Overland Corner Hotel - the Riverland between Barmera & Morgan

Overland Corner Hotel (South Australia)

Overland Corner, 21 kms from Barmera on the Goyder Highway (Morgan to Renmark Road), was a convenient watering place and camp site for the overlanders and drovers operating between New South Wales and the colony based on Adelaide in the early years of the 1800s. It was also the stopping place for paddle steamers and coach passengers on the Adelaide to Wentworth route.

This is a fantastic place to stop and rest near the river in an historic hotel rich in character and charm. If in Waikerie you'll need to cross the ferry and head north-east to Barmera to get to the Overland Corner Hotel.

The historic building was built in 1859 by the Brand Brothers for pioneer pastoralist James Chambers of Cogdogla Station, to cater for the overland drovers and provide a staging point for the coach route from N.S.W. to Adelaide. It was delicensed in 1898 but continued as a general store and post office for many years.

By 1855 the establishment consisted of a police station, horse staging building, blacksmith’s and wheelwright’s shop and a general store. In 1859 the hotel was built, and by the 1870s it was the recognised overnight camping spot. Sometimes up to 30 000 sheep grazed the river flats near the hotel.

Overland Corner Hotel Barmera-Morgan Road, constructed of fossilised limestone 1.5 m thick, it is the oldest building in the Riverland. One of the visitors to the hotel was the famous Captain Moonlight, a daring bushranger, whose real name was Andrew George Scott, alias ‘Preacher’ Scott. He was an Irish-born schizophrenic adventurer who became a lay preacher at Mount Egerton in Victoria, and at the same time a bankrobber. After a stint in prison, he graduated to bushranging. During 1879 when he was on the run from the New South Wales and Victorian Police he used the Overland Corner Hotel as a watering hole. While drinking, and still on horse back, he demanded that both front and back doors of the hotel be left open. He was always on the ready and was not going to be caught if the local police showed up. In fact they soon made it too hot for him in South Australia so he went back to New South Wales, to be captured at Wagga Wagga and eventually hanged on 20 January 1880 at Darlinghurst Gaol, Sydney. A sign once graced the walls of the hotel, it read...

In 1965 it was purchased by the National Trust of S.A. It was completely restored with Commonwealth and locally raised funds, and was relicensed in 1987. The nearby Overland Walking Trail leads to the quarry, where stone used in the building construction was cut, to a cemetery, copper mine, lookout, ochre quarry, canoe tree, Aboriginal campsites and cliff-top lookout. Brochures for walking trail are available from the information shelter or the Hotel.

Heron’s Bend Reserve

17 ha reserve on the Murray River at Overland Corner, just off Old Coach Road, which offers a variety of scenery from river cliffs to river gum-lined banks. The attractive picnic area has a backdrop of high limestone cliffs.

Devlin’s Pound

Located on the northern bank of the Murray, off Devlin’s Pound Road, 16km downstream from Overland Corner. The pound forms an amphitheatre enclosed by the river and cliffs. It was once the spot where brumbies were caught and where Patrick Devlin did a spot of cattle-duffing or rustling. This is where some of the supposed sightings of Devlin’s Ghost were made back in the 1890s.

Hotel hours

Tuesday – Sunday from 11am
Lunch Tuesday – Sunday 12-2pm
Dinner Thursday – Saturday 6-8pm
Evening meals available Tuesday or Wednesday nights by prior arrangement (minimum of 10 people)
Open Monday Public Holiday 11-6pm Lunch 12-2pm

Due to the hotels small size it is recommended to book a table and sorry NO accommodation is available.