An isolated and relatively undeveloped small town near the mouth of the Murray River on the shores of Lake Alexandrina. It is characterised by many attractive historic homes but its isolation (it is off the beaten track) has seen it remain relatively underdeveloped where the nearby town of Goolwa has developed rapidly as a day trip/holiday resort town for people from Adelaide.

Where is it?: Murray Riverlands. 76 km south-east of Adelaide.

Milang is a delightful holiday resort on the water's edge. It is an ideal destination for campers and caravanners. The reed-edged lake is an ideal retreat for people who want to escape from the more busy holiday destinations.

Each Australia Day Milang hosts one of the largest fresh water sailing races which is held on Lake Alexandrina. The sailing boats sail from Milang to Goolwa.

Natural features: Lake Alexandrina; Pt Sturt; Tolderol Game reserve (14 km east)

Heritage features: Milang Railway Museum and Tourist Information Centre; Pier Hotel; Church of Christ (1857); Congregational Church (1872); Police Station (1874).

Origin of name: the Anglicised version of the Aboriginal word 'millangk', meaning 'place of millin (scorcery)

Historic Willow Tree: Located in Luard Street. The town was visited in 1867 by the Duke of Edinburgh, the fourth son of Queen Victoria, who went on a shooting expedition on Lake Alexandrina and planted a willow tree (which is still standing) near the present site of the town's bowling club.

Lake Alexandrina

The Ngarrindjeri people, the original occupants of the Lake Alexandrina region, were decimated in the 19th century by the arrival of Europeans, particularly by a combination of smallpox (which raged all the way up the Murray River) and massacres. The first whites were sealers who began camping here in 1828. It was to here a year later that Captain Charles Sturt began rowed a boat down the Murrumbidgee and Murray Rivers on his epic trek in search of a great inland sea that was believed to exist at that time. He named the lake after Princess Alexandrina who later became Queen Victoria.

Sheep and cattle farmers moved into the area soon after. Milang was founded in 1856 as a river port to service the Murray River paddlesteamers and the ferries which regularly crossed Lake Alexandrina. For some time Milang competed with Goolwa for the lucrative Murray River trade. It became a ship building centre and port for goods offloaded onto bullock wagons bound for Adelaide. The town faded into insignificance when railways replaced the river trade.

In the early years farmers moving into the area tried virtually anything and everything. Sheep were grazed, vegetables grown, grain crops, vineyards, cattle and fruit trees were all tried. The soil was not particularly good and it wasn't until the advent of superphosphate and mallee scrub clearance that the area reached its full economic potential.

PS Oscar

At its height Milang was a port where goods were unloaded onto bullock drays which made the slow (usually about 9 miles a day) journey across the Mount Lofty Ranges to Adelaide. At the same time the town was known as a ship building centre with a number of paddlesteamers being launched from its yards.

The town's heyday was from the mid-1850s through to the 1880s. It was during this time that the churches, the police station and most of the important public buildings were constructed. The town was visited in 1867 by the Duke of Edinburgh, the son of Queen Victoria, who went on a shooting expedition on Lake Alexandrina and planted a willow tree (which is still standing) near the present site of the town's bowling club.