Aboriginal Australians occupied the area before British colonisation of South Australia.
Among the first pioneers was Fred Handcock, who overlanded livestock from New South Wales, and lost his life there in 1847.
As a response to this, additional regulators were installed to enable artificial floods across parts of the wetland to ensure the health of the trees by simulating the natural floods that would have occurred before the river was regulated by the locks and weirs and upstream dams.
The lake's geographical location on the eastern end of the floodplain as well as its low-lying altitude meant that in the past, it was first to be filed during flood events.
By June, much wildlife was observed in and around the lake, including wetland birds such as ducks, and also shield shrimp, a tiny crustacean adapted to living in desert areas and was able to cope with periodic drying of muddy lakes.