Emu Downs is a rural

locality Locality may refer to: * Locality (association), an association of community regeneration organizations in England * Locality (linguistics) * Locality (settlement) * Suburbs and localities (Australia), in which a locality is a geographic subdivis ...

in the

Mid North The Mid North is a region of South Australia, north of the Adelaide Plains and south of the Far North and the outback. It is generally accepted to extend from Spencer Gulf east to the Barrier Highway, including the coastal plain, the southern ...

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 ...

, situated in the

Regional Council of Goyder The Regional Council of Goyder is a local government area located in the Mid North region of South Australia. The council area is reliant on agriculture as a mainstay of its economy, with manufacturing and tourism also becoming prominent. The co ...

. In 1880, the Emu Downs were described as "a vale extending between the Robertstown ranges on the west, and a line of smaller hills on the east. On the western side the country is adapted for sheep, and the stations

Anlaby Anlaby is a village forming part of the western suburbs of Kingston upon Hull, in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It forms part of the civil parish of Anlaby with Anlaby Common. History Anlaby is recorded in the ''Domesday Book'' as "U ...

and Koonoona meet. Just within the rainfall line, the crops in most years are fair". Emu Downs Post Office opened on 1 May 1881, was downgraded to a receiving office on 1 March 1921, upgraded again on 1 July 1927, and then closed permanently on 31 December 1973. Emu Downs Lutheran Church was dedicated in 1876. The first church closed in 1908, with a new church being built the same year. The second church closed in 1989 and was sold to private buyers; it was severely damaged in a fire but has since been refurbished. Emu Downs School opened as a Lutheran school as early as 1876. In June 1917, the school was one of 49 "German" schools seized and taken over by the state government in June 1917 as a consequence of World War I, and was reopened in July as a state school. It varied between being classed as a provisional school or primary school in subsequent years depending on numbers, before closing due to dwindling attendance in 1949. In its final year, the Emu Downs teacher lived in a caravan on the school grounds because the nearest available accommodation was four miles away. The Emu Downs Cemetery is located off Kotz Road, and is maintained by the Russian Molokan Spiritual Christian Leapers & Jumpers Cemetery Inc. The formal gazetted locality of Emu Downs was established in August 2000. It is located in the cadastral hundred of Apoinga.

References

{{authority control Towns in South Australia Mid North (South Australia)

See also

References