The Department of Primary Industries and Regions (PIRSA) is responding to fruit fly outbreaks in the Riverland in Renmark West, Monash, Berri, Pike River and Cooltong.

To boost the eradication strategy, PIRSA is offering alternative control strategies to landholders within red outbreak areas.

If you’re within a red outbreak area, these strategies may impact the management of fruit fly on your property and require a discussion with one of our staff to work through how they can be best applied.

Please contact PIRSA as soon as possible so we can get your details to enable our staff to book at time to discuss the options for your property and work through the best option for you.

What you need to do

1. Check if you are in a red outbreak area
2. Call PIRSA’s industry hotline on 1800 255 556 or email PIRSA.RiverlandFFProgram@sa.gov.au

PIRSA will take your details to enable their staff to book a time to meet with you and discuss the options for your property.

More information about the outbreaks
Visit fruitfly.sa.gov.au

Water supply to all RIT customers between Cucumunga Street and Twentyeighth Street (refer to map) will cease from 9.00am Wednesday 12 May 2021 until Midnight Thursday 13 May 2021 for staff to undertake emergency infrastructure repairs.

This shutdown is in relation to the supply disruption affecting the Crescent area.  We apologise for any inconvenience caused by these unexpected circumstances.

The Trust is pleased to notify our Member and stakeholder base that Renmark Irrigation Trust is undertaking its Alliance for Water Stewardship (AWS) recertification audit on Tuesday 6 April 2021. This occurs every three years and is part of the Trust’s certification requirements under the AWS International Standard.

The latest version of the Trust’s Water Stewardship Plan, adopted by the Trust Board at the recent Trust Board Meeting on Monday 29 March is available on the Trust website here. This ever-evolving document helps collate information relevant to water stewardship and reflects a number of Trust activities to date. It is also intended to help guide the Trust’s activities in certain water related areas.

As a valued stakeholder/partner of the Trust, the Trust wishes to both notify you that we are excited to complete our recertification audit and (hopefully!) maintain our platinum certification, the highest certification level under the AWS Standard, as well as invite you to provide any thoughts/comments on the Trust’s performance as a water steward of the local area to date.

Please feel free to contact James John via email on jjohn@rit.org.au or on (08) 8586 6911 with any queries on the Trust’s Water Stewardship plan or activities.

Please see the below invitation from the MDBA/DEW for an upcoming information session, specifically tailored for Renmark Irrigation Trust Members – Please RSVP to the Trust Office by calling (08) 8586 6911 or by emailing office@rit.org.au:

Invitation to Members for information session 3pm, Thursday 25 February at the Renmark Hotel – Managing Deliverability Risks in the River Murray System (RSVP requested)If you have pondered about the impact of such things as the Barmah choke restriction and irrigation expansion on our water security, this is an opportunity to hear from people who have been on a fact finding mission. The Murray-Darling Basin Authority (MDBA) and the South Australian Department for Environment and Water (DEW) invites you to an engagement session at the Renmark Hotel on Thursday 25 February 2021 from 3.00pm – 5.00pm on the recently released ‘Managing Deliverability Risks in the River Murray System’ paper.

Delivering water in the River Murray system has always been challenging due to the long distances between key water storages and major extraction points. River operators rely on weather forecasts and an extensive network of infrastructure. It takes around four weeks to deliver water from Hume Dam to the South Australian border and conditions can change quickly. A “delivery shortfall” event may occur when demands for water exceed those anticipated when releases were made from upstream storages several weeks earlier, and there is insufficient water in transit to meet all demands. The risk of a delivery shortfall is greater during summer when spikes in temperature may result in a sudden increase in river losses and irrigation demands. Over the past fifteen years, there has been growing concern within communities and governments that, over time, the risk of a delivery shortfall has increased. This issue is being talked about more and more and there is widespread concern and uncertainty. For this reason, the MDBA commissioned a series of investigations to better understand the shortfall risk. The Delivery Risks paper summarises and brings together the broad range of studies. It also presents objectives and principles to guide changes required and sets out actions to establish a functional delivery framework. It proposes exploring long-term options for restoring delivery capacity in the lower Murray system – to understand effectiveness, costs, impacts and beneficiaries.

The session will be an opportunity to:
• receive an overview of the key drivers of shortfall risk and recap on the land and water use changes over the past 25 years
• discuss the actions being taken by governments to develop a more robust delivery framework, including shortfall response planning
• learn about the potential SA response should a delivery shortfall occur
• talk about the long-term measures being explored for increasing delivery capacity
• ask questions and contribute your perspective, and
• explore how we can work together to effectively manage and mitigate risks in the River Murray system.

Venue: Renmark Hotel 3.00pm – 5.00pm
Industry Members
Group Presenters:
• Dr Joseph Davis – MDBA, Senior Director River Modernisation
• Dr Ben Dyer – MDBA, Director System Review
• Dr Theresa Heneker – SA DEW, Principal Policy Officer, Basin Plan Strategy and Implementation

For COVID management purposes, please RSVP to RIT (8586 6911 or office@rit.org.au) by close of business Monday 22 February 2021.

Please be advised that water supply has now resumed in the area bordered by Ontario, Kulkyne, Chino and Chowilla Streets and 60 Foot Road.

Please see following information from Riverland Wine regarding two upcoming briefing sessions to be held this Thursday, 7 January. Please share this information within your networks where relevant:

Due to the fruit fly outbreak, winegrape properties within prescribed zones will have protocols applied to movements of winegrapes to wineries as soon as harvest commences. The period of restricted movements will apply until late March 2021, covering much of the forthcoming harvest period.Two briefing sessions for winegrape growers and wineries to explain protocols and paperwork will be convened at Barmera and Renmark.

• Barmera Football Club: Thursday, January 7 at 9:30am
• Renmark Hotel Function Room: Thursday, January 7 at 1:30pm

The following important information has been provided by the Department of Primary Industries and Regions SA (PIRSA) – please share this information with any growers or industry participants in your network that may be affected by the fruit fly outbreak:

“A fruit fly outbreak grower and industry information meeting will be held in the Function Room of the Renmark Hotel on Monday 4 January 2021, at 11am.

The meeting will provide information on the outbreak operation and what has been done to date, activities going forward, and most importantly – market access.

PIRSA staff will be presenting and assist in addressing the many issues around market access.All growers and affected industries are strongly urged to attend.”

Captain Colin Frank Williams MC

Colin Williams, a clerk in the RIT office from around 1936, was given leave from the RIT to enlist on 5 September 1940. At the Board Meeting on 23 September 1940 his enlistment was acknowledged and a guarantee was given that his job would be returned to him after the war. He enlisted at Keswick into the 2/48^th Battalion which was in the process of formation and entered the army with the rank of Lieutenant due to his prior involvement with the 48^th Militia Battalion. Colin was a keen local sportsman and was mentioned often in the Renmark cricket and golf reports. He was a past student of Renmark Agricultural High School[1] and his family lived in Renmark for 13 years from 1922 to 1935.[2]

Following a period of training at Wayville in Adelaide the unit was given pre-embarkation leave from Thursday 17 October 1940 to Tuesday 22 October. He returned to Renmark immediately and on Friday 18 October he married Gweneth Yvonne Saies, daughter of the late Mrs F.W. Saies, at St Augustine’s Church. The church was decorated by friends of the bride, Mrs A E Sage, Mrs N Hagley, Miss C Riedel and Miss Mollie Saies. ‘A guard of honour was formed by members of the Renmark Transport Unit, of which the bride is a member, and men of the 48^th Militia Battalion. About 40 guests were entertained at a reception, held at the home of the bride’s aunt and uncle Mr and Mrs R.N. Saies.’[3] On the night of Monday 21 October Colin and Gwen Williams were absent from the Renmark Institute where a crowd of 500 people had gathered to farewell around 20 local soldiers also set to embark. Instead Colin’s parents, Mr and Mrs R A Williams, accepted gifts of a propelling pencil and cigarettes from the Mayor of Renmark and socks from the Comfort Funds Committee on behalf of their son.[4]

On Tuesday 22 October Lieutenant Williams returned to his unit and Gwen Williams to the new family home at 64 Murray Avenue[5], Renmark. On 7 November, less than 3 weeks after the wedding Lt Williams embarked with the 2/48^th for the Middle East. The Battalion was soon involved in action in North Africa in what became known as the Benghazi Handicap. Axis forces were forced to the west across North Africa until German reinforcements halted the push and then forced the Allied units, mainly the 9^th Division, back towards the East. They made a stand at Tobruk where the 2/48^th remained from 10 April 1941 to 12 October 1941. During the Siege of Tobruk the defenders became known as the Rats of Tobruk and the 2/48^th began a reputation that led to it becoming the most decorated Australian battalion of the Second World War. Lieutenant Colin Williams was promoted to Captain on 16 April 1941.

Following the evacuation of the battalion from Tobruk in October, Christmas 1941 and the early part of 1942 were spent in Palestine recovering and rebuilding. The 9^th Division then returned to North Africa, this time to halt the advance of Rommel’s army towards Cairo in the battle of El Alamein. One of the precursor battles to El Alamein was for the strategic Tel el Eisa ridge and railway station on 10 July 1942.

Captain Williams never learned of his bravery award as he was killed in action as the battle continued at Tel el Eisa twelve days later on 22 July 1942. His body was later moved to the El Alamein War Cemetery.

Gwen Williams was presented with Colin’s Military Cross in May 1945 at Government House in Adelaide. She married Lieutenant Rollo Treloar of Broken Hill on 15 November 1945.

Thanks to Geoff Bull for compiling the research and drafting this article in November 2020. Please contact the Trust Office with any comments or additional information.

[1] Murray Pioneer and Australian River Record, 30 Apr 1942, Anzac Observances at Schools, p5

[2] Ibid, 14 Feb 1935, After Thirteen Years, p10

[3] Ibid, 24 Oct 1940, Williams-Saies, p12

[4] Ibid, 24 Oct 1940, Soldiers on Leave Honoured, p9

[5] Murray Avenue North was renamed James Avenue in 1949. Prior to that time even numbered properties were in Murray Avenue North and odd numbered properties in Murray Avenue South.

The University of Adelaide is conducting a survey of the members of Renmark Irrigation Trust and would be very grateful if you could spare 10 to 15 minutes to complete an online survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/LLVBGW8

This project is examining how farmers are adjusting to the risks posed by economic fluctuations, changing markets, government policies and environmental issues (e.g. pests, diseases, severe weather, bushfires). The University is interested in how risk is being reduced by diversifying into new types of crop/production systems or through diversifying into value-added processing, direct sales, on-farm tourism and generating more income off-farm or by specialising in existing crops.

The University of Adelaide has designed a questionnaire survey which can be completed either online or in hard-copy – the University hopes to interview a small number of farmers to obtain more detailed insights.      

This research is intended to benefit the farming community. Chief benefits to growers will be the researchers’ analysis of risks and farmers’ responses to risk, information about trends in the industry in the local region, and the changing nature of the local rural economy, which may help identify opportunities for future business direction and targeting of future policy support for the industry.   

All respondents will receive a summary of the research results and copies of all publications produced from the research.