Bow view of 'P.S. Lancashire Lass' with 'P.S. Tarella' at Goolwa and workmen loading cargo on wharf, with rail truck 1900
Growth of Goolwa River Port (Heyday 1850's to 1890's)
The Goolwa Wharf: South Australia’s River Port (1850–2020)
Goolwa, at the mouth of the River Murray in South Australia, emerged in the mid-nineteenth century as Australia’s first major inland river port and one of the busiest nodes of Murray–Darling trade. Its wharf precinct linked Murray River paddle steamers with coastal transport, supported a vibrant shipbuilding industry, and helped drive local commerce. Over the succeeding century and a half, changes in transport, river management and economic patterns transformed Goolwa from a bustling trade hub to a heritage and tourism centre
View of Goolwa Ferry 1900
When It all started
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The original Goolwa Wharf was constructed in 1852 on the Murray’s lower reaches at the urging of Governor Henry Fox Young, to act as a terminus for river trade heading to ocean vessels. Goolwa’s location near the Murray Mouth offered the shortest link between Australia’s inland rivers and coastal ports, but challenging sandbars and currents at the mouth itself made direct sea access difficult.
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To overcome this, the Goolwa–Port Elliot Railway was built, opening in 1853. This was Australia’s first public railway and initially operated with horse traction; its purpose was to move goods between the river port at Goolwa and safer anchorage for deep-sea shipping at Port Elliot. The line was later extended to Victor Harbor by 1864.
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Trade, Shipbuilding and Industry (1850s–1880s)
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During the 1850s to 1880s, Goolwa was one of Australia’s most important river ports, handling outward freight of wool and inward goods for stations and communities upriver. Goods were landed at the wharf, transferred to the horse or steam railway to reach coastal ships, or brought by rail to Port Victor. The wharf was extended multiple times—in 1866, rebuilt in 1874, and again extended in 1878
to accommodate rising trade volumes.
Shipbuilding and Maritime Works
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Goolwa became a major centre of riverboat construction and repair. Between 1853 and 1913, 37 paddle steamers and 23 barges were built there, making it the second most productive Murray River shipbuilding town after Echuca (Victoria). Its shipyards and workshops especially the Goolwa Iron Works and Patent Slip established in 1864
employed skilled tradespeople and produced both hulls and machinery.
some Of the Boats built at Goolwa
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PS Industry (built 1910) — a government-commissioned paddle steamer for snagging and maintenance of the river, instrumental in keeping channels navigable for decades.explore.history.sa.gov.au+1
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Prince Alfred (1867) — government vessel.Flickr
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Canberra (1912) — diesel paddle steamer.Flickr
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Many others recorded in 19th-century registers include Eureka, Goolwa, Avoca, Darling, Wentworth, Queen, Miriam, Express, Princess Royal, Victor, Kookaburra, Renmark.
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Other regional riverboats built elsewhere, but often serving the Goolwa wharf trade, include vessels such as the PS Oscar W (1908, built in Echuca, later restored and now based at Goolwa as a tourist steamer).
Side view of P.S. Industry on Goolwa slip, November 1923, when under command of Captain Harry Brand. 1923 Mod v1
Industries and Commerce at the Wharf
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Beyond shipbuilding, the Goolwa wharf precinct supported a range of local industries during its commercial peak:
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Wool export, wool from the Murray and Mallee regions was brought downriver for export to England.
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Agricultural supplies and general freight goods and machinery were shipped inland.
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Sawmills and breweries, local saw mills processed timber and breweries operated to serve workers and residents.
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A notable brewery was run by Edward Dutton from 1864 to 1879.
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Flour milling, a flour mill once stood near the wharf (demolished by the 1920s).
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The wharf precinct included associated rail facilities, warehouses and turntables where rail wagons were swung to align with moored vessels to load and unload cargo.
The Wharf at Goolwa. A crowd of people are near the Paddle Steamer 'Trafalgar', and their cars are parked nearby 1921 v1 mod.jpg
Proposed Canal: Aspirations and Realities
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In the early planning of Goolwa as a major port, proposals were made for canals or dredged channels to allow safe navigation through the Murray Mouth directly into the Southern Ocean. In practice, however, the Murray Mouth’s shifting sandbars and strong currents proved intractable without massive engineering works, and the canal idea was never realised as a commercial solution in the nineteenth century. This limitation was a key reason the railway link to the coast was prioritised instead.
Proposed canal and railway Goolwa to Port Elliot
​Rise of Alternative Transport
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By the late 1870s, changes in transport infrastructure began to undermine river trade’s dominance:
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The railway from Morgan to Port Adelaide opened in 1878, providing a more efficient route for wool and goods, which began to eclipse Goolwa’s river-rail transfer system and diminish its trade volumes.
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As rail networks expanded, freight increasingly bypassed the Murray mouth route, diverting to more direct inland rail-to-port corridors.
As a consequence, Goolwa’s prominence as a river port waned from the 1880s onward. Although trade continued, river cargo volumes declined steadily, and the local shipbuilding industry faded as demand fell in the early 20th century.
River and Infrastructure Changes
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Later twentieth-century developments such as river regulation, construction of barrages to maintain freshwater upstream (including the Goolwa Barrage completed in 1940), and broader irrigation strategies altered the river’s hydrology and economic patterns, further reducing commercial navigation.
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End of Commercial Use
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By the mid-1900s, commercial trade at the Goolwa wharf had largely disappeared, with rail and road transport dominating freight flows. The railway station (opened in 1854) itself closed in 1984 and now survives as a heritage site. Wikipedia
Goolwa Wharf loading Bails
Heritage and Modern Use (1980s–2020)
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From the late twentieth century onward, Goolwa’s wharf precinct has been preserved as a heritage area reflecting its nineteenth-century importance. In 1987 the inner town, including the wharf and tramway precinct, was declared a State Heritage Area to protect historic buildings and infrastructure.Department for Environment and Water
Today the precinct is a tourism and cultural hub, featuring:
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The Goolwa Riverboat Centre and interpretive exhibits on river trade.My WordPress
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Heritage rail experiences such as the SteamRanger Cockle Train.My WordPress
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Cruises on historic paddle steamers, notably PS Oscar W.Wikipedia
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Cafés, distilleries and modern moorings complementing the historic backdrop.My WordPress
Heritage walking trails and cultural plans developed with Ngarrindjeri custodians now highlight shared histories at the waterfront.Alexandrina Council
Initially a hours drawn tram was used on the railway
Armstrong’s Slip and the Goolwa Foundry
The slipway and foundry precinct at Goolwa was a core part of the town’s maritime industrial base during the peak years of river trade. Located on the Harbors Board Reserve off Liverpool Road, the Goolwa Patent Slip and Iron Works were established in 1864 to construct and repair river vessels servicing the Murray River trade. The facility combined a patent slipway (for hauling craft out of the water) with a foundry and engineering works capable of producing steam engines, cast iron components, paddle wheels and other machinery.
Armstrong’s Slip and the Goolwa Foundry
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An essential component of Goolwa’s maritime and industrial capability was Armstrong’s Slip and Foundry, which together underpinned the town’s reputation as a centre for riverboat construction, repair and heavy engineering during the latter half of the nineteenth century.
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Armstrong’s Slip
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Armstrong’s Slip, established in the 1860s by shipwright Alexander Armstrong, was a patent slipway constructed adjacent to the wharf precinct. It allowed paddle steamers and barges to be hauled clear of the water for hull repairs, maintenance and rebuilding—an invaluable service in an era when riverboats regularly suffered damage from snags, grounding and wear.
The slip was capable of handling large Murray River steamers and was used not only by locally built vessels but also by boats operating across the Lower Murray and Lake Alexandrina. Regular slipping and refitting extended the working life of riverboats and reduced downtime, reinforcing Goolwa’s role as a service hub rather than merely a transshipment point.
Armstrong’s Slip became particularly important after the decline of Port Elliot as a maritime outlet, when Goolwa increasingly functioned as a maintenance and construction centre rather than a primary export port.
Goolwa Wharf and Railway yards empty of shipping or locomotives. 1920 mod v1
The Goolwa Foundry
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Closely associated with the slip was the Goolwa Foundry, sometimes referred to in records as the Goolwa Iron Works. Established in 1864, the foundry produced a wide range of iron and steel components essential to river trade and regional industry. These included:
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Paddle wheels and shafts
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Boilers and steam engines
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Winches, anchors and fittings
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Railway and tramway components
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Agricultural and industrial castings
The foundry allowed vessels to be designed, built, engined and repaired entirely at Goolwa, a rare level of industrial integration for a regional town in colonial Australia. This capability explains why so many paddle steamers and barges—at least 37 steamers and more than 20 barges between 1853 and 1913—were constructed at or outfitted in Goolwa.
Notably, government vessels such as PS Industry were built and maintained using local facilities, reinforcing the strategic importance of the foundry to navigation, snagging and river management operations well into the twentieth century.​
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Key Dates
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1864 – Foundry and patent slip established as the Goolwa Patent Slip and Iron Works.
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1867 – Purchased by Abraham Graham; C.F. Curson appointed manager; first Goolwa-built paddle steamer P.S. Ariel launched.
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1870s – Peak workforce: the slip and foundry employed 30–40 skilled tradespeople (shipwrights, boilermakers, foundrymen and engineers).
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1885 – Foundry plant sold to the Chaffey Brothers for use in their Renmark irrigation works; principal industrial machinery removed.
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1891 onward – Slip continued operation under lease to private operators, even as large-scale shipbuilding had ceased.
Economic and Social Significance​
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Together, Armstrong’s Slip and the foundry:
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Provided skilled employment for shipwrights, boilermakers, engineers and labourers
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Supported ancillary industries such as timber milling and transport
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Anchored Goolwa’s identity as a working industrial port, not just a transfer station
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Their presence softened the economic impact of declining river trade in the late nineteenth century by diversifying local activity into construction and repair rather than relying solely on cargo throughput.
1914 View across the foredeck of 'P.S. Mayflower', with a large catch of fish strung across on a pole, and three men standing nearby. According to a researcher, The boy in the centre Walter Leo Dyer, la
Workforce and Industrial Scale
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By the 1870s, the patent slip and foundry employed roughly 30–40 men, including:
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Shipwrights and boat carpenters
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Blacksmiths and boiler makers
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Foundry workers for iron casting
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Engineers for engines, paddle wheels and fittings
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This workforce reflected a substantial industrial base for a regional colonial port in nineteenth-century Australia.
The Government warehouse vessel Prince Alfred under construction at Goolwa
Decline and Legacy
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By the early twentieth century, reduced demand for new paddle steamers, the transition to rail and road transport, and the centralisation of heavy engineering in Adelaide led to the gradual decline of both the slip and the foundry. As steam navigation contracted, maintenance work diminished, and by mid-century these facilities had ceased industrial operation.
Today, Armstrong’s Slip and the foundry survive primarily through heritage interpretation, archaeological remains and documentary records. Their legacy remains central to understanding how Goolwa functioned not only as a port, but as a self-sufficient industrial river town during the peak years of the Murray River trade.
In Conclusion
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The Goolwa Wharf precinct exemplifies the rise and fall of river-based trade in Australia. Its strategic placement at the Murray Mouth, early transport innovations (including Australia’s first public railway), and vibrant shipbuilding and trade industries made it a crucial link in nineteenth-century commerce. Over time, competitive rail links, changing transport economics and river management policies diminished its commercial role. Today, its legacy endures through preserved buildings, interpretive sites, heritage rail and steam boat experiences that connect modern visitors with this formative era of Australian inland trade.
“The past is not dead, it is living in us, and will be alive in the future generations.”
WILLIAM FAULKNER