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Post by baza on May 30, 2018 22:54:53 GMT -5
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Actually, the lake has been drastically lowered for weir gate maintenance which has left the good ship Cumbaroona on dry land. The level should be up again in a couple of months |
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tsm
Junior Member
Posts: 44 
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Post by tsm on Jun 8, 2018 18:20:34 GMT -5
There were many cases before the weirs were put in where the river ebbed and flowed so much (particularly the Darling River!) that boats on the tail end of the season could get stuck as the river went down and have to camp out in a waterhole until the river rose next year....
Also when floods came down there were times when the river was several miles across and some wool clips were collected directly from the stations by boats several miles from the river proper! One or two of these didn't make it back before the water dropped...
The Murray-Darling river boat era is a fascinating time with rich veins of history...many times I have thought how nice it would be to build a replica paddle boat houseboat and just live on the Murray.......maybe I'll get to do it one day!
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Post by baza on Jun 13, 2018 23:18:02 GMT -5
The weir here Brother tsm , was commissioned in 1939. Main purpose is irrigation control, and a couple of channels draw off water to western Yic and north west into NSW. Further downstream at Echuca the old inland port - refurbished - and assorted old steamers still operate. Well worth a look if you get down that way. The PS in the picture has an authentic steam engine in it, but the hull was re-done completely in the 1980's. Looks 'original' but it ain't. It takes people out on cruises - in fact we had our work Xmas function on it last December, a top day out (what I remember of it at least !!) |
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tsm
Junior Member
Posts: 44
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Post by tsm on Jun 15, 2018 18:07:09 GMT -5
Nice!
I haven't been down the Murray since I was a kid...
I lived near the Darling for a while when I was very young, but old enough to remember. Family picnics on the Darling banks, trips to Menindee, then down to Wentworth, camping on the banks of the Murray with my parents and sister when I was about 5...all a long time ago, but it has stuck vividly in my memory!
I think when work settles down a bit I might just have to do a trip out there....take the 4x4 and a tent and just experience it all again...
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