Freeling is a small town in

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 ...

, about 60 km north 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 ...

. It neighbours the Barossa Valley wine region. At the 2016 census, Freeling had a population of 2,214.

Description

Freeling is in the

Light Regional Council Light Regional Council is a local government area north of Adelaide in South Australia. It is based in the town of Kapunda, and includes the towns of Freeling, Greenock, Hansborough, Hewett, Roseworthy and Wasleys. The council is named f ...

, the

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

electoral district of Schubert Schubert is a single-member electoral district for the South Australian House of Assembly covering an area of 2,017.8 km². It is named after Max Schubert, the winemaker of Penfolds Grange Hermitage. The Barossa Valley area was first rep ...

and the

federal Federal or foederal (archaic) may refer to: Politics General *Federal monarchy, a federation of monarchies *Federation, or ''Federal state'' (federal system), a type of government characterized by both a central (federal) government and states or ...

Division of Barker The Division of Barker is an Australian Electoral Division in the south-east of South Australia. The division was established on 2 October 1903, when South Australia's original single multi-member division was split into seven single-member div ...

History

The township of Freeling was surveyed in March 1860 by Robert Stephenson. It was named after Major-General Sir Arthur Henry Freeling, Surveyor-General of South Australia from 1849 to 1861. Freeling was a stopping place on the Gawler to Kapunda railway, which opened in 1860 but is no longer used. The Freeling Hotel was founded in 1863, the Railway Hotel in 1867 and the St Petri Lutheran Church (now a private home) in 1871. By 1866, Freeling's population numbered approximately 60.

Local economy

The main source of income for the town is its extensive farming land, where mainly cereal crops are grown. It is regarded as some of the best farming land in Australia, with the

University of Adelaide The University of Adelaide (informally Adelaide University) is a public research university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. The university's main campus is located on N ...

's Roseworthy Campus, (

Roseworthy, South Australia Roseworthy is a small town in South Australia, about 10 km north of Gawler on the Horrocks Highway. At the 2016 census, Roseworthy had a population of 994. Roseworthy has a large grain storage facility consisting of both storage silos and b ...

) situated nearby. The long-term rainfall average for Freeling is 475mm/Yr, this enables wheat crops of up to 5-6T/Ha to be grown as well as large tonnages of cereal hay, with thousands of acres of hay being harvested each year. A factory making farming implement blades and parts, has also been situated at Freeling for many years. A major tourist attraction for the town and surrounding area is a popular Australian Drama television series, ''

McLeod's Daughters ''McLeod's Daughters'' is an Australian drama television series created by Posie Graeme-Evans and Caroline Stanton for the Nine Network, which aired from 8 August 2001, to 31 January 2009, lasting eight seasons. It stars Lisa Chappell and Bri ...

''. The town had many sets used on the show, including the Gungellan Hotel (previously the Railway Hotel), truckstop and showgrounds.

Gallery

File:FreelingInstitute.JPG, Institute File:FreelingPostOffice.JPG, Post office File:FreelingPublicLibrary.JPG, Public library File:FreelingUnitingChurch.JPG, Uniting Church File:FreelingWarMemorial.JPG, War Memorial

References

External links