Waikerie (/ˈweɪkəri/WAY-kə-ree) is a rural town in the Riverland region of South Australia on the south bank of the Murray River. At the 2016 census, Waikerie had a population of 2,684.[2] The Sturt Highway passes to the south of the town at the top of the cliffs. There is a cable ferrycrossing the river to provide vehicle access from the north side of the river. Waikerie is known for citrus growing, along with stone fruit and grapes.
Background
The Ngawait people have inhabited the area for millennia. The river and surrounding land provided everything they needed - fish, shellfish, birds, kangaroos, and native fruits.
The town of Waikerie derives its name from Weikari, which is claimed to mean 'the rising'. However some linguistic anthropologists argue that the name refers to the spider creator god from local creation myths.[3] These myths may originate in the emergence of many ghost moths (especially the giant swift moth Trictena argentata : Hepialidae) from the ground among the river red gums Eucalyptus camaldulensis after heavy rain.
In March 2019, the Waikerie silo art project was completed. South Australian artist Garry Duncan painted one silo with a semi-abstract river landscape and characterised native river creatures such as pelicans, ducks, frogs and rain moths. On the other silo, Jimmy Dvate from Melbourne painted a regent parrot, a yabby and the endangered Murray hardyhead fish.[5]
Notable people born, went to school or lived in Waikerie include:
Sir Donald (Don) George Anderson, CBE (1917-1975) – Director-General of Civil Aviation and later chairman of Qantas Airways Ltd.[7]
John Neil (Neil) Andrew, AO, FTSE (1944- ) – Speaker of the House of Representatives, Federal Parliament of Australia. Chair, Murray–Darling Basin Authority[8]
Meredith Arnold, AO – Awarded AO in 2013 for her involvement with the local historical society, the Waikerie District Community Committee and her volunteer work at the Waikerie High School and hospital.[9]
Anne Fulwood (1959- ) – Reporter, journalist and writer
Ken I'Anson – Motor cycle racer – Australian Sidecar Champion, Australian Pairs Champion, SA Champion, multiple Australian Track Champion, Australian speedway champion[11]
John Percival Jennings, AO, ISM, RDA (1923-2003) – Senior Horticultural Adviser and fruit grower. John P Jennings Park in Waikerie named after him.[12]
John T. Jennings, BSc(Hons), PhD (1950-) – Entomologist, The University of Adelaide. President of the Royal Society of South Australia (2008-2010). Editor Natural history of the Riverland and Murraylands, Occasional publications of the Royal Society of South Australia; no. 9 (2009).[13][14]
Kym Vincent Lehmann (1946-) – Australian Rules Football player, North Adelaide Football Club,[15][16]
Bruce Malcolm Light (1949-2018) – Australian Rules Football player, Port Adelaide Football Club
Mark Ricciuto (1975-) – Australian Rules Football player, West Adelaide and Adelaide Crows football clubs. Joint winner 2003 Brownlow Medal
Brian Webber BSc(Hons), MSc, PhD – Australian Rules Football player, West Adelaide Football Club. Headmaster of Prince Alfred College, Adelaide (1988–1999)
Chris Western (1974–) Off Road Racer[17] BAJA 1000 Ironman in 2014
^Gunn, John. "Anderson, Sir Donald George (Don) (1917–1975)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. National Centre of Biography, Australian National University – via Australian Dictionary of Biography.
