Wirrabara, South Australia

Wirrabara is a town and a locality in South Australia,^[1] about 235 kilometres (146 mi) north of Adelaide. It is located in the Southern Flinders Ranges in the Mid North of South Australia, along the Rocky River. The Horrocks Highway (Main North Road) passes through the town. At the 2016 census, the locality had a population of 403 of which 230 lived in its town centre.^[2][3]

Wirrabara South Australia
Wirrabara
Coordinates	33°02′09″S 138°16′09″E[1]
Population	230 (urban centre) (2016 census)[2] 403 (state suburb) (2016 census)[3]
Established	13 August 1874 (town) 13 March 1997 (locality)[4][5]
Postcode(s)	5481
Elevation	329 m (1,079 ft)[citation needed]
LGA(s)	District Council of Mount Remarkable
State electorate(s)	Electoral district of Stuart
Federal division(s)	Division of Grey
Localities around Wirrabara: Bangor Wongyarra Booleroo Centre Telowie Wirrabara Appila Beetaloo Valley, Nelshaby Stone Hut Caltowie West

History

The name Wirrabara derives from a corruption of two words from the Kaurna language of the "Adelaide tribe", wirra (gum trees) and birra (running water); in the Nukunu language of the local Nukunu people, wira and parl means gum trees with honey and water.^[6]

A timber milling industry was established in Wirrabara during the early 1850s. The town was surveyed in 1874. In 1877 the first government forest nursery in Australia was planted in the nearby Wirrabara forest.^[7]

The Wilmington railway line was extended north from Gladstone and Laura through Wirrabara and Booleroo Centre to Wilmington in the 1910s after the locals had been pleading with the government to build it for many years.^[8][9][10]

The historic Copper Mine Chimney, Wirrabara on Main North Road, a remnant of the former Charlton mine, is listed on the South Australian Heritage Register.^[11]

Description

According to Peter Goers, the town's name is pronounced "Rabra" by locals.^[12]

The town still has a timber industry and a farming community. There is a producers' market on the third Sunday of the month,^[6] and nearby is an example of silo art by the artist Smug (aka Sam Bates).^[13]

See also

• Wirrabara Range Conservation Park

References

1. "Search results for 'Wirrabara, LOCB' with the following datasets selected – 'Suburbs and Localities', 'Government Towns', 'Counties', 'Local Government Areas', 'SA Government Regions' and 'Gazetteer'". Location SA Map Viewer. South Australian Government. Retrieved 29 April 2018.
2. Australian Bureau of Statistics (27 June 2017). "Wirrabara (Urban Centre/Locality)". 2016 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 29 April 2018.
3. Australian Bureau of Statistics (27 June 2017). "Wirrabara (state suburb)". 2016 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 29 April 2018.
4. Musgrave, A. (13 August 1874). "Untitled proclamation (for the Township of Wirrabara)" (PDF). The South Australian Government gazette. South Australian Government. p. 1578. Retrieved 29 April 2018.
5. Kentish, P.M. (13 March 1997). "GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES ACT 1991 Notice to Assign Names and Boundaries to Places" (PDF). The South Australian Government gazette. South Australian Government. p. 1177. Retrieved 29 April 2018.
6. "Welcome to Wirrabara South Australia". Wirrabara. Retrieved 16 April 2020.
7. "Placename Details: Wirrabara". Property Location Browser. Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure. 1 August 2013. SA0044201. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
8. "MEETING AT WIRRABARA". Adelaide Observer. SA. 15 March 1884. p. 38. Retrieved 3 September 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
9. "Laura to Wirrabara Railway". The Observer. Adelaide. 18 March 1905. p. 1 Supplement: The Observer Country Supplement. Retrieved 3 September 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
10. "Wirrabara Railway Facilities". Daily Herald. Adelaide. 15 April 1916. p. 4. Retrieved 3 September 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
11. "Copper Mine Chimney [Welsh], Charlton Run". South Australian Heritage Register. Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
12. Goers, Peter (21 February 2015). "Goers' Guide: The A-Z of South Aussie place names". Adelaide Now. Retrieved 16 April 2020.
13. "Silo art". Wirrabara. Retrieved 16 April 2020.

Further reading

• "Six O'clock Shot – Wirrabara Hotel". The Haunts of Adelaide. 14 July 2015.
• "Wirrabara: Where They Make Forests: Birth of the Bush Fire Control Scheme". The Chronicle (South Australia). Towns, People, And Things We Ought To Know. South Australia. 22 December 1932. p. 42 – via Trove.