Historic Mildura steam pumps re-opened after the 2022 floods

In the 1890's along came the Chaffey brothers who looked at all that flat, parched country and saw an opportunity.

The scrub-covered northern Mallee was remarkable only because the Murray River happened to be winding its way through on its way to South Australia and the sea.

The Darling River intersected the Murray just downstream at Wentworth to provide a safety net for river flows.

With many years of hard work they could divert some of that fresh water to create a food powerhouse.

The Chaffey's had already done it in California.

With the support of various governments, led by future Prime Minister Alfred Deakin who came across the Canadian pair while studying irrigation systems in the US, the work began at Mildura and Renmark downstream in SA.

The centrepiece of the Mildura scheme was a massive steam-powered pumping station able to lift all the river water needed to create the irrigation settlement later to be known as Sunraysia.

The Psyche Bend Pump Station was built in 1891 to lift and distribute the Murray's water through a series of channels criss-crossing the area.

The engine and pumps were delivered in pieces from England and came by river boat from Echuca.

While the pump was replaced by an updated electric pump in 1959, the original pump has been lovingly restored and maintained by teams of volunteers over many years to become a tourist attraction.

It remains the oldest pump configuration of its type in the world.

The devastating floods of October 2022 damaged the boiler and pump house and surrounding tourist infrastructure which closed the attraction to the public.

Almost $180,000 of Federal and state government funding has been spent on repairs and the Psyche Bend Pumping Station re-opened to visitors a week ago.

Psyche Bend Pumping Station committee of management chair Mark Eckel said the re-opened was exciting for the local community and visitors to the area alike.

Cr Eckel said the funding "has helped to ensure that this important place can continue to demonstrate the irrigation history of the Mildura region into the future."