Paringa South Australia | |||||||||||||||
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![]() Paringa bridge. The central route, which once carried trains, now provides a safe route for pedestrians and cyclists. One lane on each side of the central route carries road vehicles. | |||||||||||||||
Coordinates | 34°10′S140°47′E / 34.167°S 140.783°E | ||||||||||||||
Population | 1,026 (UCL 2021) [1] | ||||||||||||||
Postcode(s) | 5340 | ||||||||||||||
Time zone | ACST (UTC+9:30) | ||||||||||||||
• Summer (DST) | ACDT (UTC+10:30) | ||||||||||||||
LGA(s) | Renmark Paringa Council | ||||||||||||||
County | Alfred | ||||||||||||||
State electorate(s) | Chaffey | ||||||||||||||
Federal division(s) | Barker | ||||||||||||||
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Paringa is a small town in the Riverland of South Australia, 17 kilometres (11 miles) from the border with Victoria. It is known for its vineyards and almond, citrus and stone fruit orchards. Its main feature is a six-span bridge that crosses the River Murray. One of the spans can be raised to allow houseboats and paddle-steamers to pass underneath. [2] [note 1]
Paringa was the terminus for 14 years of what eventually became the Barmera railway line – one of six lightly built lines that were built to encourage agricultural development in the Murraylands. [4] : 1‑926, 1‑927 Initially it extended 156 kilometres (97 miles) from Tailem Bend to Meribah, in the Brown's Well district, in mid-1913 as planned. Soon afterwards the line was extended 64 kilometres (40 miles) northwards to Paringa; the official opening took place on 3 October 1913. [5] Fourteen years elapsed before the railway crossed the river to Renmark. [6] By August 1928 the railway had been extended 34 kilometres (21 miles) to Barmera: 258 kilometres (160 miles) from Tailem Bend and 378 kilometres (235 miles) from Adelaide railway station. [7]
The railway closed in 1990 but the bridge continues to carry the Sturt Highway as part of the main road link between Adelaide and Sydney.
The Paringa bridge was designed to carry a single railway line in the centre and 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. [8] It opened on 31 January 1927, enabling the railway to extend to Renmark. [6] It is listed on the South Australian Heritage Register. [9]
Paringa today is a satellite town to the much larger Renmark, 4 kilometres (2.5 miles) upstream. Many new homes have been built there in recent years. It is a service centre for the large agricultural enterprises on the Murtho and Lindsay Point roads and has a pub, general store, museum and antiques shop. There is a riverfront picnic area adjacent to the bridge.
Paringa is within Renmark Paringa Council jurisdiction as a result of the District Council of Paringa amalgamating with Renmark Council in July 1996. The town had only one serving mayor, Alan Eckermann, before the amalgamation.[ citation needed ]
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 along the route.
Tailem Bend is a rural town in South Australia, 85 kilometres 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 since it is constrained by river cliffs on its western side and the Adelaide–Melbourne railway line is dominant on its eastern side. The town grew and consolidated through being a large railway centre between the 1890s and 1990s; now it continues to service regional rural communities. In the 2021 census, Tailem Bend and the surrounding area had a population of 1,705.
Renmark is a town in South Australia's rural Riverland area, and is located 254 km (157.83 mi) northeast of Adelaide, on the banks of the River Murray. The Sturt Highway between Adelaide and Sydney runs through the town; Renmark is the last major town encountered in South Australia when driving this route. It is a few kilometres west of the SA–Victoria and SA–NSW borders. It is 31 m (101.71 ft) above sea level.
The Murray Mallee is the grain-growing and sheep-farming area of South Australia. It is bounded to the north and west by the Murray River, called the "River Murray" in South Australia, to the east by the Victorian border, and extending about 50 km south of the Mallee Highway.
The first railway in colonial South Australia was a line from the port of Goolwa on the River Murray to an ocean harbour at Port Elliot, which first operated in December 1853, before its completion in May 1854.
The Renmark Paringa Council is a local government area located adjacent to the Victorian border, in the Riverland, South Australia. The area is known for its various fruit production, and is heavily dependent on the River Murray as a water source. The council seat is at Renmark.
Paruna is a township in eastern South Australia on the Browns Well Highway, where it crosses the former Barmera railway line, 237 kilometres (147 mi) east of the state capital, Adelaide.
The Murraylands is a geographical region of the Australian state of South Australia (SA); its name reflects that of the river running through it. Lying due east of South Australia's capital city, Adelaide, it extends from the eastern slopes of the Mount Lofty Ranges to the border with the state of Victoria, a distance of about 180 kilometres. The north-to-south distance is about 130 kilometres. The region's economy is centred on agriculture, and tourism, especially along its 200-kilometre (120-mile) frontage of the River Murray.
The Loxton railway line is a closed railway line in the northern Murray Mallee region of South Australia. It ran north-east from Tailem Bend to grain silos near Loxton.
The Barmera railway line was the second railway built to develop the Murray Mallee region of South Australia, in 1913. It followed the success of the Pinnaroo railway line in 1906. Both lines branched east from Tailem Bend to the north of the main Melbourne–Adelaide railway. The Brown's Well line was the more northerly, and extended into country which had not been developed much before the railway, partly due to the absence of any viable transport route for produce. The original terminus of the Brown's Well railway was at Meribah, not far from the Victorian border.
Meribah is a small settlement in the Brown's Well district of the Murray Mallee region of South Australia. It is 10 kilometres from the border with Victoria, 62 kilometres north of Pinnaroo, and 37 kilometres south-east of Loxton.
Wonuarra is a locality southeast of Paringa in the east end of the South Australian Riverland region. The locality is east of the Sturt Highway between Paringa and Yamba and extends from the highway to the state border.
The Waikerie railway line was a railway line on the South Australian Railways network.
Tailem Bend railway station is located on the Adelaide-Wolseley line in Tailem Bend, South Australia. It is also the junction point for the Loxton and Pinnaroo lines.
Murtho is a locality in South Australia. It is northeast of Renmark and Paringa. It is bounded by the Murray River on its north and west sides and the Victorian border on the east.
The Paringa Bridge carries the Sturt Highway across the Murray River in Paringa, South Australia. Until 1982, it also carried the Barmera railway line.
Mundic Creek is a locality in the Australian state of South Australia located in the Riverland in the state's east on the southern side of the Murray River about 217 kilometres (135 mi) north-east of the state capital of Adelaide, and about 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) south-east of the municipal seat of Renmark.
Pike River is a locality in the Australian state of South Australia located in the Riverland in the state’s east on the southern side of the Murray River about 210 kilometres (130 mi) north-east of the state capital of Adelaide and about 9 kilometres (5.6 mi) south-east of the municipal seat of Renmark.