Kyancutta is a small
wheatbelt town at the junction of the
Eyre and
Tod Highways on the
Eyre Peninsula in
South Australia. Once a busy town with an
airport, Kyancutta is now nearly a
ghost town, acting only as a centre for the
agricultural
Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating Plant, plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of Sedentism, sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of Domestication, domesticated species created food ...
districts surrounding it, as well as passing
tourists.
History
The town was established in 1917 to support the surrounding
agricultural
Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating Plant, plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of Sedentism, sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of Domestication, domesticated species created food ...
lands.
The name is thought to be derived from the
Aboriginal
Aborigine, aborigine or aboriginal may refer to:
*Aborigines (mythology), in Roman mythology
* Indigenous peoples, general term for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area
*One of several groups of indigenous peoples, see ...
''kanjakatari''; ''kanja'' – "
stone" and ''katari'' – "surface water", implying water in rocks.
Another possible origin is that the name was taken from a nearby hill "Kutta kutta" which was the local Aboriginal name for the
night hawk
The nighthawk is a nocturnal bird of the subfamily Chordeilinae, within the nightjar family, Caprimulgidae, native to the western hemisphere. The term "nighthawk", first recorded in the King James Bible of 1611, was originally a local name in ...
.
An
airport was built not long after establishment, and flights between
Adelaide and
Perth stopped there regularly. This added another facet to the town's
economy, and caused the town to fall into a steady decline after its closure in 1935.
A school was built in the town in 1920, remaining active for 25 years before closing in 1945.
An official
weather station, established at Kyancutta in 1928, became Australia's first fully automated station with a three hourly programme of weather observation which is still ongoing under the care of the
Australian Bureau of Meteorology.
In 1986, a memorial park was established to honour the pioneers of
agricultural
Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating Plant, plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of Sedentism, sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of Domestication, domesticated species created food ...
settlement in the area.
Economy
The town now is the service centre for the surrounding
agricultural
Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating Plant, plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of Sedentism, sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of Domestication, domesticated species created food ...
districts, with
cereal crops and
sheep grazing the prevalent industries. Grain silos for storage of
wheat and
field peas are located in Kyancutta at the railway station on the
Eyre Peninsula Railway
The Eyre Peninsula Railway is a gauge railway on the Eyre Peninsula of South Australia. Radiating out from the ports at Port Lincoln and Thevenard, it is isolated from the rest of the South Australian railway network. Peaking at 777 kilometr ...
to
Port Lincoln.
It also serves as a rest point for travellers making their way across the
Eyre Highway. Kyancutta has no real attractions of its own, but a number of natural features including Waddikee Rock and Corrobinne Hill do lie within 20 km of the town.
Facilities
Kyancutta has free camping in the park adjacent the Kyancutta Store. The store does Cafe food and Coffee as well as fuel. For the locals, a
post office and a sporting complex including 18 hole
golf course,
tennis,
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
and
netball facilities are also located in the town.
References
External links
Tourism Eyre Peninsula page
{{authority control
Towns in South Australia
Eyre Peninsula