Before European settlement of Adelaide's western suburbs and the construction of various flood mitigation channels and levees, the Port River formed one of the outlets of the River Torrens. The Torrens used to flow north-west into the Port River, until sediment accumulated upstream built up, blocking the channels and forming a large area of marshland known as "the Reedbeds" across some of the present western suburbs. In 1937 a channel known as the Breakout Creek was constructed to take the Torrens westwards to the sea.