Waukaringa, South Australia

Waukaringa
South Australia
Waukaringa
Coordinates 32°18′S 139°26′E / 32.3°S 139.44°E / -32.3; 139.44Coordinates: 32°18′S 139°26′E / 32.3°S 139.44°E / -32.3; 139.44
Established 1888[1]
Postcode(s) 5440[1]
Time zone ACST (UTC+9:30)
 • Summer (DST) ACDT (UTC+10:30)
Location
LGA(s) Out of Council areas
State electorate(s) Stuart
Federal Division(s) Grey
Localities around Waukaringa:
Melton Station
Melton Station Waukaringa Melton Station
Melton Station
Footnotes Adjoining localities[1]

Waukaringa is a locality in the Australian state of South Australia located about 303 kilometres (188 mi) north-east of Adelaide city centre and about 35 kilometres (22 mi) north of Yunta in the state's Far North region.[1]

The name was first used for a town surveyed in 1888 and which was formally declared to have ceased to exist in 1982. Boundaries which include the former town were created for the locality in 1997 and which are completely surrounded by Melton Station.[1]

The area was initially settled in 1873 with the discovery of gold. In 1890, Waukaringa was estimated to have had a population of 750.[2] The former town of Waukaringa is now a ghost town after being abandoned in the 1950s.[3] Ruins of only a few buildings remain, principally the former Waukaringa Hotel.

The goldfields near Waukaringa produced approximately 1,427 kilograms (3,146 lb) of gold between 1873 and 1969.[4] The main mines in the goldfield were Alma and Victoria, Alma Extended, West Waukaringa and Balaclava.[4] A stone chimney from the Alma and Victoria mine is still visible.[3] The Alma and Victoria Mine Site and Structures are listed on the South Australian Heritage Register.[5]

The setting for The Silent Sea, written by Catherine Edith Macauley Martin under the pseudonym Mrs. Alick Macleod, was based on mining and life at Waukaringa. The book was partly written while Martin lived in the town.[6]

Australian Rules footballer Harold Oliver was born in Waukaringa in 1891.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Placename Details: Waukaringa with the following layers selected - "suburbs and localities", "Place names (gazetteer)" and "Government Regions"". Property Location Browser. Government of South Australia. 31 March 2010. SA0019905. Retrieved 14 March 2016.
  2. "Waukaringa Gold Mines". South Australian Chronicle. 19 July 1890. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
  3. 1 2 "Discover South Australia's Mining Heritage Trails" (PDF). Australasian Mining History Association. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
  4. 1 2 "Gold". Department of State Development. State Government of South Australia. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
  5. "Former Alma and Victoria Mine Site and Structures, Waukaringa". South Australian Heritage Register. Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources. Retrieved 17 March 2016.
  6. "Australian Digital Collections: The Silent Sea" (PDF). The University of Sydney. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
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