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| A houseboat
on the Murray River near Meningie
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Meningie (including Narrung)
Pleasant holiday town on the beautiful shores
of Lake Albert.
Located 152 km south-east of Adelaide on the
shores of Lake Albert, Meningie is a charming
holiday destination at the northern end of The
Coorong. The large number of parks beside the
lake, the reeds and the large numbers of birds,
all combine to make it a town of particular
beauty.
Historically there were five Aboriginal
tribal groupings living on The Coorong and in
the Meningie district. They are still known as
the Ngarrindjeri people (they are the same
people who fought over secret women's business
at Goolwa). They made bark and reed canoes,
lived on the fish and molluscs in the area, and
built shelters against the cold Southern Ocean
winds.
The Ngarrindjeri people were decimated by the
arrival of Europeans. The combination of
smallpox (which raged all the way up the Murray
River) and massacres saw the numbers of
Aborigines on The Coorong drop from an estimated
3200 in 1842 to a mere 511 by 1874. It is widely
accepted that 'meningie' is an Aboriginal word
meaning 'mud' - an entirely appropriate name for
the town.
The first European into the area was Captain
Charles Sturt who, being assigned to solve the
great mystery of why so many rivers flowed
westward from the Great Dividing Range (often
known as the question of whether Australia had
an 'inland sea') rowed a whale boat down the
Murrumbidgee in late 1829 and reached Lake
Alexandrina, at the mouth of the Murray river,
on 9 February, 1830.
Following Sturt the whole area along the
Murray was opened up particularly by overlanders
who moved sheep and cattle across the land. By
the 1840s the area around Meningie had been
opened up to large property owners and there was
a ferry across the Murray River at Wellington.
This led to the establishment of a coaching
route from Adelaide to Melbourne which, until
the 1850s when a route was found through the
deserts further north, travelled along The
Coorong. Travellers crossed the mouth of the
Murray by paddlesteamers which plied the route
between Meningie and Milang.
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| Irrigation
near Poltalloch Station on the edges of
Lake Albert |
When the traffic moved north the town's
importance declined but the richness of the
local soils and the ready availability of water
ensured its continuing importance as a centre
for the surrounding agricultural lands.
Today, with modern agricultural methods of
irrigation and cropping, the Meningie district
is known as a hugely successful dairy area as
well as producing substantial acreage of
irrigated crops. The town also has a large
fishing fleet.
Things to see:
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Boating and Bird Watching
The great attractions of this area are the
boating and the bird watching. There are birds
everywhere along the shores of Lake Albert and
the boating around the lake is ideal.
Trig Hill Lookout
It is quite hard to gain any kind of elevation
on this very flat area. Trig Hill is one of the
few places which offers views over the town and
the surrounding area. Drive east along North
Terrace to get to the lookout.
Pink Salt Lake
On the road between Tailem Bend and Meningie is
the 'Pink Lake'. These lakes are quite common in
dryer areas and are coloured by the presence of
algae known as beta caratine in the waters.
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| Poltalloch
Station, Narrung |
Poltalloch Homestead
Built in 1876 at Narrung this beautiful
Victorian mansion is a reminder of the wealth
that was generated in the area at this time.
Today it is still a working farm being operated
by the descendants of John Bowman who
established it as a sheep and cattle station.
The outbuildings resemble a small village and
include substantial stables, a coach house,
barns, a woolshed and the manager's
accommodation. It is open for tours and
overnight accommodation. Bookings are essential.
Contact (08) 8574 0043.
Narrung ferry
Interesting ferry which allows road traffic
across the flatlands between Lake Albert and
Lake Alexandrina. It is necessary to take the
ferry across to the Tailem Bend side of the lake
to reach Portalloch Station.
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| The ferry at
Narrung |
Point Malcolm Lighthouse
The Point Malcolm Lighthouse is the smallest
inland lighthouse in Australia. It was
established to help guide paddlesteamers across
Lake Albert and Lake Alexandrina.
