Living off the land

For early settlers, the land was dry and dusty, and yet a mighty river flowed
through it!

Earning a living in theses times depended on the working of the land and
harnessing the water supply to make it work for them. With the digging of
channels and irrigation came the establishment of fruit blocks - apricots,
peaches, pears, grapes, citrus and plums. Over the years there have been
changing trends in the types of horticulture produced in the area, dependent on the demands of the market.

More recently almonds, avocados, cherries and market gardening have emerged as sustainable crops with valuable export markets. During the early days it was a family affair to pick the various fruits for delivery to the packing sheds, which in turn would wash and pack the fruit for
distribution to the market place. Fruit for drying was placed out on trays or
racks to dry in the sun, with stone fruit needing to be cut in half. This was a
common means of earning money during the holidays for many Riverland
youngsters.

Dry land Farming was established and expanded mainly to the south of the
Murray in the Paringa area, with sheep grazed throughout the Chowilla and
Bookmark Station areas to the north east of Renmark.

Today, many Riverland families and businesses are still dependent on the
horticultural industry to derive incomes and employment. Time has seen the shift from the production of fruit as the main source of income to now
include the subcontracting of horticultural services, transportation, exporting and water leasing.

Fruit Fly

The Fruit Fly Exclusion Zone was established to protect fruit industries within the zone from fruit fly, and Covering fruit production areas in New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia.

To control and prevent any outbreak of fruit fly in South Australia, a manned
road block was established at Yamba in 1957 (17 km east of Renmark on the Sturt Highway) by Primary Industries & Resources SA (PIRSA). All incoming vehicles to South Australia are required to stop, present any fruit and vegetables and have their vehicle searched by roadblock staff. Confiscated items are then checked and destroyed to ensure the threat is averted in our area.

Click here for Fruit Fly information

Our Proud History