Paringa is a small town in the

Riverland The Riverland is a region of South Australia. It covers an area of along the Murray River, River Murray from where it flows into South Australia from New South Wales and Victoria (Australia), Victoria downstream to Blanchetown, South Australia ...

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 ...

. Paringa is famous for its vineyards, almond, citrus and stone fruit orchards, and the steel bridge with a span that can be raised to allow houseboats and paddlesteamers to pass underneath and across 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 ...

to Renmark. At the

2006 census 6 (six) is the natural number following 5 and preceding 7. It is a composite number and the smallest perfect number. In mathematics Six is the smallest positive integer which is neither a square number nor a prime number; it is the second small ...

, Paringa had a population of 946.

Railway

The railway line from

Tailem Bend Tailem Bend (locally, "Tailem") is a rural town in South Australia, south-east of the state capital of Adelaide. It is located on the lower reaches of the River Murray, near where the river flows into Lake Alexandrina. It is linear in layout s ...

was extended north to Paringa soon after it had reached the Brown's Well district, with the official opening on 3 October 1913. However it took another 14 years for the railway to cross the river, when the bridge and the railway to Renmark opened in January 1927. The railway eventually extended to

Barmera 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 l ...

by August 1928. The historic

Paringa Bridge The Paringa Bridge carries the Sturt Highway across the Murray River in Paringa, South Australia. Until 1982, it also carried the Barmera railway line. The bridge consists of a vertical-lift span long which can rise in one and a half minutes ...

was designed to carry a single railway line in the centre, with a road lane on each side of it. It has a total of six spans, including one lift span to allow river traffic to pass underneath. It was opened on 31 January 1927, enabling the railway to extend to Renmark. It is listed on the

South Australian Heritage Register The South Australian Heritage Register, also known as the SA Heritage Register, is a statutory register of historic places in South Australia. It extends legal protection regarding demolition and development under the ''Heritage Places Act 1993'' ...

. The railway closed December 1990 but the bridge continues to carry the

Sturt Highway Sturt Highway is an Australian national highway in New South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia. It is an important road link for the transport of passengers and freight between Sydney and Adelaide and the regions situated adjacent to the r ...

as part of the main road link between

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 ...

and

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

The town today

Paringa today is a satellite town to the much larger Renmark, 4 km upstream. It boasts a pub, general store, museum and antiques shop. It is a service centre for the large agricultural enterprises on the Murtho and Lindsay Point roads. There is a beautiful picnic area on the riverfront adjacent to the Bridge. The town had only one serving mayor, Mr Alan Eckermann, before the District Council of Paringa amalgamated with Renmark Council in July 1996 to form the now Renmark Paringa Council. Many new homes have been built in Paringa in recent years.

References

Towns in South Australia Populated places on the Murray River Riverland {{SouthAustralia-geo-stub

Railway

The town today

See also

References