| Bremer | |
| Name Etymology: | James Bremer, |
| Pushpin Map: | Australia South Australia |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location of the river mouth in South Australia |
| Subdivision Type1: | Country |
| Subdivision Name1: | Australia |
| Subdivision Type2: | State |
| Subdivision Name2: | South Australia |
| Subdivision Type3: | Region |
| Subdivision Name3: | Adelaide Hills |
| Subdivision Type5: | Towns |
| Subdivision Name5: | Harrogate, Callington, and Langhorne Creek |
| Length: | 88km (55miles) |
| Source1: | Mount Lofty Ranges |
| Source1 Location: | south of |
| Source1 Coordinates: | -34.9513°N 138.9698°W |
| Source1 Elevation: | 431m (1,414feet) |
| Mouth: | Lake Alexandrina |
| Mouth Location: | Murray Mouth |
| Mouth Coordinates: | -35.39°N 139.0514°W |
| Mouth Elevation: | 1m (03feet) |
| River System: | Murray-Darling Basin |
| Custom Label: | Nature reserve |
| Extra: | [1] |
The Bremer River, part of the lower Murray-Darling catchment, is a river that is located in the Adelaide Hills region in the Australian state of South Australia.
The Bremer River rises on the eastern side of the Mount Lofty Ranges at an altitude of [1] south of and flows generally south, joined by the Mount Barker Creek and Dawesley Creek, before emptying into Lake Alexandrina at the lower end of the Murray-Darling basin.[2] The river descends over its 88km (55miles) course.[1]
The largest town in the catchment area is Mount Barker. Other towns include Nairne and Kanmantoo. Towns on the Bremer River itself include Harrogate, Callington and Langhorne Creek, where the floodwaters are used to irrigate the local vineyards.[3]
The river is crossed by the Old Princes Highway near Callington.
One recorded Aboriginal name for the Bremer River was Miochi.[4] On 31 December 1837 the first European visitor, Robert Cock, named it the Hindmarsh River, in deference to the first Governor, John Hindmarsh. This led to the following proclamation by the second Governor, George Gawler, appearing in the South Australian Gazette, effective 26 June 1839, ‘His Excellency the Governor having observed that to the southward [of [[Adelaide]]] there are two rivers named ‘The Hindmarsh’ – one flowing into Encounter Bay, and the other into Lake Alexandrina – is pleased to direct that the latter river shall in future be named the ‘River Bremer’, in the public maps, in order to avoid confusion in the geographical description of the province.’[5] The man so honoured by the renaming was the distinguished British Royal Navy officer James Bremer, who happened to command HMS Alligator, which conveyed Hindmarsh back to England.