverbanks was becoming the mainstay of the town's economy.

Today Mannum is proud of its history. It is a pleasant holiday town on the Murray River with extensive parks along the river. It caters for a variety of water sports and there is both fishing and bird watching (the birds range from seagulls which have made their way from the coast to pelicans and swans). There is a bird sanctuary next to the caravan park at the eastern end of town.