Discovery trail
Just add water
Irrigation, orchards and new beginnings
Pumping river water onto dry land could create a town or give an older settlement a new livelihood. Follow irrigation colonies, soldier settlement and the service centres of the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area. These are thematic stops, not a continuous river route.
THE STOPS
MilduraThe Chaffey brothers established an irrigation colony in 1887. Orchards, vineyards and a planned service town replaced the expectations of an ordinary grazing property.
RenmarkAnother Chaffey irrigation settlement began in 1887. Financial difficulties tested the private scheme; organised irrigation endured and sustained the Riverland’s horticulture.
LoxtonA river landing and farming service town came first. Post-war soldier settlement and irrigation later expanded citrus, vines and the population.
LeetonThe Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area needed staff housing, administration and services for new farms. A partly canvas settlement grew into a permanent town linked to processing and agricultural trade.
GriffithA planned centre served newly irrigated land. Farming, produce processing and migration, particularly from Italy, helped turn a government scheme into a lasting regional community.