Kalangadoo, formerly Kalangadoo East, is a locality in the Australian state of

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

located about south-east of the state capital of

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

and about north of the regional centre of

Mount Gambier Mount Gambier is the second most populated city in South Australia, with a population of 25,591 as of the 2021 census. The city is located on the slopes of Mount Gambier (volcano), Mount Gambier, a volcano in the south east of the state, about ...

History

The town was originally proclaimed as Kalangadoo East in 1891. An Aboriginal word, the name means "big trees in water."Chuck, 1991, p 20 The town grew around the Kalangadoo railway station on the

Mount Gambier railway line The Mount Gambier railway line is a closed railway line in South Australia. Opened in stages from 1881, it was built to narrow gauge and joined Mount Gambier railway station, which was at that time the eastern terminus of a line to Beachport. ...

, which ran between Naracoorte and

, and was opened in 1887. The village flourished after the

narrow gauge railway A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge (distance between the rails) narrower than . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with Minimum railw ...

arrived in 1887, and the public school was established in 1892. The railway station was built in 1907. The name was changed to Kalangadoo in 1940, but after

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

the town languished, as farmers used their cars to shop in Penola and Mount Gambier. The public school reached a peak enrolment of 150 pupils in 1966, falling to 74 by 1991.Chuck, p 135 The railway station closed in 1985, although the railway line continued to carry trains past the town. The station remained empty until 1999, when the local mill bought it for use as a retail outlet for timber. The line closed to

freight In transportation, cargo refers to goods transported by land, water or air, while freight refers to its conveyance. In economics, freight refers to goods transported at a freight rate for commercial gain. The term cargo is also used in ...

on 12 April 1995, but tourist trains continued to be run by the

Limestone Coast Railway The Limestone Coast Railway was a tourist railway in the Australian state of South Australia which, from 1998 to 2006, operated a tourist service from Mount Gambier to stations on local gauge railway lines which had been closed in April 1995. ...

, until they too ceased running, on 1 July 2006. The old timber mill was purchased by Sydney company Shield Formply in 2016 with plans to transform the plant and create new jobs. It was planned that the mill would use locally-grown

blue gum Blue gum is a common name for subspecies or the species in ''Eucalyptus globulus'' complex, and also a number of other species of ''Eucalyptus'' in Australia. In Queensland, it usually refers to ''Eucalyptus tereticornis'', which is known elsewher ...

and pine to manufacture

wood veneer Veneer refers to thin slices of wood and sometimes bark that typically are glued onto core panels (typically, wood, particle board or medium-density fiberboard) to produce flat panels such as doors, tops and panels for cabinets, parquet fl ...

for export. The town has a community club, which serves as a home ground the Kalangadoo Football Club, Kalangadoo Netball Club, Kalangadoo Cricket Club & Kalangadoo Bowls Club. In 2021, an upgrade to facilities was unveiled

Description

Kalangadoo is the centre of a rich agricultural district that specialises in potatoes and timber, as well as apple orchards,

beef cattle Beef cattle are cattle raised for meat production (as distinguished from dairy cattle, used for milk (production)). The meat of mature or almost mature cattle is mostly known as beef. In beef production there are three main stages: cow-calf opera ...

, sheep and

dairy cattle Dairy cattle (also called dairy cows) are cattle bred with the ability to produce large quantities of milk, from which dairy products are made. Dairy cattle generally are of the species '' Bos taurus''. Historically, little distinction was ...

.Chuck, 1991 Today the small business district includes a general store, a farm supply store, a pub, and a

timber mill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes (dimens ...

. At the

2016 Australian census The 2016 Australian census was the 17th Census in Australia, national population census held in Australia. The census was officially conducted with effect on Tuesday, 9 August 2016. The total population of the Commonwealth of Australia was count ...

, the state suburb of Kalangadoo had a population of 473, while the locality had 288. The

Anglican Church Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

of St Alban the Martyr is the only active church, because the Catholic church, built in 1904, is seldom used, and the Presbyterian church, which opened 1914, is now a

bed and breakfast A bed and breakfast (typically shortened to B&B or BnB) is a small lodging establishment that offers overnight accommodation and breakfast. In addition, a B&B sometimes has the hosts living in the house. ''Bed and breakfast'' is also used to ...

. What became the

Uniting Church The Uniting Church in Australia (UCA) is a united church in Australia. The church was founded on 22 June 1977 when most congregations of the Methodist Church of Australasia, about two-thirds of the Presbyterian Church of Australia and almost a ...

opened in 1906 and closed in 2007, with its old buildings used for the weekly farmers' market. enrolment at Kalangadoo Primary School was 27, with pupils split into two classes. The disused railway station houses a small museum created in 2011 and run by former

stationmaster The station master (or stationmaster) is the person in charge of a railway station, particularly in the United Kingdom and many other countries outside North America. In the United Kingdom, where the term originated, it is now largely historical ...

and railway enthusiast Peter Savage, who has collected memorabilia relating to the station from all over the country. The historic

Kalangadoo House Kalangadoo, formerly Kalangadoo East, is a locality in the Australian state of South Australia located about south-east of the state capital of Adelaide city centre, Adelaide and about north of the regional centre of Mount Gambier, South Austr ...

, off the Kalangadoo- Nangwarry Road, is on the

South Australian Heritage Register The South Australian Heritage Register, also known as the SA Heritage Register, is a statutory register of historic places in South Australia. It extends legal protection regarding demolition and development under the ''Heritage Places Act 1993'' ...

Governance

Kalangadoo is located within the federal

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 d ...

, the state

electoral district of MacKillop MacKillop is a single-member Electoral districts of South Australia, electoral district for the South Australian House of Assembly. It was named in 1991 after Sister Mary MacKillop who served the local area, and later became the first Australia ...

, and the local government area of

Wattle Range Council Wattle Range Council is a local government area in the Limestone Coast region of South Australia. It stretches from the coast at Beachport east to the Victorian border. It had a population of over 11,000 as at the 2016 Census. The council is d ...

References

;Citations ;Source *

External links

Old photos of Kalangadoo
at the

State Library of South Australia The State Library of South Australia, or SLSA, formerly known as the Public Library of South Australia, located on North Terrace, Adelaide, is the official library of the Australian state of South Australia. It is the largest public research li ...

{{authority control Towns in South Australia Limestone Coast