Banrock Station is situated 200km north-east of Adelaide at Kingston-on-Murray, South Australia. Aboriginal people had a harmonious and sustainable relationship with this landscape, over some 20,000 years. However, in the early 1800s the region was settled by Europeans whose values and agriculture have led to a decline in the natural capital.
Introduced animals preyed on native species and competed for food. Pastoral grazing began in 1851, removing the mallee woodland understory and floodplain grasses and shrubs, accelerating soil erosion and contributing to the local extinction of bilbies, bettongs and bandicoots. At the same time, paddlesteamers began operating along the river and thousands of local trees were felled for fuel. A boat could use up to two tonnes of wood per hour. Fish habitats were disrupted by the removal of logs to clear the river.
Throughout the 20th century, irrigation grew along the River Murray. Currently approximately 50,000 hectares of irrigated land flanks the river in South Australia, leading to massive salinity buildup.
In 1925, the Weir and Lock Number 3 were constructed, permanently raising water levels in this location, killing floodplain trees and destroying the natural drying/flooding cycle important for the wetland ecosystem. In 1969, European carp were introduced to the river and entered Banrock Lagoon. Female carp lay up to one million eggs, breeding three to four times a year. The feral fish churned up mud and decimated water vegetation and native fish populations. Sheep were removed from the property in 1992. In 1994 the Crown lease for the land was transferred to Banrock Station and we began reversing the damage of over a century.
