Wellington, South Australia

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Wellington South Australia
Crossing the Murray River by ferry at Wellington.
Established:	1840
Postcode:	5259
Location:	105 km (65 mi) from Adelaide
LGA:	Rural City of Murray Bridge

Wellington is the small town in South Australia on the Murray River just upstream of where it empties into Lake Alexandrina. Its postcode is 5259. Wellington is in the Rural City of Murray Bridge.

Wellington was the original crossing of the Murray River for people, livestock, and goods travelling overland between Adelaide and Melbourne, until a bridge was built at Murray Bridge in 1879. There is still a ferry here. Some of the gold from the Victorian gold rushes crossed the Murray under police escort at Wellington.

Even though the Murray has very little flow most of the time, and Lake Alexandrina is mostly only a few metres deep, the river at Wellington is about 25 metres deep. The surface is often less than one metre above sea level.

The South Australian Government has stated its intention to build a weir at or near Wellington, despite opposition from environmental groups. Under the plan, no water would flow from the Murray into the lower lakes or Coorong during drought or other periods of low flow.