World War Two hastened the need for industrial development in Australia and the post-war period emphasised the country's need to adopt newer methods of development to achieve growth.

As South Australia engaged in more secondary industry and the population increased, reliable water supplies became a major concern. The available sites for reservoirs to hold surface run-off had already been exploited and it became clear that piping water from the River Murray would be the most significant means to increase water supply to settled areas for the future.

Construction began on the Mannum-Adelaide Pipeline in 1951 and by 1955 the line was supplying water to Adelaide. This film footage showing scenes of the construction of the Mannum-Adelaide Pipeline in the early 1950s was taken by amateur filmmaker Ron Axer. Axer, a returned service-man and newsagent in Mannum, recorded many local River scenes and events between 1950 and 1974.

South Australia. Engineering and Water Supply Dept. The Mannum-Adelaide pipeline, Adelaide, [1956]

'Premier opens pipeline - water famine fear removed' Torrens Valley historical journal, no.37(December 1990), p.19-21 Reprinted from Advertiser 1 April 1955

Downstream: the River Murray in South Australiasee: Irrigation and exploitation: Piping the water away

SA watersee: Education: Our water systems: Pipelines