The Renmark Paringa Council is a

local government area A local government area (LGA) is an administrative division of a country that a local government is responsible for. The size of an LGA varies by country but it is generally a subdivision of a federated state, state, province, division (politica ...

located adjacent to the

Victorian Victorian or Victorians may refer to: 19th century * Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign ** Victorian architecture ** Victorian house ** Victorian decorative arts ** Victorian fashion ** Victorian literatur ...

border, in the

Riverland The Riverland is a region of South Australia. It covers an area of along the Murray River, River Murray from where it flows into South Australia from New South Wales and Victoria (Australia), Victoria downstream to Blanchetown, South Australia ...

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

. 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.

History

The earliest inhabitants of the district area were the Naralte aboriginal people, who lived on the food provided by the river and surrounding areas. The word 'Renmark' is thought to be derived from the Naralte word for 'red mud'. The first

European European, or Europeans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe and other West ...

to explore the district was Captain Charles Sturt who rowed a whale boat down the Murrumbidgee in 1829, searching for Australia's 'inland sea' and reached the junction with the Murray River on 14 January 1830. The Canadian Chaffey brothers are honoured as founders of Renmark, and were invited to Australia to create an

irrigation Irrigation (also referred to as watering of plants) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow crops, landscape plants, and lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,000 years and has bee ...

colony at

Mildura Mildura ( ) is a regional city in north-west Victoria, Australia. Located on the Victorian side of the Murray River, Mildura had a population of 34,565 at the 2021 census. When nearby Wentworth, Irymple, Nichols Point, Merbein and Red ...

. After delays in the Mildura project, an agreement for the establishment of an irrigation colony at Renmark was signed in 1887.

Vineyard A vineyard ( , ) is a plantation of grape-bearing vines. Many vineyards exist for winemaking; others for the production of raisins, table grapes, and non-alcoholic grape juice. The science, practice and study of vineyard production is kno ...

s and fruit blocks slowly emerged throughout the district, sealing the fate of the district as a fruit and wine growing region. In 1893, the ‘Renmark Irrigation Trust’ was established to provide water to the growers. In the early years, the Trust also played the primary role in the administration and governing of the settlement. The 'Town of Renmark' and the 'District Council of Paringa' were established not long after. The Renmark Paringa Council came into existence on 1 July 1996 with the amalgamation of the District Council of Paringa and the

Town of Renmark A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

Geography

Renmark and Paringa are the largest towns and the centres of the district; it also contains a number of smaller towns and localities, including Chaffey, Cooltong,

Crescent A crescent shape (, ) is a symbol or emblem used to represent the lunar phase (as it appears in the northern hemisphere) in the first quarter (the "sickle moon"), or by extension a symbol representing the Moon itself. In Hindu iconography, Hind ...

, Gurra Gurra, Lyrup, Mundic Creek, Murtho, Old Calperum, Pike River, Renmark South, Renmark West, Wonuarra and Yamba, and parts of Monash and Renmark North.

Economy

The towns in the district are heavily reliant on irrigated

orchard An orchard is an intentional plantation of trees or shrubs that is maintained for food production. Orchards comprise fruit tree, fruit- or nut (fruit), nut-producing trees that are generally grown for commercial production. Orchards are also so ...

s and

vineyard A vineyard ( , ) is a plantation of grape-bearing vines. Many vineyards exist for winemaking; others for the production of raisins, table grapes, and non-alcoholic grape juice. The science, practice and study of vineyard production is kno ...

s, with water supplied by the river. Sheep grazing and dryland farming of various cereal crops are the main land uses east of the river, with farming and horticulture to the west of the river. While wine grape production is the most important industry, there are also large nut and

citrus ''Citrus'' is a genus of flowering trees and shrubs in the family Rutaceae. Plants in the genus produce citrus fruits, including important crops such as oranges, mandarins, lemons, grapefruits, pomelos, and limes. ''Citrus'' is nativ ...

plantations in the region, as well as vegetable and

stone fruit In botany, a drupe (or stone fruit) is a type of fruit in which an outer fleshy part (exocarp, or skin, and mesocarp, or flesh) surrounds a single shell (the ''pip'' (UK), ''pit'' (US), ''stone'', or ''pyrena'') of hardened endocarp with a seed ...

production. Tourism is an important component of the economy, especially during summer school holidays. The district experiences in an influx of tourists during this period, attracted mainly by the

River Murray The Murray River (in South Australia: River Murray; Ngarrindjeri: ''Millewa'', Yorta Yorta: ''Dhungala'' or ''Tongala'') is a river in Southeastern Australia. It is Australia's longest river at extent. Its tributaries include five of the n ...

Houseboat A houseboat is a boat that has been designed or modified to be used primarily for regular dwelling. Most houseboats are not motorized, as they are usually moored or kept stationary, fixed at a Berth (moorings), berth, and often tethered to ...

s are common along the stretch of river in the district, with other water sports such as

water skiing Water skiing (also waterskiing or water-skiing) is a surface water sport in which an individual is pulled behind a boat or a cable ski installation over a body of water, skimming the surface on one or two skis. The sport requires sufficien ...

jet skiing A personal watercraft (PWC), also called Jet Ski or water scooter, is a primarily recreational watercraft that is designed to hold only a small number of occupants, who sit or stand on top of the craft, not within the craft as in a boat. P ...

and fishing common. There is a wide range of accommodation in the district.

Councillors

The Renmark Paringa Council has a directly-elected mayor.

References

External links