Morgan

The first white Europeans to visit the region of Morgan was Charles Sturt and his expedition, who passed the river bend in 1830. Almost a decade later the first overland European expedition of Oakden, Willis and Wood passed through the area which they named the Great South Bend. It is at Morgan the River Murray acutely changes its direction, flowing from west to south, and it’s also known as the Northwest Bend. Morgan was proclaimed a town in 1878, which was the same year the railway line from Adelaide via Kapunda was opened. The town was named after Sir William Morgan, the then Chief Secretary, and later Premier of South Australia. A large wharf was built, and Morgan, being the railway terminus, became one of the busiest ports on the Murray. It handled nearly all the goods that were being imported and exported (particularly wool) to and from a vast region upstream from Morgan along the Murray and Darling Rivers. At its peak, Morgan was the second busiest port in South Australia.