The Murray River flows over 2,500 kms from the Australian Alps to the sea at Lake Alexandrina in South Australia. Its south bank marking the New South Wales - Victoria border.

PS Canberra was built in 1912, in Goolwa, South Australia.

A quote from the time reads "It bears a red cross with four horizontal bars of blue, the cross being charged with five stars as emblems of the different Australian colonies, while in the upper corner in token of the British connection is depicted the Union Jack ..." It is thought that the four bars of blue represent the Murray River system - probably the Darling, Murrumbidgee and Lachlan as well as the Murray.

Echuca, on the Victorian side, was once the largest inland port in the Southern Hemisphere. Around 200 paddlesteamers worked the Murray River System using Echuca as their hub. Echuca was a railhead and only 200km from Melbourne.

Echuca's 1.2 km redgum wharf was built in 1865. It has three levels - in order to cope with the 7.5 metre change in river level. The redgum piles stand 12 metres.

The Walkabout and Echuca - Moama Official Visitor Information websites provide lots more information.