Barunga Gap is a locality in South Australia about south west of

Snowtown Snowtown is a town located in the Mid North of South Australia 145 km (90 miles) north of Adelaide and lies on the main road and rail routes between Adelaide and Perth – the Augusta Highway and Adelaide-Port Augusta railway line. The ...

. Barunga Gap was named in reference to the co-located pass between the Barunga Range to the north and

Hummock Range The Hummocks or Hummock Range is a range of hills in the northern Mount Lofty Ranges extending north from the eastern edge of Yorke Peninsula in South Australia. It is traversed by the Copper Coast Highway immediately west of where it passes ...

to the south. The word 'Barunga' derives from an indigenous term meaning "gap in the range". ''See Barunga Range § Etymology'' Barunga Gap was a station between

Bute Bute or BUTE may refer to: People * Marquess of Bute, a title in the Peerage of Great Britain; includes lists of baronets, earls and marquesses of Bute * Lord of Bute, a title in medieval Scotland, including a list of lords * Lucian Bute (born ...

and Snowtown on the

Kadina-Brinkworth railway line The Kadina-Brinkworth railway line was a railway line on the South Australian Railways network. History The first section of the line opened on 1 October 1879 from Kadina to Snowtown, branching off from the Balaklava-Moonta line. It was ex ...

(1879-1990).

History

Robert Barr Smith, the rich and influential new owner of the Hummocks Run, arrived in the locality accompanied by surveyors in February 1870. The first paved road to Kadina was completed at Barunga Gap in 1874, and a railway was connected from Kadina in 1878. The railway line from Kadina to Barunga Gap was begun in approximately August 1877 by day labour and piecework, to afford employment for the miners thrown out of work on the (Yorke) Peninsula. The completion of this contract was expected by December 31,1878. The railway allowed Barr Smith to ship his massive wool exports directly to the Elders & Fyffes cargo ships at Wallaroo for auction in England, and surrounding farmers and graziers to use the port at Wallaroo instead of

Port Wakefield Port Wakefield may refer to. Australia *Port Wakefield, South Australia, a town and locality * Port Wakefield railway line, part of the now-closed Balaklava-Moonta railway line in South Australia * Port Wakefield Circuit, a former motor racing cir ...

, which was shallow and required transshipment to waiting shipping using small boats. A government town was surveyed in 1879 at Barunga Gap and proclaimed as Percyton in 1880. Later the name was changed to the current designation.

References

Towns in South Australia {{SouthAustralia-geo-stub

History

See also

References