Berri is a city in the Riverland region of South Australia. It is 238 kilometres north-east of Adelaide, the capital of the state of South Australia and a few kilometres west of the SA-Victoria border. It is primarily an agricultural and viticultural city on the north bank of the Murray River. It is the original home of a juice company, Berri Ltd. History The name "Berri" is from the local Aboriginal tribe, Meri, meaning "a wide bend in the river". The area was first explored by European settlers when Charles Sturt navigated the Murray River. Its first impetus for settlement came when paddle steamers came down the River Murray and a refuelling stop was developed. This was to become Berri. The area was also part of Cobdogla Station pastoral run before it was broken up for closer farming. In 1910, irrigation was established and Berri was proclaimed as a town in 1911. Irrigation subsequently led to the establishment of vineyards and fruit orchards (such as citrus, apricots and peaches). A distillery was established in 1918 and rail arrived in 1928. In 1943, "Berri Juices" (Berri Ltd) were first produced. By the 1950s, Berri and other Riverland towns dominated the local economy with fruit and their products. Transport from one side of the Murray to the other consisted of two parallel ferries. These were replaced by a bridge in 1997 which was opened by the Premier of South Australia, John Olsen. It is the largest of its type in South Australia. It was estimated that 10,000 people attended the official opening on 27 July 1997. The bridge cost $17 million after 30 years of lobbying. The bridge spans the Murray River between Berri and Loxton. Geography and Climate Berri exists in a semi-arid location, north of Goyder's Line. Berri is surrounded by mallee scrub. Berri is also near Renmark and Mildura. It is 31 metres above sea level. Berri experiences a cold semi-arid climate (Köppen climate classification: BSk), Trewartha: BSal); with warm, dry summers; mild, dry springs and autumns; and mild, relatively dry winters. Due to its inland location, summers and winters are drier and more prone to extremes than Adelaide's seasons. The average winter daily maximum temperature is 15.5 °C in July and the average summer daily maximum temperature is 31.1 °C in January. Average rainfall of Berri is 261.7 millimetres. The weather patterns are similar to those of Adelaide.