RENMARK

town, on the Murray River, southeastern South Australia, 130 miles (209 km) northeast of Adelaide. The site was first settled in 1887 by George and William Chaffey, Canadian-born irrigation engineers who had come to Australia via California. They received a land grant of 250,000 acres (100,000 hectares) for an irrigation project. The program, after a near failure in 1893, was successfully managed by an elected Irrigation Trust. The original open irrigation channels were replaced with a sealed underground-pipeline complex; the Irrigation Trust also supplies water on a volume basis to landholders in the district. The district supports dairying and the cultivation of grapes, citrus and stone fruit, and olives. Wine making and fruit packing and canning provide seasonal employment in the town. Renmark was proclaimed a municipality in 1935. Most of Renmark's civic functions were controlled by the Irrigation Trust until 1960. The Chowilla Dam site and a koala sanctuary on Goat Island are nearby. Pop. (1986) 3,489.