A sizeable irrigation town in the Upper Murray River or Riverland district of South Australia. Waikerie is known as the Citrus Centre of Australia, it is also renown for the gliding activities in the area.

Where is it?: 48 km west of Barmera; 177 km north east of Adelaide; 30 metres above sea level.




The town is located a few kilometres off the Sturt Highway. It is worth diverting for the views across the Murray River which has carved its way through the landscape. The water from the Murray has to be pumped up the cliffs to provide the citrus orchards with water. It is surrounded by both citrus and extensive stands of stone fruits - apricots, peaches, pears and plums.

Waikerie is more interesting than most of the towns along the Murray River. There are a considerable number of attractive sandstone buildings and, at the top of the main street, is a huge diesel engine in a small park. Particularly impressive, take Goodchild Street off Peake Terrace, is the Scenic Lookout which is perched on top of the cliffs and offers excellent views across the Murray (with the ferry far below) and also of the large chimney which is now protected by order of the National Trust.

Sunlands Pumping Station: Located 10 km north-west of Waikerie the pumping station (worth visiting to appreciate just how important water from the Murray is to the surrounding area) offers excellent views over the surrounding countryside.

Gliding: Waikerie has an international reputation as an ideal gliding centre. The air is dry and the thermals are ideal. Waikerie has actually hosted the world gliding competition. For more information contact the local Waikerie Gliding Club on (08) 8541 2644.

Waikerie cliffs

Natural features: Murray River; Waikerie cliffs; Harts Lagoon Bird Sanctuary; Holder Bend Reserve; crystallised gypsum fossils near Taylorville; Maize Island Lagoon Conservation Park; Poogynook Conservation Park (12 km north-east); Brookfield Conservation Park.

Locks on the Murray River

River Lock No. 2

The River Murray Waters Act of 1914 was welcomed throughout the Murray River Valley as the first step toward enhancing the great river���s bounty and assuring a fair sharing of it. The Murray���s flow at Albury was to be shared equally between New South Wales and Victoria. As a joint effort, Victoria, New South Wales and South Australia agreed to construct 26 weirs and locks (a total of 14 were constructed) on the Murray and Murrumbidgee rivers to maintain navigable waters all year round for over 1600 km ��� from the river���s mouth near Goolwa to Echuca and, on the Murrumbidgee as far as Hay, Lake Victoria, a natural storage within New South Wales would be used to hold waters for South Australia���s use.

South Australia, as anxious as ever to keep the river trade alive, moved quickly to construct nine weirs and locks on its section of the great river. Sadly the move came too late to save the riverboat; by the end of World War I the motor car and truck were already beginning to take over from river travel. Nonetheless, the series of locks and weirs has dramatically changed and effected the flow of the natural river and provides the water needed to develop and support the fruit growing insustry which continues to thrive today. Before the major storages and locks were built there were a few occasions when the River Murray stopped flowing and became a series of water holes. Under current conditions it is expected that there will always be some flow in the Murray.

About Waikerie
Origin of name: of Aboriginal origin, said to mean 'many wings' or 'anything that flies', referring to the birdlife on the river.

Brief history: the lands around Waikerie were once occupied by the Yuyu Aboriginal peoples. Because of the high cliffs on the river at this locality, Waikerie had its beginnings in farming rather than being a river port. It was not until the 1880s that people started moving into the area. In 1882 W.T. Shepard established the Waikerie station. His son has written: 'A pine hut was then the only building on the spot. Waikerie means 'anything that flies' or is a word that indicates a favourite spot for wildfowl ... he sank and equipped the first well. It is still known as Shephard's Well. He purchased the engine in Melbourne, and the whole concern cost him ��1000. The natives called the well Marananga, meaning 'my hand', because the water could be drawn up by hand.

The township was established as an experiment in decentralisation (and partly to solve unemployment in Adelaide) when, in 1894, a readymade town of 281 people arrived in a paddlesteamer. Fortunately the experiment worked. By the end of the first year 3400 vines, 7000 lemon and 6000 stone fruit trees had been planted. By 1910 the township was named Waikerie (after the station) by Governor Bosanquet and by 1914 the farmers were so committed to their success that the first meeting of the Waikerie Co-Operative Fruit Company (later to become the Waikerie Producers Co-Operative) was held. Today the company has one of the largest fruit processing operations in the southern hemisphere.