Tailem Bend: In the Murraylands region of South Australia

For many of us Tailem Bend is the place to refuel on the long interstate drive between South Australia and Victoria. It's a fair bet many of us have never turned off the main road to have a look around the historic old town.

If you do you'll find it's dominated by a water tower and Railway Station that were built back in 1913. The railway played a vital role in the development of the village of 1,200 people. Across the tracks you can see some of the old shops and railway workers cottages that were built when Tailem Bend was home to fettlers and guards who serviced the Overland line between Adelaide and Melbourne.

It may look like a town where time has stood still but hop on the community bus and you'll realise there are some chronologically challenged people wandering Tailem's streets. A group of locals act out a play that takes you back in time - to the early days of life in Tailem Bend. It's enough to make you think the place really is a little "round the bend".

Train Guard, Peter Connelly gets things moving on a magical mystery tour in which the common sense is shunted off to a backtrack and your imagination runs riot on the mainline.

"It will not only give us a smooth and enjoyable ride it'll transport us back in time, back to when it was first built the early 1950s. And when we get to the 1950s you'll see that Tailem Bend was a thriving railway town…" Peter tells his passengers. "The railway tracks run right down the centre of the town."

So far so good as we cruise through time - back to the days when the Tailem Bend Pub was the hub of fifties social life especially after a hectic day in the sale yards. But as with all new technology there's an occasional gremlin in the system and today it's courtesy of Mrs. Cross who's crabby because she can't get to the local punt.

Her character takes us back to the 1890s when there were no trains in Tailem Bend. Mrs. Cross should know because she bought the first block when the town was originally surveyed. And during her time she's seen the river trade with its padddlesteamers, and, of course, the Punt.

They may not be on the Academy Awards guest list but the Tailem Bend Performers are a committed bunch of passionate locals who want us to take the detour into their past.

And just how did the town get its name? Well there are several versions but the most popular is that "Tailem" was an aboriginal word meaning bend in the River.

To book your tour into the heart and times of Tailem Bend contact Peter's wife, Doris Connelly.

The Heart of Tailem Bend Tour
The Tailem Bend Performers Group
Contact Doris Connelly (08) 8572 3241