The Wellington Court House and Museum

Wellington
Small historic town on the banks of the Murray River
Located 105 km south-east of Adelaide, Wellington is a very tiny settlement which is really nothing more than a couple of dozen houses on the banks of the Murray River.

Prior to European settlement the area around Wellington was home to the Ngarrindjeri people (they are the same people who fought over secret women's business at Goolwa). They made bark and reed canoes and lived on the fish and the animals which came to the riverbank.

The Ngarrindjeri people were decimated by the arrival of Europeans. The combination of smallpox (which raged all the way up the Murray River) and massacres saw the numbers drop dramatically through the nineteenth century.

The first European into the area was Captain Charles Sturt who, being assigned to solve the great mystery of why so many rivers flowed westward from the Great Dividing Range (often known as the question of whether Australia had an 'inland sea') rowed a whale boat down the Murrumbidgee in late 1829 and reached the present site of Wellington, at the mouth of the Murray river, on 9 February, 1830.

Following Sturt the whole area along the Murray was opened up particularly by overlanders who moved sheep and cattle across the land. It was the colonial land developed, John Morphett, who saw Wellington's potential. By 1839 Wellington had become one of the most important settlements on the Murray. The ferry which was established that year and the town became the only point where traffic could cross the Murray.

In 1840 a township was surveyed, most of it for John Morphett who had bought large tracts of land in the area, and named after the Duke of Wellington. It grew rapidly as a major transportation stopover point. It was the first stop for paddlesteamers plying the Murray north of Goolwa. It was the stopover point for people crossing the river from Adelaide to Victoria. And,during the 1850s, it became an important point on the gold run from the Victorian goldfields across to Adelaide.

When the bridge across the Murray was completed at Murray Bridge the town declined in importance. Today it is an interesting stopover because the buildings are genuinely interesting. It is also true that this is the widest crossing of the Murray. It gives the traveller an appreciation of the importance of the river.

Things to see:  

Wellington Courthouse
The Wellington Court House is a National Trust building. The Police Station, Ferry House and Postal and Telegraph Offices were all part of the Court House complex which was the site of the first police station in Wellington in 1841. A new building was built in 1849 and the present building in 1864. The stores and stables were attached the following year in 1865. Now known as the Court House Tea Rooms it serves teas and light lunches. It is an ideal waiting place for the ferry - although it crosses the river at regular and short intervals. For more details contact (08) 8572 7330.

Wellington Hotel
The hotel has a very modern facade which makes it look like just another hotel. In fact the original Wellington Hotel was opened as early as 1846. It enjoys a delightful location on the banks of the Murray with views across the river just upstream from the ferry.

East Wellington Hotel
On the freeway into Wellington you pass the original East Wellington Hotel which was built around 1860 and subsequently converted into the Post Office and Telegraph Station. It is now nothing more than a ruin.

Poltalloch Station

Poltalloch Homestead
Built in 1876 at Narrung this beautiful Victorian mansion is a reminder of the wealth that was generated in the area at this time. Today it is still a working farm being operated by the descendants of John Bowman who established it as a sheep and cattle station. The outbuildings resemble a small village and include substantial stables, a coach house, barns, a woolshed and the manager's accommodation. It is open for tours and overnight accommodation. Bookings are essential. Contact (08) 8574 0043.

	Hotels
	Wellington Hotel Mason St Wellington SA 5259 Telephone: (08) 8572 7206
	Bed & Breakfast/Guesthouses
	Poltalloch Station Guesthouse PMB 3 via Tailem Bend 5260 Wellington SA 5259 Telephone: (08) 8574 0043 Facsimile: (08) 8574 0065 Rating: ***
	Wellington Court House Bed & Breakfast Mason St Wellington SA 5259 Telephone: (08) 8572 7330 Facsimile: (08) 8572 7139 Rating: ***
	Caravan Parks
	Wellington Caravan Park Mason St Wellington SA 5259 Telephone: (08) 8572 7302 Rating: *
	Restaurants
	Wellington Court House Restaurant Mason St Wellington SA 5259 Telephone: (08) 8572 7330