Waikerie, South Australia
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Waikerie ( ) is a rural town in the Riverland region of
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 ...
on the south bank of the Murray River. At the , Waikerie had a population of 2,684. 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 ...
passes to the south of the town at the top of the cliffs. There is a cable ferry crossing the river to provide vehicle access from the north side of the river. Waikerie is known for citrus growing, along with stone fruit and grapes.


Background

The Ngawait people have inhabited the area for millennia. The river and surrounding land provided everything they could possibly need - fish, shellfish, birds, kangaroos, and native fruits. The town of Waikerie derives its name from Weikari, which is claimed to mean 'the rising'. However some linguistic anthropologists argue that the name refers to the spider creator god from local creation myths.Peter K. Austin ''The Gamilaraay (Kamilaroi) Language, northern New South Wales – A Brief History of Research''. James Cook University, 1988. http://www.hrelp.org/aboutus/staff/peter_austin/AustinGamil.pdf The Waikerieness was said to fend off monthly centipede infestations by leaking
seeds A seed is an embryonic plant enclosed in a protective outer covering, along with a food reserve. The formation of the seed is a part of the process of reproduction in seed plants, the spermatophytes, including the gymnosperm and angiosperm pl ...
all over the area. This refers to the emergence of many ghost moths (especially the giant swift moth ''Trictena argentata'' : Hepialidae) from the ground among the river red gums ''Eucalyptus camaldulensis'' after heavy rain. Waikerie is in the
District Council of Loxton Waikerie The District Council of Loxton Waikerie is a Local government in Australia, local government area in the Murray Mallee region of South Australia. The council seat lies at Loxton, South Australia, Loxton, while it maintains a branch office at Wai ...
, the
South Australian House of Assembly The House of Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of South Australia. The other is the Legislative Council. It sits in Parliament House in the state capital, Adelaide. Overview The House of Assembly was creat ...
electoral district of Chaffey and the
Australian House of Representatives The House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Parliament of Australia, the upper house being the Senate. Its composition and powers are established in Chapter I of the Constitution of Australia. The term of members of the ...
Division of Barker. The historic former Irrigation Pumping Station Chimney in Scenic Lookout Reserve 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'' ...
.


Media

The main newspaper of the region is ''
The River News ''The River News'' was a weekly newspaper published in Waikerie, South Australia, published from July 1956 until April 2020. History ''The River News'' was begun on 19 July 1956 by Colin Hetzel of the Waikerie Printing House with his wife, Meg He ...
'', first published in July 1956 and founded as a direct result of 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 ...
s.


Waikerie Airport

Waikerie Airport Waikerie Airport is located east of the town of Waikerie in the locality of Holder, South Australia. The flat dry terrain in the area provides good thermals for gliding. The airport is home to the Waikerie Gliding Club. Waikerie hosted the 1 ...
is near Waikerie. It is home to the Waikerie Gliding Club. It has two runways 08/26 and 02/20. The flat dry terrain provides good thermals for
gliding Gliding is a recreational activity and competitive air sport in which pilots fly unpowered aircraft known as gliders or sailplanes using naturally occurring currents of rising air in the atmosphere to remain airborne. The word ''soaring'' is al ...
. Waikerie hosted the 14th World Gliding Championships in 1974.


Silo Art

In March 2019, the Waikerie silo art project was completed. South Australian artist Garry Duncan painted one silo with a semi-abstract river landscapes and characterised native river creatures such as pelicans, ducks, frogs and rain moths. On the other silo, Jimmy Dvate from Melbourne, painted a regent parrot, a yabby and the endangered Murray hardyhead fish.


Sport

Waikerie is home to the Waikerie Football Club, who currently play in the (
Australian Rules 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 oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...
) Riverland Football League. Former Adelaide Crows captain Mark Ricciuto is from Waikerie and played junior football with the club. Waikerie is also home to the Sunline Speedway. The speedway has been home to Super Sedan drivers Wally Francombe (supercharged EH Holden), Robert Gwynne ( Chevrolet Camaro), Noel Reichstein ( Chevrolet Corvette) and twice (and inaugural) Australian Street Stock Champion, Neil Hoffman and his
Chrysler Centura The Chrysler Centura is a midsize car which was produced by Chrysler Australia between 1975 and 1978. It was based on Chrysler Europe's Chrysler 180 model, but was also available with larger Australian-made Hemi Six engines. 19,770 Centuras wer ...
. Other classes that race at the Speedway include Modified Sedans, Formula 500s, 360
Sprintcars Sprint cars are high-powered open-wheel race cars, designed primarily for the purpose of running on short oval or circular dirt or paved tracks. Sprint car racing is popular primarily in the United States and Canada, as well as in Australia, New ...
, AMCA Nationals and Late Models.


Notable people from Waikerie

Notable people born, went to school or lived in Waikerie include: *Sir Donald (Don) George Anderson, CBE (1917-1975) – Director-General of Civil Aviation and later chairman of Qantas Airways Ltd. * John Neil (Neil) Andrew, AO, FTSE (1944- ) – Speaker of the House of Representatives, Federal Parliament of Australia. Chair, Murray–Darling Basin Authority *
Meredith Arnold Meredith is a Welsh Brittonic family name, and is also sometimes used as a girl's or boy's forename. The Welsh form is "Maredudd". People * Meredith (given name) * Meredith (surname) Places Australia * Meredith, Victoria United States * Meredith ...
, AO – Awarded AO in 2013 for her involvement with the local historical society, the Waikerie District Community Committee and her volunteer work at the Waikerie High School and hospital. * Warwick (Rick) Maxwell Darling (1957- ) – Cricketer, played for South Australia and Australia * Anne Fulwood (1959- ) – Reporter, journalist and writer * Ken I'Anson – Motor cycle racer – Australian Sidecar Champion, Australian Pairs Champion, SA Champion, multiple Australian Track Champion, Australian speedway champion * John Percival Jennings, AO, ISM, RDA (1923-2003) – Senior Horticultural Adviser and fruit grower. John P Jennings Park in Waikerie named after him. * John T. Jennings, BSc(Hons), PhD (1950-) – Entomologist, The University of Adelaide. President of the Royal Society of South Australia (2008-2010). Editor ''Natural history of the Riverland and Murraylands'', Occasional publications of the Royal Society of South Australia; no. 9 (2009). * Kym Vincent Lehmann (1946-) – Australian Rules Football player, North Adelaide Football Club, * Bruce Malcolm Light (1949-2018) – Australian Rules Football player, Port Adelaide Football Club * Geoffrey (Geoff) Haydon Manning (1926-2018) – Unionist, author and historian * Mark Ricciuto (1975-) – Australian Rules Football player, West Adelaide and Adelaide Crows football clubs. Joint winner 2003 Brownlow Medal *
Brian Webber Brian Webber (born December 19, 1967) is an American actor from Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Birmingham is the seat of Jefferson County, Alabama's most populous cou ...
BSc(Hons), MSc, PhD – Australian Rules Football player, West Adelaide Football Club. Headmaster of Prince Alfred College, Adelaide (1988–1999) * Chris Western (1974–) Off Road Racer BAJA 1000 Ironman in 2014


Gallery

File:WaikerieMainStreet.JPG, Main Street File:Waikerie ferry, Riverland 1.JPG , Waikerie, Riverland File:WaikerieHotel.JPG, Waikerie Hotel File:WaikerieInstitute.JPG, Waikerie Institute File:Waikerie, Riverland 2.JPG , Waikerie, Riverland File:WaikerieUnitingChurch.JPG, Uniting Church File:Waikerie, Riverland 1.JPG, Waikerie, Riverland File:Waikerie Football Club Oval, March 2012.jpg, Oval File:WaikerieClub.JPG , Waikerie Club File:WaikeriePostOffice.JPG, Post Office File:Waikerie, Riverland 5.JPG, Waikerie, Riverland File:Waikerie silo art.jpg , Waikerie silo art File:Waikerie silo art 2.jpg, Waikerie silo art


See also

*
List of crossings of the Murray River The Murray River in south-eastern Australia has been a significant barrier to land-based travel and trade. This article lists and briefly describes all of the recognised crossing points. Many of these had also developed as river ports for transp ...


References


External links


Waikerie TourismWaikerie Gliding Club
{{authority control Towns in South Australia Populated places on the Murray River Australian soldier settlements Riverland