Alawoona is a town in the

Murray Mallee The Murray Mallee is the grain-growing and sheep-farming area of South Australia bounded to the north and west by the Murray River (in South Australia, "River Murray"), to the east by the Victorian border, and extending about 50 km south ...

region of

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

. At the , Alawoona had a population of 250. It lies on the

Karoonda Highway Karoonda Highway is a state-controlled highway in South Australia linking the Murray River towns of Murray Bridge and Loxton. It was created after local councils called for the renaming of the B55 road route. Route Karoonda Highway begins a ...

and

Loxton railway line The Loxton railway line is a closed railway line in the northern Murray Mallee region of South Australia. It ran north-east from Tailem Bend to grain silos near Loxton. History The first stage of the Brown's Well railway line opened from Tail ...

where they both change direction from easterly to continue northwards for 35 km to Loxton.

History

Alawoona was established as one of the original sidings during the construction of the

Barmera railway line The Barmera railway line was the second railway built to develop the Murray Mallee region of South Australia, in 1913. It followed the success of the Pinnaroo railway line in 1906. Both lines branched east from Tailem Bend to the north of the ma ...

in 1906, from

Tailem Bend Tailem Bend (locally, "Tailem") is a rural town in South Australia, south-east of the state capital of Adelaide. It is located on the lower reaches of the River Murray, near where the river flows into Lake Alexandrina. It is linear in layout s ...

. Soon after, Alawoona became a junction when the spur line to Loxton was built. The town was surveyed in 1914 and is named for the local Aboriginal word for ''place of hot winds''. The post office opened on 1 March 1915 and was closed on 18 March 1988.

Notes and references

Towns in South Australia {{SouthAustralia-geo-stub