On a recent phototrip that included exploring the Mt Lofty Ranges in South Australia I came across an old railway line across the Murraylands to Mannum. It hadn’t been used for a long time and to my surprise it hadn’t been pulled up like the other branch lines in the South Australia mallee.

Forgotten history. The absent history of the South Australia Mallee, which highlights how history provides a context for a photo–a reference to a historical reality beyond the photo.

There is limited information on the web about the Mannum branch line. It was constructed in 1873 as a branch line from the Monarto-Apamurra-Sedan line. The Sedan railway line branched off from the South Australian Railways‘ Adelaide to Wolseley line at Monarto South.