River Murray Towns: Berri

• Berri is approximately 255 kilometres north east of Adelaide.
• The town's name derives from a local Aboriginal word that means a 'wide bend in the river' or was the name of a kind of plant.
• The first European settlers in the Berri district in the 1870s and '80s established a woodpile on the banks of the river to provide fuel for the passing steamers.
• The town of Berri was established in 1911 as a government irrigation settlement, but some settlers had established their own small-scale irrigation systems prior to this.
• The population of the Berri area increased during and after the First World War when the soldier settlement scheme settled returned soldiers on farming land.
• Berri is now a major winemaking, fruit growing and fruit processing centre.
• The small nearby town of Glossop is home to the biggest single winery and distillery in Australia.
• One of Berri's major tourist attractions is the Big Orange.

Further reading

Berri: hub of the Upper Murray (in SA): jubilee year 1910-1960: souvenir brochure, [Berri, SA: sn, 1960].

River reflections: Berri - the 75 years from 1911 to 1986, [Berri, SA]: Berri Jubilee Committee, [1986].

Links

Discovering Berri Barmera

MurrayRiver.com - Berri