Kalangadoo, formerly Kalangadoo East, is a 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 about south-east 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 north of the regional centre of

Mount Gambier Mount Gambier is the second most populated city in South Australia, with an estimated urban population of 33,233 . The city is located on the slopes of Mount Gambier, a volcano in the south east of the state, about south-east of the capital Ad ...

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 was a railway line on the South Australian Railways network. 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 ...

, which ran between Naracoorte and

, and was opened in 1887. The village flourished after the narrow gauge railway 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, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

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 Cargo consists of bulk goods conveyed by water, air, or land. In economics, freight is cargo that is transported at a freight rate for commercial gain. ''Cargo'' was originally a shipload but now covers all types of freight, including tran ...

on 12 April 1995, but tourist trains continued to be run by the Limestone Coast Railway, 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 and pine to manufacture

wood veneer In woodworking, veneer refers to thin slices of wood and sometimes bark, usually thinner than 3 mm (1/8 inch), that typically are glued onto core panels (typically, wood, particle board or medium-density fiberboard) to produce flat panels s ...

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 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 for 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 (dimensi ...

. At the 2016 Australian census, the state suburb of Kalangadoo had a population of 473, while the locality had 288. The

Anglican Church Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of 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 Bed and breakfast (typically shortened to B&B or BnB) is a small lodging establishment that offers overnight accommodation and breakfast. Bed and breakfasts are often private family homes and typically have between four and eleven rooms, wit ...

. What became the

Uniting Church The Uniting Church in Australia (UCA) 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 all the churches of the Congregational Unio ...

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 and railway enthusiast Peter Savage, who has collected memorabilia relating to the station from all over the country. The historic Kalangadoo House, 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 South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. ...

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 div ...

, the state

electoral district of MacKillop MacKillop is a single-member 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 Australian to be canonised as a Roman Catholic s ...

, and the local government area of Wattle Range Council.

References

;Citations ;Source *

External links

Old photos of Kalangadoo
at the State Library of South Australia {{authority control Towns in South Australia Limestone Coast