Eurelia is a town and locality in the Australian state 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 ...

located on the east side of the

Flinders Ranges The Flinders Ranges are the largest mountain range in South Australia, which starts about north of Adelaide. The ranges stretch for over from Port Pirie to Lake Callabonna. The Adnyamathanha people are the Aboriginal group who have inhabit ...

about north of the state capital of

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

and about from the municipal seat of Orroroo. The town was surveyed in July 1878 and was gazetted as a government town on 12 September 1878 with its name being derived from the cadastral unit of the Hundred of Eurelia. The locality's boundaries were created on 16 December 1999 for the “long established name” and includes the site of the Government Town of Eurelia. Eurelia's name comes from the local Jadliaura language and translates to "place of the ear". It is thought that local Dreamtime stories associated with the Ranges locates Eurelia as an "ear" of a prostrate man.Manning, G; 1990 Manning's Place Names of South Australia The pronunciation of the town's name gives rise to some long standing jokes. One joke has two railway porters at each end of the platform and as each train pulls in one would call out "You're a liar! You're a liar", and the other would reply "You really are! You really are!". (I.e. the town's name sounds like either "you're a liar" or "you really are", depending on which syllable the stress falls). The "correct" pronunciation is "you really are" The

District Council of Carrieton The District Council of Carrieton was a local government area in South Australia, centred on the town of Carrieton from 1888 until 1997. History The council was established on 5 January 1888 as the District Council of Eurelia under the provisi ...

, based in adjacent Carrieton, was known as the District Council of Eurelia for the first six years of its existence, from 1888 to 1894. Land use within the locality is ’primary production’ and is concerned with “agricultural production and the grazing of stock on relatively large holdings.” Eurelia is located within the federal division of

Grey Grey (more common in British English) or gray (more common in American English) is an intermediate color between black and white. It is a neutral or achromatic color, meaning literally that it is "without color", because it can be composed o ...

, the state electoral district of Stuart and the local government area of the

District Council of Orroroo Carrieton The District Council of Orroroo Carrieton is a local government area in the Yorke and Mid North region of South Australia. The principal towns are Orroroo and Carrieton; it also includes the localities of Belton, Black Rock, Coomooroo, Ers ...

Railways

Eurelia is located on route of the former

Peterborough–Quorn railway line The Peterborough–Quorn railway line was a railway line on the South Australian Railways network. Located in the upper Mid North of South Australia, it opened from Peterborough to Orroroo on 23 November 1881, being extended to Quorn on 22 ...

, built in 1881, and ceased regular use by the 1980s. It then became the northern terminus of operations of the Steamtown Peterborough Railway Preservation Society running trains from

Peterborough Peterborough () is a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, east of England. It is the largest part of the City of Peterborough unitary authority district (which covers a larger area than Peterborough itself). It was part of Northamptonshire until ...

between 1981 and 2002. Eurelia had two dams. The first built when the railway was constructed by C & E Miller. The original dam held . This dam was later supplemented by a new dam of the same capacity which was built to the north of the original dam, with the intent that the old dam would act as a settling pond. Construction started in 1948 and was completed in 1952. The dam remained empty until 1958 when, after heavy rains in the region, both dams filled. Water from the dams was shipped across the SAR during times of drought.Doncaster, N (as Editor) – ''Eurelia Dams'' – The Partyline No67 Autumn 1997; Steamtown Peterborough Railway Preservation Society (the article notes the material has been drawn from; Shepard, M; ''Ups and Downs of Eurelia 1876 to 1976''

References

{{authority control Towns in South Australia