Renmark, South Australia facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Renmark South Australia
A view of Renmark from the Murray River
Renmark Location in South Australia
Established	1904 (town) 16 March 2000 (locality)
Postcode(s)	5341
Elevation	31 m (102 ft)
Location	254 km (158 mi) from Adelaide 137 km (85 mi) from Mildura
LGA(s)	District Council of Renmark Paringa
Region	Murray and Mallee
County	Hamley
State electorate(s)	Chaffey
Federal Division(s)	Barker
Mean max temp Mean min temp Annual rainfall 24.8 °C 77 °F 9.6 °C 49 °F 243.7 mm 9.6 in
Localities around Renmark: Renmark North Renmark West Renmark North Renmark North Paringa Renmark West Renmark Paringa Renmark West Renmark South Renmark South Cresent Paringa
Footnotes	Adjoining localities

Renmark is a cool town in South Australia. It's in a country area called the Riverland. You can find it about 254 kilometers northeast of Adelaide, right on the banks of the Murray River. The Sturt Highway, a big road between Adelaide and Sydney, goes through Renmark. It's the last main town you'll see in South Australia if you're driving towards the east. Renmark is also just a few kilometers from the borders of Victoria and New South Wales. It sits about 31 meters above sea level.

History of Renmark

William Chaffey

George Chaffey

The name Renmark might come from an Aboriginal word. Some people think it means "red mud." But the mud in Renmark isn't red, so that might not be right. Another idea is that the name came from "Bookmark," a nearby station. This station was started by the Chambers brothers. A large piece of land from Bookmark was later used for the town. There's also a chance it was named after an early settler, William Renny. The name "Renmark Flat" was first clearly used in newspapers in 1883.

Captain Charles Sturt was the first European explorer to visit this area. He passed through in January 1830. He was exploring the entire Murray River, all the way to Lake Alexandrina.

A settlement started to grow in 1887. This was when the Renmark Irrigation Settlement was created. Two brothers, George and William Chaffey, set it up. They built a system of open drains to use water from the Murray River. This system, called the Renmark Irrigation Trust, helped plant orchards in the area. They pumped water onto the hot, sandy land. This turned the area into a place where lots of fruit could grow, much like California. The Chaffey brothers' business had problems in 1893. After that, the Renmark Irrigation Trust took over managing the irrigation system.

Renmark officially became a town in 1904. It became a municipality, which means it had its own local government, in 1935.

The Paringa Bridge from Renmark. You can see where the railway used to cross between the road lanes.

The Renmark Hotel was very special. It was the first hotel in the British Empire that was owned by the community. It became a famous building in the town.

Renmark got a railway connection to Adelaide on January 31, 1927. The railway line crossed the Paringa Bridge to Paringa. The line was later made longer, going west to Barmera. It was called the Barmera railway line. But the railway closed in 1983. The very last train to cross the bridge was on December 31, 1990.

Important Historic Places

Renmark has several places that are listed as historic sites. This means they are important to protect because of their history.

These include:

• Murray Avenue: Renmark Hotel
• 149 Murray Avenue: Renmark Irrigation Trust Office
• 24 Ral Ral Avenue: Renmark Post Office
• Renmark Avenue: Renmark Distillery Bridge
• Renmark Avenue: Olivewood
• Sturt Highway: Paringa Bridge

Local Government

Renmark is part of a few different government areas. For federal elections, it's in the division of Barker. For state elections, it's in the Chaffey district. Locally, it's part of the Renmark Paringa Council.

Things to Do and See

Renmark is a lively place for the Riverland area. Many different cultures live here. The Murray River is great for fishing, waterskiing, and boating.

The area is famous for growing many things. These include grapes, citrus fruits like oranges, tomatoes, and other vegetables. Farmers also grow wheat and raise sheep for wool. You can see huge fields of orange trees and vineyards. There are also orchards with stone fruit like peaches. Other important crops are almonds and pistachio nuts.

Renmark is also home to the region's only restored paddle steamer, called PS Industry. There are also wine companies and a big rose industry. Every October, Renmark hosts the Renmark Rose Festival.

You can find a shopping center called Renmark Square. It has many popular stores and local businesses. Big stores like Big W and Woolworths are there.

Many places along the river are great for camping. These are popular spots for visitors to Renmark.

Murray River National Park

The Murray River National Park has two parts near Renmark.

• Paringa Paddock is a large area of 1,161 hectares. It includes Goat Island and is located between Renmark and Paringa.
• Bulyong, also called Bulyong Island, is on the west side of the river. It's upstream from Renmark and you can only get there by boat.

Paringa Paddock has riverine woodlands, wetlands, and flat areas near the river. The floodplain is covered with huge river red gum and river box trees. This wetland is a home for koalas, birds, and reptiles. The park is also a fun place for people of all ages. There are walking and biking trails built by the Renmark Paringa Council and local people. Bulyong Island has lots of wildlife. You might see western grey kangaroos, emus, pelicans, kingfishers, and parrots there.

Local News and Radio

The local newspaper is called the Murray Pioneer. It started in 1892 as the Renmark Pioneer and is printed right here in Renmark.

You can watch TV channels from these networks in Renmark:

• ABC Television (ABC)
• SBS Television (SBS)
• WIN Television (7, 9 & 10) as RTS-5A & LRS-34 relays the programming from Seven Network (Seven SA), Nine Network (Nine SA) & Network Ten (Ten SA), Sky News Regional and Fox Sports News, with local commercials inserted.

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) has a local radio station called ABC Riverland (1062 AM). They also broadcast national stations like ABC Radio National (1305 AM), ABC News Radio (93.9 FM), ABC Classic (105.1 FM), and Triple J (101.9 FM).

There are also other radio stations, including 5RM (801 AM), KIX Country (1557 AM), Magic 93.1 (93.1 FM), TAB Racing Network (95.5 FM), and Riverland Life (100.7 FM).

Sports in Renmark

Renmark has several sports teams:

• Renmark Olympic (football)
• Renmark Rovers (Australian rules football)
• Renmark Royals (cricket)

There's a speedway called Riverland Speedway. It's off the Sturt Highway, southwest of town. Here, you can watch stock car racing, sedans, sprint, and speed cars. The track is a 380-meter dirt oval. It has hosted many big Australian Speedway Championships for motorbikes and cars. This includes the Australian Solo Championship and the Australian Sidecar Speedway Championship. In 2009, it hosted the Australian Under-21 Individual Speedway Championship.

The town also has the Renmark Oval. This is a football ground that can hold about 5,000 people. It's the home ground for the Renmark Rovers football team.

Famous People from Renmark

Many notable people have connections to Renmark:

• Thomas Angove, a winemaker, invented the cask (box) wine in 1965.
• Gordon Bilney – a politician.
• Rob Bredl – a documentary filmmaker.
• Rick Burr – a former Chief of Army.
• John Cock (RAF officer) – a flying ace from World War II.
• Syd Heylen – a performer.
• Rex Hobcroft – a musician.
• Ruby Hunter, an Aboriginal singer-songwriter, was born on Goat Island in 1955.
• John Percival Jennings – a horticulturist.
• Cecil Madigan – an explorer and geologist.
• Mark Mickan – an AFL footballer.
• Patricia Mickan – a basketball player.
• The bush poet and soldier Breaker Morant lived in this area in the 1890s.
• Anne Ruston – a politician.
• Nicole Seekamp – a basketball player.
• Dean Semler – a cinematographer.
• Ross Story – a politician.
• Jack Wade – an AFL footballer.

Renmark's Climate

Renmark has a cold desert climate, almost a cold semi-arid climate. This means it has very hot and dry summers. But sometimes, cold weather fronts can still come through. Spring and autumn are warm to mild. Winters are cool and sometimes cloudy. Renmark is surrounded by mallee scrub. It is also located in a grassland area.

Because of where it is, summers in Renmark are a few degrees hotter than in Adelaide. However, Renmark gets more frosts in winter. It also doesn't get as much rain in winter as Adelaide does. The average rainfall in Renmark is about 239.1 mm per year. The most rain usually falls in spring. In summer, rain comes from thunderstorms or cold fronts. In winter, it comes from cold fronts and cloudbands. Spring and autumn get a mix of all three.

The hottest temperature ever recorded in Renmark was 48.6°C on December 20, 2019. The coldest was -6.1°C on June 18, 1998. On January 5, 2020, Renmark had a new record for the lowest maximum temperature in summer, only 15.6°C. This was much colder than any other January low maximum before.

Images for kids

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  A view of Renmark from the Murray River