Goolwa Wharf Precinct

Our vision is for the Goolwa Wharf Precinct to be "A place to experience a vibrant riverfront township enriched with culture and history".

The Project

With funding support from the Australian Government and the Government of South Australia, Alexandrina Council embarked on a multi-million-dollar project to restore, renovate and upgrade the Wharf, the Wharf Shed, the Signal Point Experience Centre and the surrounds of the historic Goolwa Wharf Precinct.

The Project included the reconstruction of the heritage-listed Wharf, the renovation and renewal of the heritage-listed Wharf Shed, new public toilets, pathways and signage, and improvements to the Signal Point Experience Centre with internal lining and glazing, a new entrance canopy, solar power system, new heating/cooling system and roof remediation.

This investment has preserved the heritage of the precinct, improved safety and accessibility for the community, and provided opportunities to activate the area through new business opportunities, festivals and community events and share the stories of First Nations people, the steam-powered riverport history and the river ecology of the area.

The interactive exhibition ' Yuntulun Ku: li-war ' is a permanent fixture in the Signal Point Experience Centre. It tells the stories of the Ngarrindjeri people, the settlement history of Goolwa as a major riverport, and the ecology of the Murray Darling River system. The Australian government funded this project separately through the Murray Darling Basin Economic Development Program.

Project Timeline

Contracted works

Alexandrina Council worked with the main contractor McMahon Services to deliver the Goolwa Wharf Precinct project. Construction work began in April 2023 and concluded in October 2024.

Upgrading work to the Signal Point Experience Centre began in April 2023. The ‘Yuntulun Ku:li-war’ exhibition was installed and opened to the public in March 2024. Deck remediation and roofing for the front canopy were completed in September 2024 with new paved paths and pedestrian mazes installed.

McMahon Services began dismantling the State Heritage-listed Wharf Shed for refurbishment in mid-November 2023, finishing that work in late December 2023. Each individual component of the shed was identified through 3D scanning and was taken off-site to be restored. The paint from the usable shed timbers was removed, repairs were completed and the timbers were repainted ready for installation. The timbers arrived back on site in May 2024. Steel then arrived on site and the restored heritage timber was added with other structural timber in the ensuing months.

The dismantling of the Wharf structure started in late January 2024 and was undertaken in stages to minimise the impacts to business operations. Reconstruction of the wharf began in May 2024 using remediated timbers and other specialist timber.

Many of the timbers taken from the Wharf and the Wharf Shed that were unsuitable for the reconstruction of the structures were used as car park bumpers and other features of the upgraded sealed Dunbar and Amelia Park car parks in the Precinct.

Master Plan

Addressing the deterioration of the heritage-listed Wharf and Wharf Shed and enhancing the historic, business and tourism opportunities at the Goolwa Wharf Precinct has been a long-standing project for Alexandrina Council and the community.

Over time, planning work progressed to improve the location subject to external funding. In 2019 Jensen Plus was engaged to assist Council in activating the Wharf Precinct with a Master Plan approach for this area.

Master Plan Options Report - 7 March 2022

Concept Master Plan Options – 28 February 2022

Master Plan Evolution

A Project Business Plan was developed to support a Federal Government Building Better Region Fund application. Once funding was approved it was clear more work was required to truly activate the area taking a contemporary, best-practice placemaking approach.

To inform the public realm improvements and building utilisation, the Roadmap to Revitalisation Goolwa Wharf Precinct Placemaking Strategy was developed. Council was briefed in November 2020 and formally received the report as a guiding document to revisit the plan in May 2021.

The Placemaking Strategy highlighted the importance of the PS Oscar W, Barge Dart and rich wooden boat history as unique differentiators that set the riverport town of Goolwa apart from other tourist locations. The biennial SA Wooden Boat Festival is a community event that celebrates this fact.

Without a plan for how these assets were integrally linked and could be further leveraged, a strategic approach was required. To achieve this, in 2021 the Alexandrina Wooden Boat Strategy 2022-26 was developed based on significant input from key stakeholders and this was supported unanimously by Council on 18 October 2021. The Wooden Boat Strategy, Placemaking Strategy and Council’s new Community Strategic Plan A2040, assisted in informing the final design options to truly revitalise the Goolwa Wharf Precinct.

New information arising from detailed investigations undertaken to commence delivering the four (4) funded components of work identified constraints with previous plans as well as opportunities to achieve Council’s vision to create “A place to experience a vibrant riverfront township enriched with culture and history”.

Given a decade had passed since the community were consulted on any Wharf Precinct improvements it was deemed appropriate and prudent to consult the community.

Council received a briefing in August 2021 on draft design concepts that considered information at hand, and these were unanimously supported to seek community feedback in September 2021.

The Council endorsed the Goolwa Wharf Precinct Master Plan in March 2022. This enabled this important project to progress to the final design and construction for tender phase to deliver the vision for "a place to experience a vibrant riverfront township enriched with culture and history".

Master Plan Image Gallery

The image gallery below provides an artist's impression of the Goolwa Wharf Precinct and the Master Plan Option D as of 23 March 2023.

Master Plan GWP OptionD Enhanced 16 Jan 2023

Waterfront history

History of the Waterfront Precinct

ngarrinderjeri historical pic

The Goolwa Wharf Precinct is located at “The Meeting of the Waters” which is a significant site for Ngarrindjeri where the Murray River, Murrundi in Ngarrindjeri, and Coorong, Kurangk in Ngarrindjeri, would meet to allow significant fish species to reproduce. This area has always been ‘life bearing and significant’ for Ngarrindjeri. In more recent decades it was also the location of the building of the Hindmarsh Island Bridge, which resulted in a royal commission.

The Goolwa Wharf Precinct also holds significant history for the wider community as was central to the development of South Australia. The establishment of the Goolwa Wharf was critical for trade, industry, and development of the state of South Australia as the Murray River was a trade corridor.

Goolwa, during its heyday from the 1850s to the 1880s, was one of Australia's most important river ports. The original wharf was built in 1852 on the recommendation of Governor Sir Henry Fox Young. It was extended in 1866, demolished and rebuilt in 1874 and extended again in 1878. Goolwa functioned as a river port from 1854, sending river goods at first by horse tram to Port Elliot, then later by steam train to Port Victor. But after the Morgan to Port Adelaide railway opened in 1878, the river trade on the lower reaches dwindled.

In 1987 the inner part of the town of Goolwa was declared a State Heritage Area because of its historical importance. There are a remarkably representative group of buildings and relics surviving from this era in the present townscape and on the waterfront.

The Goolwa Wharf Precinct is significant to both the Ngarrindjeri and the wider Goolwa community. The location provides an opportunity to showcase a shared future in business and tourism. In 2020, with support from the Australian Government, Alexandrina Council partnered with the Ngarrindjeri Aboriginal Corporation (the prescribed body for Native Title), to develop the Ngoppen Ngarrindjeri Ruwe Cultural Tourism Plan - ‘Walking Ngarrindjeri Land’.

For Alexandrina Council and the Ngoppen Ngarrindjeri Ruwe Cultural Tourism Plan, the identification of growth within the tourism sector through the Ngarrindjeri and Aboriginal cultural tourism sub-sector is a result of the long-standing working relationship with Ngarrindjeri. This has been achieved through the Kungan Ngarrindjeri Yunnan Agreement, which translates to ‘Listen to Ngarrindjeri Speak’, and more recently heightened through the Native Title determination achieved by Ngarrindjeri in the last four years.

The ‘Ngoppen Ngarrindjeri Ruwe – Walking Ngarrindjeri Land’ Aboriginal Cultural Tourism Plan is a Strategic Plan and framework for Ngarrindjeri involvement in the revitalisation of the Goolwa Wharf Precinct and related experiences. Council has sought to strengthen relationships with the Ngarrindjeri community in an authentic way through artwork projects in the Precinct and through the permanent exhibition Yuntulun Ku:li-war in the Signal Point Experience Centre. Read about the integration of First Nations artwork for the Goolwa Wharf Precinct here.

Council recognises the importance of authentic storytelling and unique, place based experiences and the ‘Ngoppen Ngarrindjeri Ruwe’ Plan is integral to inform activities, focus and provide a guide for progressing the First Nations element of the Goolwa Wharf Precinct experience. Importantly the work outlines opportunities for fostering indigenous employment creation and business opportunities.

Image: Early black and white photograph of the Goolwa Wharf Shed. The Wharf Shed was built in 1877-78 and remained virtually unchanged in its appearance until the 1990s. Peak use of the wharf for cargo handling was between 1878 and 1884. The shed is now home to a hospitality business and a riverboat centre operated by the Friends of the PS Oscar W. The paddle steamer will be berthed at the Wharf.