Berri. The early government pumps for irrigating the land here. Installed around 1910.
Berri.
A staging point on the river bank was established at Berri once the paddle steamers started using the river after 1854. Wood was felled in the district and supplied to the hungry steam engines. The actual township of Berri was not established until 1910 as a government irrigation settlement area growing mainly stone fruit and vines like other river settlement areas. Thus by 1918 a distillery had been established and Berri was producing spirits. The distillery became a cooperative business in 1922. It still operates today as Berri Estates Winery and is thought to be the largest winery in Australia. It has been a private company and not a cooperative for many years. Renmano group took it over in 1982; then they were taken over by the Hardy group of companies in 1992. The winery is the largest employer in the district.
The Berri area was originally part of Cobdogla Station run by John Chambers. The government resumed land from the station leasehold to establish the irrigation area here. Surveying work was led by Mr E Loveday, who gave his name to the settlement area near Barmera. The name Berri was adapted from a local Aboriginal word beri-beri which meant ‘wide bend in the river’. Although the town was started in 1911 after the survey it did not progress much until around 1920 with an influx of soldier settlers in the outlying districts. Nearby Glossop was named after Vice Admiral Glossop, Commander of the HMAS Sydney during World War I when it sank the German ship the Emden; and Monash was named after Sir John Monash, (of German Jewish background) who became an Australian general during World War One. He was a most distinguished general and during the 1920s he was regarded as the greatest living Australian. General Monash led Australian armed forces in Egypt and France. A number of the older buildings in Berri date from around 1920 as the town started to boom. The Methodist Church was opened in 1919; the Catholic Church in 1920; the Berri Riverside Hotel began in 1921 etc. The railway arrived in Berri from Paringa and Renmark in 1928. The first big pumping station at Berri was started in 1913. The new bridge across the Murray at Berri, replacing the former ferry service was opened in July 1997 by Premier John Olsen. Beneath the bridge is an excellent Aboriginal dreaming mural.
Berri. The early government pumps for irrigating the land here. Installed around 1910.
Berri.
A staging point on the river bank was established at Berri once the paddle steamers started using the river after 1854. Wood was felled in the district and supplied to the hungry steam engines. The actual township of Berri was not established until 1910 as a government irrigation settlement area growing mainly stone fruit and vines like other river settlement areas. Thus by 1918 a distillery had been established and Berri was producing spirits. The distillery became a cooperative business in 1922. It still operates today as Berri Estates Winery and is thought to be the largest winery in Australia. It has been a private company and not a cooperative for many years. Renmano group took it over in 1982; then they were taken over by the Hardy group of companies in 1992. The winery is the largest employer in the district.
The Berri area was originally part of Cobdogla Station run by John Chambers. The government resumed land from the station leasehold to establish the irrigation area here. Surveying work was led by Mr E Loveday, who gave his name to the settlement area near Barmera. The name Berri was adapted from a local Aboriginal word beri-beri which meant ‘wide bend in the river’. Although the town was started in 1911 after the survey it did not progress much until around 1920 with an influx of soldier settlers in the outlying districts. Nearby Glossop was named after Vice Admiral Glossop, Commander of the HMAS Sydney during World War I when it sank the German ship the Emden; and Monash was named after Sir John Monash, (of German Jewish background) who became an Australian general during World War One. He was a most distinguished general and during the 1920s he was regarded as the greatest living Australian. General Monash led Australian armed forces in Egypt and France. A number of the older buildings in Berri date from around 1920 as the town started to boom. The Methodist Church was opened in 1919; the Catholic Church in 1920; the Berri Riverside Hotel began in 1921 etc. The railway arrived in Berri from Paringa and Renmark in 1928. The first big pumping station at Berri was started in 1913. The new bridge across the Murray at Berri, replacing the former ferry service was opened in July 1997 by Premier John Olsen. Beneath the bridge is an excellent Aboriginal dreaming mural.