Wellington: With Lisa McAskill in the Riverland region of South Australia

Wellington is in the news a lot lately as a possible site for a weir to counter the effects of the drought. It's a controversial plan, which has put the town on the map - according to the locals, for all the wrong reasons.

But it's not the first time this sleepy little town on the banks of the Murray has played an important role in South Australian history. Way back in the mid 1800s Wellington was a bustling town at the only crossing point over the river.

It's still a crossing point - but according to Trevor Elliott, the modern ferry is a little faster and a whole lot more efficient than some of the earlier services.

Trevor Elliott: "The first ferry was a stick ferry - it had no motor on it, no engine and it had one cable - it was very small and they actually used a stick arrangement on it to manipulate it."

Trevor should know - he was a ferryman on the river for 40 years most of the time here at Wellington.

Call in to the courthouse and police station museum and you'll learn how the town even played an important part in saving the Colony's struggling economy. In the mid 1850s, this was once home to a team of mounted troopers who escorted gold shipments from the Victorian Goldfields to Adelaide. Led by Police Commissioner, Alexander Tolmer, the gold escorts helped stabilise the Colonial budget.

As settlement spread so did the town. There were five pubs in town - the first was the Wellington. The pub's modern facade hides the original stone wall, which dates back to 1864. Posters on the wall boast 'first class accommodation' and promise 'excellent shooting, fishing and other sports'. Ambitious plans were drawn up to subdivide the land but sand drifts and erosion caused by the tens of thousands of sheep and cattle being overlanded put a stop to that.

Ivy Kluske, Wellington Resident: "Some of my ancestors came through here on a bullock train and went through to Portland in Victoria and they were actually bogged in sand coming down to the ferry."

The locals love it for being a sleepy little holiday town now but they enjoy sharing a story or two about their town's more colourful history.

Trevor: "A chap was tried at the Wellington Courthouse for vagrancy - for having no means of support. They locked him up in the cells at the back of the courthouse and when they stripped him off he had a wooden leg and when they wound his wooden leg off he had a leg full of money. He wasn't vagrant at all."

Wellington is a terrific place to begin exploring Lake Alexandrina, the Murray River or the Coorong. The Wellington Hotel has meals and accommodation not to mention a great view over the river. Call into the Courthouse Museum for a look at range of historical photos. The Courthouse Bed and Breakfast is right next door.

Wellington Hotel
Mason St
Wellington
Ph 8572 7206

Courthouse Museum
Mason St
Wellington

Published 27th April 2008