The numerous private moorings at Goolwa

Goolwa (including Hindmarsh Island)
Attractive and unusual town which was once the main entry port on the Murray River.
Located only 83 km from Adelaide, Goolwa (it is said that 'goolwa' is a Ngarrindjeri word meaning 'elbow') is an historic port which is now an upmarket holiday resort for Adelaide people. It is only an hour's drive from Adelaide. The town has been given a very self-consciously Heritage feel by painting local buildings, like the Goolwa Hotel, in heritage colours and getting some feeling of harmony in the main street. Genuinely old hotels like the Corio Hotel have been refurbished and revitalised so they look excellent. Along with this 'gentrification' of what was once the main seaside (although it was inland) port on the Murray River has come an overpowering local desire to 'develop' the area which has brought Goolwa, and its battle with the local Ngarrindjeri Aboriginal people over Hindmarsh Island, to the attention of all Australians.

The area of South Australia which now stretches from Lake Alexandrina and the mouth of the Murray River around through Goolwa to Port Elliot developed as a unified whole. By 1829 Captain Charles Sturt had made his historic journey down the Murray River and there was a feeling that a settlement should be established near the mouth of the river so that the inland could be opened up.

In 1837 Colonel William Light, responding to this interest, inspected the area around the mouth of the Murray and concluded that the land was poor and the mouth of the river was probably not navigable. The following year Sturt endorsed Light's view that the mouth of the Murray could not be made safe for navigation. This led to the establishment of Adelaide on Gulf St Vincent but there was still a body of support for the utilisation of the Murray River and a number of proposals (most involving safer harbours and moving goods overland to points further up the river) were suggested.

Eventually a decision was made that Goolwa would become the last point for shipping on the Murray River (it was located on the last bend before the river entered the sea) and there was a debate as to whether Victor Harbour or Port Elliot would be the ocean port. It was eventually decided that Port Elliot was the best location but this was probably based on its proximity to Goolwa and the belief that a canal could be constructed between the two locations. In 1851 it was agreed to build a railway between Port Elliot and Goolwa at a cost of £20,000. It ended up costing £31,000 and wasn't completed until 1854. It was, by any conventional measure, a bit of a disaster. It rarely made a profit and the trains carrying the goods travelled at about 10 km/h and had to be unloaded before the goods could be moved to the ships because the waters at Port Elliot were too shallow and the jetty was not long enough. After a decade in which no fewer than seven ships were wrecked off the coast, the port was moved to Victor Harbor.

By 1853 paddle steamers were operating on the Murray. The first two steamers were the 'Mary Ann' captained by William Randell and the 'Lady Augusta' captained by Francis Cadell. Both left from Goolwa and travelled up river as far as Swan Hill.

The town of Goolwa had been surveyed as early as 1840 but it was resurveyed in 1853 and blocks were sold for around £20. That same year a road was constructed between Goolwa and Port Elliot and by 1860 there was a road over the hills to Adelaide. In 1857 it was officially proclaimed a port (the first inland port in Australia) and, with the construction of wharves and stores, it grew quickly servicing the vast inland of western New South Wales and Queensland. At its peak in the 1880s about 25 000 bales of wool per year were passing through the port. A decade later, because the railway had taken away most of the business which had previously operated on the river, Goolwa's importance as a port had all but disappeared.

The Goolwa Barrage was completed in 1940 at a cost of £700,000.

Things to see:  

Signal Point Centre
A good place to start any exploration of Goolwa is Signal Point, a handsome modern building located at the Wharf near the ferry across to Hindmarsh Island. The Centre was completed in 1988, opened by Prince Charles, and is devoted to the Murray River in all its glory and complexity. There is an extensive photographic display, a history of human relationships with the river, lots of information on the old river boats which used to ply the river, and it offers an excellent explanation of how Goolwa fits into the history of the Murray. It is open seven days a week from 10.00 a.m. - 5.00 p.m. For more details contact (08) 8555 3488.

The Goolwa and Port Elliot Council Chambers

Historic Buildings
In 1987 the inner section of Goolwa was declared a State Heritage Area because of its importance as a river port from the 1850s to the 1880s. There is a brochure available which lists all the major buildings in this area. They include the Council Chambers in Cadell Street which incorporate the original Town Hall (1860) and which were modernised in 1878 and 1907; the Goolwa Hotel in Cadell Street which dates from 1853 and has the figurehead from the Mozambique out the front; the bow-fronted shop over the road from the hotel which dates from the 1850s; the attractive Soldiers Memorial Gardens in the middle of the town centre which were completed in 1917 and built on the site where the horse tramway used to go; the Post Office (built in 1857 and used by tramway passengers until 1872) in Goolwa Terrace opposite the Gardens; the Old Police Station and Court House in Goolwa Terrace which was built between 1859-74; the former railway horse stables behind the Post Office where the horses which pulled the train from Goolwa to Port Elliot were stabled (built 1862); the railway cutting behind the post office which dates from 1852; the Corio and former Australasian Hotels on the corner opposite the post office (both these buildings date from 1857 when the town was at its height - the Australasian closed in 1934 and was used as an office for the building of the Goolwa barrage until 1940) and, closer to the river, the Customs House (1859) which was built when Goolwa was proclaimed a port. At the back of this important collection of buildings is the Railway Superintendants House, known as the Round House, which dates from 1852 and is the oldest house in the town.

The Goolwa Print Room and Gallery which is attached to the Goolwa Museum

National Trust Museum
Located in an old Blacksmiths shop which was built around 1872, the town's National Trust Museum has an excellent collection of items which give the visitor an insight into the history of the Goolwa and Hindmarsh Island. It is located on Porter Street. For details of opening times contact (08) 8555 2221.

The Cockle Train
The steam train, a reminder of the origins of the town and the whole region, only runs during the school holidays but it runs three times a day from Goolwa to Victor Harbor stopping at Port Elliot. Details: (08) 8555 2691.

The Barrages
On the way out to the Barrages there is a special Bird Watching Hide where people can sit and observe the local birds. The Goolwa Barrage is open to visitors from 8.00 a.m. - 5.30 p.m. and it simply a question of walking through some rather pleasant and well tended gardens to reach the barrage where the sea water is separated from the fresh water of Lake Alexandrina.

Hindmarsh Island
In recent times Hindmarsh Island has been the subject of on-going problems between developers and the local Ngarrindjeri Aborigines. In essence there has been an attempt to build a bridge from Goolwa across to the island (like most local developments there is an inability to realise that there is something quite delightful about the ferry crossing) which has been the subject of numerous court appeals by the Ngarrindjeri who have argued that the bridge will materially damage a number of sacred sites. Given the appalling way the early settlers in the area treated the Ngarrindjeri (for more details read 'Conquest of the Ngarrindjeri' by Graham Jenkin) this ongoing insensitivity to their needs and requests is fairly typical of attitudes which have existed in the area for over a century. At the moment the ferry trip to the island is free.

Cruises
There are a number of cruise options (up the Murray, along the Coorong, across to Hindmarsh Island) which are available from Goolwa. For more information contact Goolwa Cruises (08) 8555 2203 or Coorong Experience (08) 8555 1133

	Tourist Information
	Goolwa Tourist Information Centre Cnr Cadell St & Goolwa Tce Goolwa SA 5214 Telephone: (08) 8555 1144 Facsimile: (08) 8555 3603
	Motels
	Rivers End Resort Motel Noble Ave Goolwa SA 5214 Telephone: (08) 8555 5033 Rating: ***
	South Lakes Motel Barrage Rd Goolwa SA 5214 Telephone: (08) 8555 2194 Rating: ***
	Goolwa Central Motel 30 Cadell St Goolwa SA 5214 Telephone: (08) 8555 1155 Rating: ***
	Hotels
	Corio Hotel Railway Tce Goolwa SA 5214 Telephone: (08) 8555 2011
	Goolwa Camping & Tourist Park Lot 40 Kessell Rd Goolwa SA 5214 Telephone: (08) 8555 2144 Rating: **
	Goolwa Hotel 7 Cadell St Goolwa SA 5214 Telephone: (08) 8555 2012
	Bed & Breakfast/Guesthouses
	Birks Harbour Bed & Breakfast 138 Liverpool Rd River Port Goolwa SA 5214 Telephone: (08) 8555 0338, 0412 757 209 Facsimile: (08) 8555 5440 Rating: ****
	Goolwa Cottage Bed & Breakfast 3 Hays St Goolwa SA 5214 Telephone: (08) 8555 1021 Facsimile: (08) 8555 1450
	P.S. Federal Paddlesteamer Barrage Rd Goolwa SA 5214 Telephone: (08) 8362 6229 Facsimile: (08) 8232 0545
	Cottages & Cabins
	Goolayyahlee Cottage 13 Eaton Ave Goolwa SA 5214 Telephone: (08) 8311 1120 Rating: **
	Holiday Cottages Goolwa 14 Hutchinson St Goolwa SA 5214 Telephone: (08) 8555 3601 Rating: ***
	Goolwa Camping & Tourist Park Lot 40 Kessell Rd P.O. Box 329 Goolwa SA 5214 Telephone: (08) 8555 2144 or 0438 399 344 Rating: **
	Goolwa Caravan Park Noble Ave P.O. Box 329 Goolwa SA 5214 Telephone: (08) 8555 2737 Facsimile: (08) 8555 1095 Rating: ***1/2
	Farm & Eco Holidays
	Narnu Park Homestead Hindmarsh Island Goolwa SA 5214 Telephone: (08) 8555 2010, 1800 066 297 Facsimile: (08) 8555 2633
	Narnu Pioneer Farm Monument Rd Hindmarsh Island Goolwa SA 5214 Telephone: (08) 8555 2002 Rating: **
	Lodges & Chalets
	Foresters Lodge Cottage 1 Hay St Goolwa SA 5214 Telephone: (08) 8362 6229 or (08) 8232 0545 Rating: ***
	Grahams Castle Lodge Cnr Castle Ave & Bradford Rd Goolwa SA 5214 Telephone: (08) 8555 2182 Rating: **
	Riverbank Lodge Cottage 28 Edison St Goolwa SA 5214 Telephone: (08) 8555 2002 Rating: ***
	Caravan Parks
	Goolwa Hindmarsh Island Caravan Park Madsen St Hindmarsh Island Goolwa SA 5214 Telephone: (08) 8555 2234 Rating: **
	Goolwa Camping & Tourist Park Lot 40 Kessell Rd P.O. Box 329 Goolwa SA 5214 Telephone: (08) 8555 2144 or 0438 399 344 Rating: **1/2
	Goolwa Caravan Park Noble Ave P.O. Box 329 Goolwa SA 5214 Telephone: (08) 8555 2737 Facsimile: (08) 8555 1095 Rating: ***
	Camping & Other
	Lord's of Goolwa Homestay 3 Admiral Tce Goolwa SA 5214 Telephone: (08) 8555 1515
	Restaurants
	Andrea's River Port Restaurant Cadell St Goolwa SA 5214 Telephone: (08) 8555 5655
	Goolwa Central Motel Cadell St Goolwa SA 5214 Telephone: (08) 8555 1155
	Goolwa South Lakes Restaurant Barrage Rd Goolwa SA 5214 Telephone: (08) 8555 2194
	Graham's Castle Castle Ave Goolwa SA 5214 Telephone: (08) 8555 2182
	Rivers End Resort Motel Noble Ave Goolwa SA 5214 Telephone: (08) 8555 3300
	South Lakes Motel Barrage Rd Goolwa SA 5214 Telephone: (08) 8555 2194
	Whistle Stop Cafe & Antiques Hay St Goolwa SA 5214 Telephone: (08) 8555 1171