EVENTS AND EXHIBITIONS

WHEN THE RIVER RUNS DRY EXHIBITION
ON NOW
Unified we proclaim the Murray River remains open for business!
Whilst we cannot ignore the negative impacts of the low river level, it's not all doom and gloom for the people of South Australia.
Depicting four key themes of exposure, survival, opportunities and revelations the Mannum Dock Museum Group presents an
exhibition of objects and images sourced within a few hundred metres of the Museum.

TIMELINE OF MANNUM HISTORY
FREE EXHIBITION NOW OPEN (closes 31/1/12)
This exhibition was originally exhibited in 2004 for Mannum’s 150th Anniversary.
The timeline commences from 1854 through the years of the town’s history to the present day at the time the display was created.
Not every year is represented and not every event is accompanied by a photograph, but we would like to add to the story….
We invite you to participate – if you have any interesting material, photos, or other objects from 2004-2011, please contact
the Museum or Information Centre. We would love to display them as part of this exhibition to bring it up-to-present!

Mannum Showgrounds Market
1st Sunday of every month
Contact Irene Lovell (08) 8569 2541

Christmas Tree Festival
Date TBC – Lutheran Hall
Contact Dianne Bernhardt: (08) 8569 8162

Carols By The River
Date TBC
Contact Dianne Bernhardt: (08) 8569 8162

Key Beam Steam Engine - PDF
Watch in awe at the Mannum Dock Museum as this rare historic engine comes to life!
Operating 11am to 3pm
October 2nd 2011 - Sunday

For further information or phone numbers please contact the Mannum Information Centre on (08) 8569 1303

Under Sea World
We invite you to experience the history of our region and town. Upon entering the Museum you step straight into the undersea world. Share this with the sea creatures that once inhabited the Murray River area when it was an inland seabed. Also in this area are many examples of fossilised creatures and sea shells to be found in the cliffs along the Murray.

Indigenous Display
From here we move to the Indigenous peoples display depicting food gathering, boat building, trading, Ngarrindjeri dreaming. This display is dedicated to the late Richard Hunter, Nganguraku Elder, in recognition of his valuable input into the display and the implementation of this part of our museum.

River Trade
On now to the exciting River Trade era. The first paddle steamer to ply the Murray was the Mary Ann which was built by William Randell, and launched at Noa No Landing upstream from Mannum in 1852. In the late 1800s the development of inland Australia was owed much to the main highway provided by the Murray and the paddle steamers that plied its waters, taking in supplies and equipment and bringing out produce such as wool and wheat. The PS Marion was a major part of this heyday of trade and travel on the Murray.

Shearer Displays
The Shearer brothers established a local business producing agricultural equipment which was taken from Mannum by river to many parts of Australia. Here we see PS Marion being loaded with Shearer strippers for shipment upriver. David Shearer also built Australia's first steam powered car, which is still operable and is housed at the National Motor Museum in Birdwood.

Theatrette
Spend a few minutes here and view in comfort a selection of footage on historical subjects relevant to the Murray River and our local area.

Now take a trip upstairs to the mezzanine level. Here are more adventures. The history of the PS Marion, the story of her restoration and recommissioning in 1994.
Walk across the bridge to the front mezzanine to view a duck hunting dinghy, wooden 'regulation four' rowing boat, Coorong netting boat and learn to tie mariner's knots. Learn the history of the Mannum to Adelaide pipeline and the supply of water to South Australia's capital city. Go outside on to the viewing platform for a great view of the river.

Arnold Gallery
Return to the ground floor and visit the Arnold Gallery. Here we learn of Captain JG Arnold, the Swedish boy who ran away to sea at thirteen, migrated later in life to Australia and became a major part of Mannum's early history, which is also depicted here. This area is also used from time to time by visiting exhibitions through Country Arts SA.

Flood
Finally, major floods that have affected Mannum. Our street scene is set up to recreate Mannum's main street, Randell Street. Photographic records show major floods of 1890, 1917, 1931 and the biggest and most recent major flood of 1956, including stories from the newspapers of the day.

Moving outside walk under the verandah and along a streetscape to view Murray Shipping Limited's replica booking office. Step into a small room we call Slaves of the River bursting at the seams with model paddle boats. Experience the living conditions of Engineering and Water Supply employees as they built the Mannum to Adelaide pipeline back in the 1950s.

Clayton and Shuttleworth Portable Steam Engine
Noteworthy in River Murray history is the Clayton and Shuttleworth semi portable steam engine. A significant object in the Museum's collection the engine is only 12 years younger than the Mary Ann's boiler. Though not finally proven the engine is considered to be the oldest piece of paddle boat machinery on the River Murray. It almost certainly was the original plant installed in the PS Murrumbidgee launched in 1865 as a stern wheeler before being converted to a conventional side wheeler. The engine is not beyond being restored to original condition, and steamed from an external source, this may well be the Museum's next major project.

John Weaver Collection
The exhibition presents Captain John Weaver's memoirs of the river trade and paddle steamer passenger tours of the 1930s to the early 1950s on the Murray Darling River systems. This telling of our fascinating river history has been taken from personal accounts of a man who grew up on the river and fell in love with it, took leave to pursue a career as an airline pilot, and then returned to fulfil his childhood dream of becoming Captain of a Murray River paddle steamer.

Randell Dry Dock
Forming part of the South Australia River Boat Trail which aims to inform users of the river about the type and number of historic sites that still exist along this section of the Murray. All of the sites are either the remains of paddle steamers, barges and other vessels; or buildings, structures and other features related to shipping on the River Murray from the 1850s to the 1940s. The Randell Dry Dock was originally constructed in 1873 as a floating dock, to be used in repairing or refitting vessels. It was built by shipwright 'Little Tommy Smith' for AH Landseer at Milang. Captain William Randell bought the dock to service the increasing fleet of paddle steamers and barges using the Murray Darling rivers. Randell towed the dock from Milang to Mannum using the PS Nil Desperandum. He had excavated a section of the river bank to take the dock. Only after 'slight modifications' the once floating dock became a fixed dry dock. on the 6th June 1976 the first vessel PS Lady Daly entered the dock for repairs.

Back to the Museum | Learn about the Great Floods | Shearer Motor Car | History of PS Marion
Take a historic Mannum walk

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