Paddle steamers opened up the Murray River in the 1850s – to farmers, traders and families. Where there are families we find communities that need a place to meet, socialise and improve themselves. And so Institutes were formed along the Murray. At first in Goolwa near the Murray Mouth in 1861.
After the paddle steamers, irrigation opened up the land and railways took over from the paddle steamers. Roads eventually became the most efficient way to transport goods and people. An article titled ‘River Murray Institutes in South Australia‘ in Useful Knowledge, the magazine of the Mechanics’ Institute of Victoria outlines the development of Institutes and their buildings along South Australia’s part of the Murray River.