Everything about Wallaroo South Australia totally explained
Wallaroo is a port town on the western side of
Yorke Peninsula in
South Australia. It is 160 kilometres north-northwest of
Adelaide. It is one of the three
Copper Triangle towns famed for their historic shared
copper mining industry, and known together as "Little Cornwall".
It is about 8 kilometres west of
Kadina and 18 kilometres north of
Moonta. The population of Wallaroo is about 3,000.
The name "Wallaroo" comes the Aboriginal word 'Wadlu Waru' meaning wallabies urine. The early settler's tried to copy the aboriginals by calling it Walla Waroo, however they found this too big to stamp on the wool bales, so they shortened it to Wallaroo.
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History
Prior to European Settlement, Wallaroo was occupied by the indigenous tribe of Narungga.
Matthew Flinders was the first European to visit the location of present day Wallaroo. On
15 March 1802 when he sailed by he stated that "the immediate coast ... which extends several leagues to the north of the point, is low and sandy, but a few miles back it rises to a level land of moderate elevation, and isn't ill-clothed with small trees."
Wallaroo was first settled in 1851 by a sheep grazier, Robert Miller. In 1857,
Walter Watson Hughes purchased the land and named the land 'Walla Waroo'. The name was subsequently changed to "Wallaroo" (which is what the town became known as) so the name could fit on to bales of wool.
Wallaroo was established on Wallaroo Bay by 1861 and was proclaimed as a town in 1862. It was Yorke Peninsula's most important port until 1923, when
Port Pirie was established. Wallaroo was connected to Kadina by horse-drawn tramway in 1862 and from Moonta in 1866. A connection to Adelaide was complete by 1880. A jetty was built in 1861 for ships to take copper. Trading, however, prospered and other items were brought into the area from Wallaroo such as coal, timber and food. A copper smelter was also built at Wallaroo in 1861, which also smeltered gold and lead. Distilled sulphuric acid was also produced and superphosphate was manufactured between the 1890s and 1920s. By the 1920s Wallaroo's population was 5,000.
The Narungga had a healthy population during the early years but the population has since dwindled. The smelters were closed down in 1923 due to low copper prices.
Geography and climate
Wallaroo exists in a
semi-arid location, above
Goyder's Line. Wallaroo is surrounded by scrub
mulga. It is located on the foreshore and is 13 metres above sea level. Wallaroo has a dry Mediterranean climate with seasonal temperatures a few degrees above Adelaide's temperatures. The temperature ranges are similar to those of Kadina's and the weather patterns are similar to those of Kadina's and Adelaide's.
Wallaroo's surrounds are used for growing
barley and other crops such as
legumes,
canola,
chickpeas and
field peas. Barley from the region nearer Kadina is considered to be some of the best in the world.
Economy
Wallaroo exports various
agricultural products such as
fertiliser. To this day, it still handles grains through conveyor
jetties and
silos. One of the large mining
chimneys still stands, aptly named the ‘big stack’.
There is a Heritage and Nautical
Museum with information about the ships that sailed to the area as well as a Heritage Walk around the town.
New housing developments have been started on the former area of Office and North Beach.
Wallaroo offers a number of places to stay including several hotels and a campsite. Most of the hotels have their own restaurants, and there are also a few cafes and snack bars in the town.
The popular
Kernewek Lowender Cornish festival is held every odd year in May in Kadina (as well as Moonta and Wallaroo where each location holds the festival for one day).
The Lions Club of Yorke Peninsula Rail has recently started operating tourist services between Wallaroo, Kadina and Bute on some Sundays on the previously disused railway line.
The Sea S.A Ferry departs from wallaroo
Governance
The
District Council of Copper Coast governs Kadina at the municipal level. Wallaroo lies in the state
electoral district of Goyder and the federal electoral
Division of Grey.
Famous people from Wallaroo
Further Information
Get more info on 'Wallaroo South Australia'.
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