Mannum is a historic town on the west bank of the

Murray River The Murray River (in South Australia: River Murray) (Ngarrindjeri: ''Millewa'', Yorta Yorta: ''Tongala'') is a river in Southeastern Australia. It is Australia's longest river at extent. Its tributaries include five of the next six longest r ...

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

, east of

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

. At the 2016 census, the urban area of Mannum had a population of 2,398. Mannum is the seat of the

Mid Murray Council The Mid Murray Council is a local government area in South Australia in the Murray and Mallee region of South Australia. The council spans the area from the Riverland through the Murraylands to the eastern slopes of the Mount Lofty Ranges. It in ...

, and is situated in the state

electoral district of Hammond Hammond is a single-member electoral district for the South Australian House of Assembly. It is named after Ruby Hammond, the first indigenous woman to stand for the Federal Parliament. Hammond is a rural electorate east and south-east of Adela ...

and the federal

Division of Barker The Division of Barker is an Australian Electoral Division in the south-east of South Australia. The division was established on 2 October 1903, when South Australia's original single multi-member division was split into seven single-member div ...

History

The Aboriginal inhabitants and traditional owners of the vicinity now called Mannum were the Nganguruku (Nganguruga), part of the larger Ngayawung community. In 1830 the Sturt expedition passed through the area by boat. No Europeans visited again until 25 January 1838 when the expedition of Dr George Imlay and

John Hill John Hill may refer to: Business * John Henry Hill (1791–1882), American businessman, educator and missionary * John Hill (planter) (1824–1910), Scottish-born American industrialist and planter * John Hill (businessman) (1847–1926), Austral ...

, on horseback from

, became the first to reach the

Murray Murray may refer to: Businesses * Murray (bicycle company), an American manufacturer of low-cost bicycles * Murrays, an Australian bus company * Murray International Trust, a Scottish investment trust * D. & W. Murray Limited, an Australian who ...

overland within South Australia. They noted that the thriving Indigenous population were very keen fisherfolk. The first European settlement in the area was in 1840. The first ship (a side-wheel

paddle steamer A paddle steamer is a steamship or steamboat powered by a steam engine that drives paddle wheels to propel the craft through the water. In antiquity, paddle wheelers followed the development of poles, oars and sails, where the first uses wer ...

) built on the Murray River was launched at Mannum by

William Randell William Richard Randell "Captain Randell" (2 May 1824 – 4 March 1911), was an Australian politician and pioneer born in Devon, England, who emigrated to the newly founded colony of South Australia in 1837 with his family. He was a pioneer ...

in 1852. A shipbuilding industry continued in Mannum until into the 20th century. William Randell is memorialised by the preservation of the rectangular boiler from the paddle wheeler ''Mary Ann'' in the town's recreation park. His

dry dock A dry dock (sometimes drydock or dry-dock) is a narrow basin or vessel that can be flooded to allow a load to be floated in, then drained to allow that load to come to rest on a dry platform. Dry docks are used for the construction, maintenance, ...

held the ''Marion'', an 1897 built paddle wheeler; managed by the

National Trust of South Australia The National Trust of Australia, officially the Australian Council of National Trusts (ACNT), is the Australian national peak body for community-based, non-government non-profit organisations committed to promoting and conserving Australia's Ind ...

as a museum. The ''Marion'' left active service in 1950 and spent until 1963 as a boarding house.Larkins & Parish 1982, p.186 The ''Marion'' was recommissioned in 1994 and currently operates as a daytrip and overnight cruising vessel along the Murray. A number of other manufacturing industries were established in the town, and some continue; although not as large as they once were. The largest heavy manufacturing company was

David Shearer David James Shearer (born 28 July 1957) is a New Zealand United Nations worker and politician. He was a member of the New Zealand Parliament for the Labour Party from 2009 to 2016, serving as Leader of the Opposition from 2011 to 2013. Shea ...

(later Horwood-Bagshaw) who made farm equipment. Mannum apparently has the distinction of having lost more men per head of population in both World Wars than any other town in South Australia. There is a song, called Year of the Drum, written by Wendy Joseph which describes the tragic effects of the World Wars on several generations of the people of Mannum and the use of music to entice young men to war. The song references Mannum, Shearers, Riverboats and the Murray River.

Heritage listings

Mannum has a number of heritage-listed sites, including: * Anna Street: David Shearer's Dwelling and Observatory * Cliff Street:

Bleak House ''Bleak House'' is a novel by Charles Dickens, first published as a 20-episode serial between March 1852 and September 1853. The novel has many characters and several sub-plots, and is told partly by the novel's heroine, Esther Summerson, and ...

* Noa No Road:

Noa No Landing Noa or NOA may refer to: People *Noa (name) *Noa (Singer), Noa (Achinoam Nini), Israeli singer * Noa, one of the five daughters of Zelophehad (her name is spelled "Noah" in some Bible translations) Fictional * Noa (dog), a dog in ''Inubaka: ...

* Randell Street: William Randell's Dry Dock * 51-53 Randell Street: Shearer's Agricultural Implement Factory Site and Stamp Press Relics * off Western Boundary Road:

Reedy Creek Railway Bridge Reedy may refer to:Roberta Reedy Artifact *Reedy Point Bridge in Delaware People * Chuck Reedy, a former American football player and coach * Edward K. Reedy, a director of the Georgia Tech Research Institute * George Reedy, White House Press Sec ...

Modern Development

Mannum's significance as a river port declined with the railways reaching Morgan in 1878 and Murray Bridge in 1886. The largest ship operating on the Murray is the

PS Murray Princess The paddlewheeler, PS ''Murray Princess'', is a tourist vessel operating from its homeport of Mannum, South Australia, on the Murray River. The regular cruising schedule offers a 3 night cruise departing each Friday, a 4 night cruise departing ea ...

, a passenger stern-wheel paddle boat based at Mannum offering weekly cruises. The restored historic

''PS Marion'' is also based at Mannum and cruises several times a year. Before restoration, it was a static display in a

drydock A dry dock (sometimes drydock or dry-dock) is a narrow basin or vessel that can be flooded to allow a load to be floated in, then drained to allow that load to come to rest on a dry platform. Dry docks are used for the construction, maintenance, ...

for many years. Mannum is also a base for

houseboat A houseboat is a boat that has been designed or modified to be used primarily as a home. Most houseboats are not motorized as they are usually moored or kept stationary at a fixed point, and often tethered to land to provide utilities. How ...

s available for hire. Because of its position on the

; in 1954 the

Mannum–Adelaide pipeline The Mannum–Adelaide pipeline is a water pipeline in South Australia. It was the first major pipeline built from the River Murray to serve Adelaide. The pipeline project was started in 1949 and completed in March 1955. After suffering water re ...

was built to help provide Adelaide with a reliable water supply. Today, Mannum is a busy township and a popular tourist destination, particularly during the summer months. The population of Mannum and the surrounding area grows to about 10,000 when semi-residents (shack owners) and tourists are taken into consideration. The town has three hotels, a Foodland and IGA supermarket and many specialty shops.

Media

Mannum was home to the regional newspaper, the ''Mannum and District Recorder'' (2 June 1955 – 16 June 1960), which was then continued as the ''Murray Plains Recorder'' (13 January 1961 – 24 September 1964). It was then merged into ''The Leader'' which is still published in Angaston. In the years around World War 1, another publication, the ''Mannum Mercury and Farmer's Journal'' (30 March 1912 – 2 March 1917), was also printed. It was then absorbed into ''

The Mount Barker Courier and Onkaparinga and Gumeracha Advertiser ''The Courier'' is a weekly newspaper published in Mount Barker, South Australia. For much of its existence its full title was ''The Mount Barker Courier and Onkaparinga and Gumeracha Advertiser'', later shortened to ''The Mount Barker Courier''. ...

.'' Later, the phrase "Mannum Mercury" was revived as the Mannum news page of the ''Murray Valley Standard''.

Sports and Recreation

The town has an

Australian Football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an Australian rules football playing field, oval field, often a modifie ...

team competing in the

River Murray Football League The River Murray Football League is an Australian rules football competition based in the Murray Bridge region of South Australia, Australia. It is an affiliated member of the South Australian National Football League. History The competitio ...

; nicknamed the Roos. The Mannum Rowing Club was founded in 1910. The club is located on River Lane on the banks of the Murray in Mannum. The club hosts the annual Mannum Regatta and the Arnold Cup. Mannum hosts a number of other sports during the year, most notably

netball Netball is a ball sport played on a court by two teams of seven players. It is among a rare number of sports which have been created exclusively for female competitors. The sport is played on indoor and outdoor netball courts and is specifical ...

in the winter months (the netball club is also nicknamed the Roos), and

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

and

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

in the summer months. The local Community Complex hosts many various indoor sports, including

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

squash Squash may refer to: Sports * Squash (sport), the high-speed racquet sport also known as squash racquets * Squash (professional wrestling), an extremely one-sided match in professional wrestling * Squash tennis, a game similar to squash but pla ...

, various

martial arts Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defense; military and law enforcement applications; combat sport, competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; a ...

and it contains a gym and other workout rooms. In the summer months, particularly over the January holidays,

water sports Water (chemical formula ) is an inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living organisms (in which it acts as a s ...

are extremely popular (mainly

water skiing Water skiing (also waterskiing or water-skiing) is a surface water sport in which an individual is pulled behind a boat or a cable ski installation over a body of water, skimming the surface on two skis or one ski. The sport requires suffic ...

and

wakeboarding Wakeboarding is a water sport in which the rider, standing on a wakeboard (a board with foot bindings), is towed behind a motorboat across its wake and especially up off the crest in order to perform aerial maneuvers. A hallmark of wakeboardin ...

), where both residents and tourists bring their own

water craft Any vehicle used in or on water as well as underwater, including boats, ships, hovercraft and submarines, is a watercraft, also known as a water vessel or waterborne vessel. A watercraft usually has a propulsive capability (whether by sail, ...

to use on the river. PS Marion 2

Timeline

Selected events in the history of Mannum.Linn R 1997, pp.225-232 *1830, First Europeans visit – Charles Sturt expedition explores the Murray by boat. *1838, First Europeans arrive by land – expedition of Dr Imlay and John Hill. *1851, The first

pastoral lease A pastoral lease, sometimes called a pastoral run, is an arrangement used in both Australia and New Zealand where government-owned Crown land is leased out to graziers for the purpose of livestock grazing on rangelands. Australia Pastoral lease ...

s in the district are signed. *1853, Mannum becomes a port on the Murray and the Hundred of Mannum is declared. *1863, Mannum's first store, "Bogan store" is opened and run by Thomas Randell's wife. *1864, Port Mannum is surveyed under government direction. *1865, Mannum's post office opens although home mail delivery does not begin until 1949. *1869, A private port Mannum is surveyed. *1869, Bogan hotel is opened. *1870, Largest flood to date on the river. *1876, Walker's flour mill begins operations. *1877, District council of Mannum proclaimed. David Shearer begins a blacksmithing business. *1886, Murray bridge declared a port taking away much of Mannum's river trade. *1902, Kerosene Street lighting installed, changed to acetylene in 1905 and electric in 1923 *1906, First telephone installed, Automatic exchange installed in 1979. *1912, First paper, the Mannum Mercury, published, closing in 1917. *1921, The district hospital was built. *1925, Mannum technical school opened *1930, Mary Ann's boiler moved to the recreation ground. *1931, Highest flood since 1870. *1932, Main street renamed Randell Street. *1954, Mannum-Adelaide pipeline completed. *1956, Highest recorded floods at Mannum during the

1956 Murray River flood The 1956 Murray River flood involved the rising of waters in the Murray River and flooding of many towns in New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia. The flood was and still is considered the biggest flood in the recorded history of the Murr ...

. *1963, The Marion reaches Mannum, her new home. She is recommissioned in 1994. *1997, District council of Mannum becomes part of the Mid-Murray district council.

Gallery

File:Small_Mannum_Ferry.jpg, One of the two ferries at Mannum Image:Mannum South Australia 20070223.JPG, Aerial view of Mannum File:MannumRandellStreet.JPG, Randell St, the main street of Mannum File:PS Marion 2.JPG, The PS Marion at Mannum File:MannumUnitingChurch.JPG, Uniting Church File:MannumBaptistChurch.JPG File:MannumWarMemorial.JPG File:MannumStairs.JPG File:MannumLutheranChurch.JPG File:MannumHotel.JPG File:MannumInstitute.JPG File:MannumPostOffice.JPG

Notes

References

* *

External links

Mannum Dock Museum of River History & PS MarionWalkabout – Mannum
{{authority control Towns in South Australia Populated places on the Murray River River ports of Australia