Marla 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 in the state's north-west about north-west 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 south of the town of Alice Springs in the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory shares its borders with Western Aust ...

History

Marla was constituted as a government town under the ''Crown Lands Act 1929-1980'' on 21 May 1981 and was gazetted as a locality under the ''Geographical Names Act 1991'' on 8 February 2001 with the assigned boundaries being similar to that of the government town. The name is derived from the ''Marla Bore'' which is located to west of Marla and whose name is reported as being ultimately "a corruption of the Aboriginal marlu – 'a kangaroo'". Geoffrey H. Manning, the South Australian historian, reports that the town was proclaimed as a place for "the provision of essential services to travellers crossing the continent" and to act as an administrative centre for the north-west part of the state including the

Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Aṉangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara, also known as APY, APY Lands or ''the Lands'', is a large, sparsely-populated local government area (LGA) for Aboriginal people, located in the remote north west of South Australia. Some of the aṉangu ...

lands and the Mintabie Opal Field to the town's west.

Transport

The

Stuart Highway Stuart Highway is a major Australian highway. It runs from Darwin, in the Northern Territory, via Tennant Creek and Alice Springs, to Port Augusta in South Australia; a distance of . Its northern and southern extremities are segments of Aus ...

passes through the south-west side of Marla while the alignment of the Adelaide-Darwin railway is located outside of its boundaries on the south-west side of the highway. While a site is designated as a railway station with the name ''Marla Siding'' on the south side of the railway, it is not a scheduled stop for rail services such as ''

The Ghan ''The Ghan'' is an experiential tourism oriented passenger train service that operates between the northern and southern coasts of Australia, through the cities of Adelaide, Alice Springs and Darwin on the Adelaide–Darwin rail corridor. O ...

'' as of 2018 for Marla and adjoining localities. However the northbound Ghan stops outside Marla for a morning breakfast experience.

Facilities

The town includes a health centre "Marla Clinic" operated on behalf of the state government by the

Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia The Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS), commonly known as the Flying Doctor, is an air medical service in Australia. It is a non-profit organisation that provides emergency and primary health care services for those living in rural, remote an ...

, a regional police station and a privately owned complex called the ''Marla Travellers Rest'' which is described as consisting of "roadhouse, hotel and motel, restaurant, service station, supermarket, caravan park and much more." it also is an agent for Australia Post LPO.

Population

At the 2016 census, Marla had a population of 100.

Aerodrome

Marla Airport (also known as ''Marla Aerodrome'') is located about to the south of the town in the adjoining locality of Welbourn Hill.

Governance

Marla is located within the federal division of Grey, the state

electoral district of Giles Giles is a single-member electoral district for the South Australian House of Assembly. Named after explorer Ernest Giles, it is the largest electorate in the state by area, covering of South Australian outback. Its main population centre is th ...

, the

Pastoral Unincorporated Area A pastoral lifestyle is that of shepherds herding livestock around open areas of land according to seasons and the changing availability of water and pasture. It lends its name to a genre of literature, art, and music ( pastorale) that depic ...

of South Australia and the state government region of the Far North. As of 2018, the community within Marla received municipal services from a South Australian government agency, the

Outback Communities Authority The Outback Communities Authority (OCA) is a statutory authority in South Australia (SA) created under the ''Outback Communities (Administration and Management) Act 2009''. It has been established to "manage the provision of public services and ...

Weather station

The Marla Police Station has been the site of an official weather station since 1985.

References

{{authority control Towns in South Australia Far North (South Australia) Places in the unincorporated areas of South Australia