Renmark Town Wharf

Development along the Renmark riverfront commenced with the building of the original jarrah Renmark Wharf in 1901 by the Chaffey Brothers, opposite their offices and close to the Chaffey's large workshop on the riverbank. This was replaced in 1909, by a red gum wharf which was better able to resist water rot. The wharf was constructed to cater for all river levels, from floods to low water, with its sloping shape. Throughout the paddle steamer era, Renmark's timber wharf often had boats waiting to load and offload both passengers and produce, with up to twenty boats using the area a week.

The Renmark Wharf was considered the central hub of the town until the mid 1920's when the advent of rail transport saw the end in sight for trade along the Murray River.

The all timber construction and planking was replaced by the current concrete structure in 1979, and still remains a mooring point for the occasional larger vessel and cruising houseboats.

Renmark Packing Sheds

The Renmark Fruit Packing Union was formed in 1894 to handle the marketing of fruit and was the first organisation of its kind along the Murray River. It grew in strength and gained the confidence of the growers with it initially operating out of the old foundry building (current site of the Renmark Club).

Fruit Packing Sheds were erected on the central riverfront in 1901 so fruit could be washed, graded and packed in close proximity to the paddle steamers. The boxes of both dried and fresh fruit were slid down a ramp to be loaded onto the steamers or barges and taken to the Morgan railhead and reloaded for the final journey to the Adelaide markets.

Following a change of name in 1920 to the Renmark Fruit Growers Co-operative Ltd, the packing sheds moved to new premises on Renmark Avenue in 1937 (now the site of the Renmark Plaza), with the existing sheds remodelled to a hardware store which operated on the riverfront until relocated and the sheds demolished in 1994.

Our Proud History