Pyap is a locality 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 ...
region of
South Australia
South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...
. It is on the left (south) bank of the
Murray River
The Murray River (in South Australia: River Murray; Ngarrindjeri language, Ngarrindjeri: ''Millewa'', Yorta Yorta language, Yorta Yorta: ''Dhungala'' or ''Tongala'') is a river in Southeastern Australia. It is List of rivers of Australia, Aust ...
about 7 km downstream from
Loxton. It includes both flat land near the river and higher land away from it. The environment is dry, so vineyards and orchards are irrigated from the river. It lies on the
Kingston
Kingston may refer to:
Places
* List of places called Kingston, including the six most populated:
** Kingston, Jamaica
** Kingston upon Hull, England
** City of Kingston, Victoria, Australia
** Kingston, Ontario, Canada
** Kingston upon Thames, ...
Road from Loxton, at the junction with the
Stott Highway
Stott Highway is a state-controlled highway in South Australia, linking Angaston in the Barossa Valley, through Sedan and Swan Reach, to Pyap in the Riverland region. It was named after Tom Stott, a member of the South Australian state pa ...
towards
Swan Reach.
Pyap was first settled as a
Village Settlement in March 1894 with 94 members and 187 children on 9,145 acres (3,700 ha) and a total population of 388. The founding chairman was A. H. Brocklehurst and the secretary J. W. Rawnsley.
In about 1900 the government became tired of trying to keep the settlement going and when most of the village settlers abandoned the settlement, sold out lock, stock and barrel to a Mildura-Melbourne syndicate who appointed Mr. William Mitchell Plant as general manager. This firm continued to run the settlement with some success until 1913 when it eventually landed with
C. J. DeGaris.
The writer and ethnographer
Daisy Bates lived in a tent in Pyap in the 1930s.
References
Towns in South Australia
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