If you’re looking for a proper Sunraysia way to kick off the year, complete with fresh air, river country, and something that’ll genuinely impress the kids and the grown-ups put Psyche Pumps Running Day on your New Year’s Day plans.
On New Years Day, the historic Psyche Bend Steam Pumping Station will be up and running from 10:30am to 3:00pm. (See map)
A quick rundown of what’s happening on the day?
This isn’t a “look at it through a fence for 30 seconds” kind of event. The Running Day is when you get to see the whole place come alive—steam, movement, sound, and the kind of old-school engineering that makes you wonder how anyone built this stuff in the first place.
Event details:
Date: New Year’s Day — Jan 1, 2026
Time: 10:30am–3:00pm
Where: Psyche Bend Steam Pumping Station, end of Psyche Bend Rd, Nichols Point (Kings Billabong Reserve)
Entry: Adults $5 | Kids Free |
Info: https://www.facebook.com/psychepumps
Why the Psyche Pumps matter to Sunraysia (and why they’re not “just an old machine”)
It’s easy to forget, driving around all this productive country, that our region wasn’t always vineyards, orchards, and paddocks doing their thing year after year. Water is what made this place possible at scale, and the Psyche Bend pumps were right at the heart of that story.
The pumps were built as part of the Chaffey irrigation settlement, lifting water from the Murray River up into Kings Billabong, which then fed a wider network of channels out to farms. That system was designed to raise water in stages and supply huge areas of farmland which was seriously ambitious stuff for the late 1800s.
They were first installed/commissioned in 1891, and they helped provide irrigation water through to 1959, when electric pumps took over.
Without these pumps, there most likely wouldn’t have been Mildura as a region as we know it they were “the life blood of the district.”
That’s not hype. That’s the real impact of infrastructure that turned a tough landscape into a thriving community and agricultural powerhouse.
Last year I went along… and I honestly loved it
I made the trip out to last year’s New Year’s Running Day, and it was one of those local experiences that reminds you why living (or holidaying) in Sunraysia is special.
There’s something about:
seeing the machinery actually working (not just sitting silent in a shed),
chatting with the volunteers who know every bolt and valve,
and feeling that connection between the river, the billabong, and the farms that still feed families today.
It’s a relaxed, friendly day out, people wandering through, families having a look, camera phones going, kids wide-eyed at the noise and motion, and plenty of “how does that even work?” moments.
And yep, I filmed it. If you want a sneak peek before you go (or you want to send it to someone who should come with you), you can watch my video below.
If you go: a few local tips
Go early-ish so you’ve got time to watch, wander, and ask questions without rushing.
Bring water, a hat, and comfy shoes (it’s New Year’s Day in Sunraysia… you know the drill).
Take the kids—this is one of those rare heritage things that’s genuinely interesting because it’s loud, moving, and real.
Make it a day on the river: Kings Billabong Reserve is a beautiful spot to slow down and start the year properly.
See you there?
New Year’s Day is already a tradition for a lot of locals and this is a ripper way to make it yours too.
Psyche Pumps Running Day
Jan 1, 2026 | 10:30am–3:00pm | Nichols Point (Kings Billabong Reserve)
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