Barmera is a town in the Riverland region of South Australia. It is on the Sturt Highway A20, 220 kilometres north-east of Adelaide, the capital of the state of South Australia. It is primarily an

agricultural Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating Plant, plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of Sedentism, sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of Domestication, domesticated species created food ...

and viticultural town and is located on

Lake Bonney Riverland Lake Bonney Riverland (alternative name: Barmera) is a freshwater lake located in the Riverland region of South Australia. The lake is fed and drained by the River Murray. The town of Barmera is located on its shores. History The original inha ...

, a freshwater lake. The population was 1,914 in 2011.

History

The original inhabitants were the Barmerara Meru clan of the Ngawadj people. It is not known where the name "Barmera" comes from but it is suspected that it means "water place" or "land dwellers", being a word from the local

Aboriginal Aborigine, aborigine or aboriginal may refer to: *Aborigines (mythology), in Roman mythology * Indigenous peoples, general term for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area *One of several groups of indigenous peoples, see ...

group. Others postulate it comes from Barmeedjie, the name of the tribe that lived to the north of the Murray River prior to European settlement. Lake Bonney was first seen by

Charles Bonney Charles Bonney (31 October 1813 – 15 March 1897) was a pioneer and politician in Australia. Early life Bonney was the youngest son of the Rev. George Bonney, a fellow of Jesus College, Cambridge, and his wife Susanna, née Knight. He was born ...

and

Joseph Hawdon Joseph Hawdon (14 November 1813 – 12 April 1871) was a pioneer settler and overlander of Australia, and pioneer and politician of New Zealand. Early life Hawdon was born at Wackerfield, Durham, England, the son of John Hawdon. At the suggest ...

in 1838 drove cattle along the Murray River. The land however, was settled in 1859 with the establishment of

Overland Corner Overland Corner is a locality in the Australian state of South Australia located in the state’s east about north-east of the state capital of Adelaide and about west of the municipal seat in Berri. It is located on the Murray River in the R ...

Hotel. It was a popular area with drovers that drove sheep from New South Wales into South Australia. A police station was also built to prevent and stop arguments between the aboriginal people and settlers. An irrigation system was established in the town in 1921. The town became gazetted. An influx of World War I veterans settled with promises of irrigated land from the government. A railway station was opened in 1928 and the town was proclaimed in the same year. In World War II an internment camp was established south of Barmera in

Loveday Loveday is a name, thought to derive from Old English ''Leofdaeg'' or alternatively ''Lief Tag''. ''Leofdaeg'' is composed of the words ''leof'' meaning dear/beloved or precious and ''daeg'' meaning day. ''Lief Tag'' literally translates to Love ...

and was one of the largest World War II camps in Australia.

Heritage listings

Barmera has a number of heritage-listed sites, including: * 2-4 Barwell Avenue:

Bonney Theatre Bonney may refer to: * Bonney, Texas * Bonney Lake, Washington * Bonney (surname) See also * Bonny (disambiguation) Bonny may refer to: People *Anne Bonny (1702–c. 1782), notorious woman pirate *Bonny Sengupta, Indian Bengali Film Actor *Bo ...

* 2 Fowles Street:

Barmera Irrigation Office Barmera is a town in the Riverland region of South Australia. It is on the Sturt Highway A20, 220 kilometres north-east of Adelaide, the capital of the state of South Australia. It is primarily an agricultural and viticultural town and is lo ...

* North Lake Road: Napper's Accommodation House Ruins

Climate and geography

Barmera exists in a semi-arid location, north of Goyder's Line. Barmera is surrounded by mallee scrub. It is 29 metres above sea level. Barmera has a dry climate with hot summers and warm days and cold frosty nights in winter with seasonal temperatures a few degrees above Adelaide's temperatures and similar to those of Berri. The weather patterns are similar to those of Berri. It receives less than 250 mm of rain per annum. Rain patterns shift from year to year over a nineteen-year cycle. Floods in 2022 https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-12-05/sa-woman-builds-own-flood-levee-is-not-entitled-to-assistance/101732922

Present day

Lake Bonney has sandy beaches, a jetty, fishing and sailing. Every Easter, a sailing regatta is held on Lake Bonney and a country music festival is held every June. Riverland Field Days are held in September a Show is held in March. The town is home to the sporting teams Barmera/Monash Roos Football Club and the Barmera United Soccer Club. Barmera is in the Berri Barmera Council

local government area A local government area (LGA) is an administrative division of a country that a local government is responsible for. The size of an LGA varies by country but it is generally a subdivision of a State (administrative division), state, province, divi ...

, the South Australian House of Assembly electoral district of Chaffey and the Australian House of Representatives Division of Barker.

References

External links

Murray River Towns – Barmera
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-12-05/sa-woman-builds-own-flood-levee-is-not-entitled-to-assistance/101732922 {{authority control Towns in South Australia Australian soldier settlements Riverland 1859 establishments in Australia