Cummins is a town on

Eyre Peninsula The Eyre Peninsula is a triangular peninsula in South Australia. It is bounded by the Spencer Gulf on the east, the Great Australian Bight on the west, and the Gawler Ranges to the north. Originally called Eyre’s Peninsula, it was named aft ...

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 ...

, 67 km north of

Port Lincoln Port Lincoln is a town on the Lower Eyre Peninsula in the Australian state of South Australia. It is situated on the shore of Boston Bay, which opens eastward into Spencer Gulf. It is the largest city in the West Coast region, and is located a ...

and 60 m above sea level. At the 2011 census, the town had a population of 719. Cummins was named after William Patrick Cummins, a member of the

South Australian House of Assembly The House of Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of South Australia. The other is the Legislative Council. It sits in Parliament House in the state capital, Adelaide. Overview The House of Assembly was creat ...

from 1896 to 1907. The town of Cummins was developed in 1910 a few years after the first settlers in the area arrived. The railway to Port Lincoln arrived in 1907. The bounded locality of Cummins includes the former railway sidings of Pillana (south of the town) and Wildeloo (north of it). The major industries are

sheep farming Sheep farming or sheep husbandry is the raising and breeding of domestic sheep. It is a branch of animal husbandry. Sheep are raised principally for their meat (lamb and mutton), milk (sheep's milk), and fiber (wool). They also yield sheepskin an ...

and

cereal grain A cereal is any grass cultivated for the edible components of its grain (botanically, a type of fruit called a caryopsis), composed of the endosperm, germ, and bran. Cereal grain crops are grown in greater quantities and provide more food en ...

growing. There was a junction of the

narrow gauge A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller structu ...

Eyre Peninsula Railway The Eyre Peninsula Railway is a gauge railway on the Eyre Peninsula of South Australia. Radiating out from the ports at Port Lincoln and Thevenard, it is isolated from the rest of the South Australian railway network. Peaking at 777 kilometr ...

within the town. The railway facilitated transfer of grain to the deep-water port at Port Lincoln, primarily for export till operation of the railway was discontinued on 21 May 2019. The

Tod Highway Tod Highway is an important 177 kilometre highway serving South Australia's Eyre Peninsula's wheatbelt, and is designated route B90. It is named after Robert Tod who explored the area in 1839. Route Tod Highway begins from Eyre Highway at Kyanc ...

and Bratten Way intersect at Cummins. A large grain storage and transshipment facility lies on the southern outskirts of town. Cummins is the headquarters of the

District Council of Lower Eyre Peninsula The District Council of Lower Eyre Peninsula is a Local government in Australia, local government area located on Eyre Peninsula in South Australia. The district covers the southern tip of the peninsula, except for the small area taken up by the ...

. It is in the state

electoral district of Flinders Flinders is a single-member electoral district for the South Australian House of Assembly. It is named after explorer Matthew Flinders, who was responsible for charting most of the state's coastline. It is a 58,901 km² coastal rural elector ...

and the federal Division of Grey. The town has a bowls club with 3 greens which competes in the Southern Eyre Peninsula Men's Bowling Association. Cummins is the birthplace of former Australian

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

player John Fitzgerald who in a career spanning 1980-1997 won seven

Grand Slam Grand Slam most often refers to: * Grand Slam (tennis), one player or pair winning all four major annual tournaments, or the tournaments themselves Grand Slam or Grand slam may also refer to: Games and sports * Grand slam, winning category te ...

Doubles titles at all four major events (

Australian Open The Australian Open is a tennis tournament held annually at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia. The tournament is the first of the four Grand Slam tennis events held each year, preceding the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open. Th ...

(1982),

French Open The French Open (french: Internationaux de France de tennis), also known as Roland-Garros (), is a major tennis tournament held over two weeks at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France, beginning in late May each year. The tournament and ven ...

(1986, 1991),

Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * ...

(1989, 1991), and the US Open (1984, 1991). The Traditional custodians of the district were the Nawu people.David Horton (ed.),Aboriginal Australia Map (The Encyclopedia of Aboriginal Australia by AIATSIS, 1994)

References

{{authority control Towns in South Australia Eyre Peninsula