Mannum, South Australia

Mannum is a historic town on the west bank of the Murray River in South Australia, 84km east of Adelaide. At the 2011 census, Mannum had a population of 2,164. Mannum is the seat of the Mid Murray Council, and is situated in both the State Electoral District of Schubert and the federal Division of Barker.HistoryThe Aboriginal inhabitants and traditional owners of the vicinity now called Mannum were the Nganguruku (Nganguruga), part of the larger Ngayawung community. In 1830 the Sturt expedition passed through the area by boat. No Europeans visited again until 25 January 1838 when the expedition of Dr George Imlay and John Hill, on horseback from Adelaide, became the first to reach the Murray overland within South Australia. They noted that the thriving Indigenous population were very keen fisherfolk.The first European settlement in the area was in 1840. The first ship (a side-wheel paddle steamer) built on the Murray River was launched at Mannum by William Randell in 1852. A shipbuilding industry continued in Mannum until into the 20th century. William Randell is memorialised by the preservation of the boiler the Paddle Wheeler; Mary Ann in the town's recreation park. His dry dock held the Marion, an 1897 built paddle wheeler; managed by the National Trust of Australia as a museum. The Marion left active service in 1950 and spent until 1963 as a boarding house. The Marion was recommissioned in 1994 and currently operates as a daytrip and overnight cruising vessel along the Murray.