Tailem Bend, South Australia

Prior to European settlement the area was inhabited for millennia by the indigenous Ngarrindjeri people, who made bark and reed canoes and lived on fish and animals dependent on the River Murray.{{refn|group=note|It is customary in South Australia to use this word order when referring to the two major rivers of the state, as reflected in the naming principles issued by the Government of South Australia, which include: ... "'river' should be used as a generic term following the specific name of the feature – e.g. 'Onkaparinga River' – except when referring to the River Torrens or River Murray."{{cite web |url=https://www.sa.gov.au/topics/planning-and-property/planning-and-land-management/suburb-road-and-place-names/geographical-names-guidelines |title=Geographical names guidelines |author= |date=August 2020 |website=Planning and property |publisher=Attorney-General's Department (Government of South Australia) |access-date=8 February 2021}} South Australians may also place "River" first when referring to the Darling River, the major tributary that joins the Murray in New South Wales.}} Once written as "Tail'em Bend", the town's name is the Ngarrindjeri word "thelim", meaning "bend", referring to the sharp bend that the river makes in this location.{{cite news|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article148107747|title=Country Intelligence|date=14 March 1884|newspaper=The Mount Barker Courier and Onkaparinga and Gumeracha Advertiser (SA : 1880 – 1954)|access-date=16 August 2015|via=National Library of Australia|location=SA|page=2}}{{cite news|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article146554657|title=From the Metropolis.|date=13 May 1884|newspaper=The Narracoorte Herald (SA : 1875 – 1954)|access-date=16 August 2015|via=National Library of Australia|location=SA|page=3}}{{cite news|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article139700127|title="Augur" in South Australia|date=11 May 1889|newspaper=The Australasian (Melbourne, Vic. : 1864 – 1946)|access-date=16 August 2015|via=National Library of Australia|location=Melbourne, Vic.|page=22}}{{Cite news|url=http://www.aussietowns.com.au/town/tailem-bend-sa|title=Tailem Bend, SA|work=Aussie Towns|access-date=2018-05-20|language=en-US}} An alternative explanation is that this part of the river was "Thelum Ki", meaning "bent water".

In 1884, while building the railway line eastwards to the colony of Victoria, a track-laying gang set up camp among some native pine trees and named their site "Pine Camp". A township grew from there. In 1887, the year after the railway opened for traffic, "Tailem Bend" was proclaimed.

Major industries in the area include pig farming, dairying, and growing grains, hay and olives. The head office of Coorong District Council is situated in the town. The Tailem Bend Solar Power Farm and The Bend Motorsport Park, respectively {{convert|2|km|mi|abbr=off|comma=off}} and {{convert|5|km|mi|abbr=off|comma=off}} south-east of the town, are significant recent additions to the region's economy.

The Tailem Bend railway centre was a large employer for much of the 20th century, providing refuelling, servicing and maintenance facilities for trains on the interstate railway line and rural lines radiating into the Murraylands to the north-east. The steep grades and sharp curves of the Mount Lofty Ranges towards Adelaide required steam locomotives with power at slow speeds; for the relatively straight and flat interstate line to the Victorian border, fast, large-wheeled locomotives were needed. In 1926, expanded facilities were opened, including a large roundhouse, as part of the reforms initiated by the South Australian Railways Commissioner William Webb.{{cite book|last1=Callaghan|first1=WH|title=The Overland Railway|date=1992|publisher=Australian Railway Historical Society|location=Sydney|isbn=0 909650 29 2|page=124}} Diesel-electric locomotives introduced in the 1950s had wider power and speed ranges, and longer distances between refuelling, reducing the need for the facilities, and when government ownership of the railways gave way at the turn of the century"Australian National calls it a day" Railway Digest December 2000 page 19 to private operating companies running non-stop interstate freight trains, most of the facilities were demolished. However, a locomotive and rolling stock reconditioning company operated from the remaining premises.{{Citation needed|date=December 2022}}

Tailem Bend is on Australia's principal highway, the A1, linking Adelaide and Melbourne; it is {{convert|20|km|mi|abbr=off|comma=off}} from the end of the South Eastern Freeway to Adelaide. South of the town is the junction between the Princes and Dukes Highways. It is, however, a stopping place for interstate bus services.{{cite web|url=https://www.greyhound.com.au/travel-information/timetables |title=Melbourne to Adelaide bus |author= |date=2022 |website=Greyhound Australia |access-date=14 December 2022 }}{{cite web|url=https://www.fireflyexpress.com.au/melbourne-to-adelaide |title=Melbourne to Adelaide |author= |date=2022 |website=Firefly |publisher=Firefly Coaches Pty Ltd |access-date=14 December 2022 }} The Tailem Bend Ferry, a cable ferry, operates across the River Murray to Jervois.

The Adelaide-Melbourne railway passes through the town but the freight trains do not stop.{{cite web|url=https://bookings.journeybeyondrail.com.au/advanced |title=Overland search |author= |date=2022 |website=Journey Beyond Rail |access-date=14 December 2022 }} Until 1999, The Overland train served Tailem Bend. A couple of broad gauge wheat-haulage country railway lines branched off at Tailem Bend to the towns of Moorook, Barmera, Waikerie, Peebinga, Loxton and Pinnaroo. These lines were progressively closed down in the 1970s, 80s and 90s due to a decline in rail transport and increase in road transport. The last of these lines were the Loxton railway line and Pinnaroo railway line which closed in July 2015.

File:TailemBendTrainStation.JPG building in 2010]]

File:Cable ferry on the Murray River between Tailem Bend and Jervois, South Australia.jpg

From Tailem Bend south-eastwards, the Dukes Highway is a direct route to Melbourne; the Princes Highway runs along the Coorong and coast towards Melbourne, and the Mallee Highway east towards Sydney. There is also a road connecting to the Karoonda Highway leading to Loxton and the Riverland. Tailem Bend is a common stopping point for truck drivers travelling to and/or from Adelaide, as there are no fuel or food outlets with truck facilities on the South Eastern Freeway.

Since 2018, when the first Supercars Championship race meeting was held, The Bend Motorsport Park has operated a racing track rated by Formula One winner Mark Webber as world-class.{{cite web|url=https://www.thebend.com.au/testimonials |title=Testimonials |author= |date=2022 |website=The Bend Motorsport Park |access-date=14 December 2022 }}[http://www.speedcafe.com/2016/03/25/308298/ Construction underway at SA Motorsport Park] Speedcafe 25 March 2016 In addition to major events the park offers hot laps, track days, driver experiences and go-karting, and hosts car club events.{{cite web|url=https://www.thebend.com.au/experiences |title=Experiences at The Bend |author= |date=2022 |website=The Bend Motorsport Park |access-date=14 December 2022 }} The OTR SuperSprint is an annual event.{{Cite web|url=https://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/otr-supersprint-fords-twin-wins-drive-holden-fans-round-bend/news-story/68176dba89288f3477a092135c8440f3|title=Ford's twin wins drive Holden fans round Bend|first=Miles|last=Kemp|website=Adelaidenow.com.au|date=25 August 2019|access-date=27 November 2021}} The park was the venue of the 25th Australian Scout Jamboree for 11 days in 2019.{{Cite web |url=http://ww11.aj2019.com.au/?sub1=20211128-0742-5949-a8e1-cd91fe31ee06 |title=Archived copy |access-date=27 November 2021 |archive-date=27 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211127204500/http://ww11.aj2019.com.au/?sub1=20211128-0742-5949-a8e1-cd91fe31ee06 |url-status=dead }}

Old Tailem Town is a privately owned museum that consists of over 110 historical buildings, including corner stores, emporiums, dance halls, hospitals, dentists, chemists, barbers, butchers, bakers, saddlers, clock shops, bootmakers, pubs, stables, police stations, coach and bike shops and the Cobb & Co terminus. It is Australia's largest pioneer village and it depicts the times from 1920 to 1960 in Tailem Bend.{{cite news |title=Tailem Bend |url=https://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/tailem-bend-20070816-gdkqlx.html |work=The Sydney Morning Herald |date=16 August 2007 |language=en}}{{cite web |title=Old Tailem Town Pioneer Village – South Australian History Network |url=https://explore.history.sa.gov.au/organisation/old-tailem-town-pioneer-village |language=en-AU}}

Notable people from or who have lived in Tailem Bend include:

• George Jaensch, Northern Territorian telegraph operator and post master, and South Australian farmer and grazier
• David Unaipon, preacher, inventor and author who is featured on the Australian $50 note
• Brooke Krueger 2006 Commonwealth Games gold medallist (women's hammer throw).

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• List of crossings of the Murray River

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{{The Coorong District Council localities}}

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Category:Towns in South Australia

Category:Populated places on the Murray River