Guide to Tailem Bend South Australia Australia

Tailem Bend sits on a cliff above a sweeping bend of the Murray, about 97 kilometres south-east of Adelaide and 25 kilometres beyond Murray Bridge. Just south of the town the main roads divide, the Dukes Highway for Melbourne, the Princes Highway for the Coorong and Mount Gambier and the Mallee Highway for Pinnaroo and Sydney, so almost everyone leaving South Australia by road passes through.

It was a railway town for a century. The trains matter less now, and a world-class motor racing circuit on the eastern edge has given the town a new line of work.

Known For

• Old Tailem Town, a pioneer village of more than 100 buildings
• The Bend Motorsport Park
• Cliff-top views and a free ferry across the Murray

Things To Do in Tailem Bend

Old Tailem Town

Five kilometres north of the town, this is the largest pioneer village in Australia, with more than a hundred old buildings moved here from around the state and furnished: shops, a school, churches, a cinema, a railway station and workshops. It was begun by one man in 1982 and is still run by his family. It opens daily from 9 am to 4 pm, and adult entry was $28 in 2026. Allow two or three hours.

The Bend Motorsport Park

The circuit on the Dukes Highway opened in 2018 and can be run in several layouts, the longest 7.77 kilometres, one of the longest permanent tracks in the world. It hosts a round of the Supercars championship each September, along with superbikes, drag racing and club days. Visitors can hire karts on a separate track and look through a free display of racing cars in the welcome centre, and there is a hotel built into the pit building.

Railway Station

The 1913 station on Railway Terrace houses a small rail museum and the visitor information outlet, open daily.

The River

A free ferry crosses at all hours to Jervois and the dairy flats on the far bank. Dickson Reserve, by the ferry, has barbecues and a pontoon, and Freds Landing, between the highway and the river, has a boat ramp and picnic tables.

Where To Stay

The Rydges Pit Lane Hotel at The Bend has 100 rooms above the pit garages, and Motel River Bend is on the highway in town.

There are three caravan parks: the Waterfront Holiday Park on the river, with cabins, a boat ramp and a dump point, the BIG4 The Bend Holiday Park beside the circuit, and Westbrook Park River Resort. A public dump point is on the highway through town. Freds Landing is used by self-contained travellers for a break by the river; check the signs for overnight rules.

Eat & Drink

The Tailem Bend Hotel on Railway Terrace serves meals, the Tailem Bend Bakery is a regular stop for interstate drivers, and The Bend has a restaurant and bar.

History

Tailem Bend is on Ngarrindjeri country, and the name may come from a Ngarrindjeri word for the bend. Charles Sturt passed in 1830. A railway construction camp was set up in 1884, the line to Melbourne opened in 1886 and the town was proclaimed the next year. Large workshops and a roundhouse were added in 1926.

Getting to Tailem Bend

Tailem Bend is just over an hour from Adelaide by the South Eastern Freeway and the Princes Highway. Wellington, with its ferry across the river mouth of Lake Alexandrina, is 12 kilometres south.