Pekina is a town and locality in the

Mid North The Mid North is a region of South Australia, north of the Adelaide Plains and south of the Far North and the outback. It is generally accepted to extend from Spencer Gulf east to the Barrier Highway, including the coastal plain, the southern ...

region 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 ...

. The town is located in the

District Council of Orroroo Carrieton The District Council of Orroroo Carrieton is a local government area in the Yorke and Mid North region of South Australia. The principal towns are Orroroo and Carrieton; it also includes the localities of Belton, Black Rock, Coomooroo, Ers ...

local government area, north of the state capital,

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 ...

. At the , Pekina and the surrounding area had a population of 172. The name of the town is thought to derive from the Aboriginal word for "creek water". European settlement in the Pekina district began in earnest in 1846 when Price Maurice brought 3000 sheep to the district. The Pekina Station, "one of the most profitable sheep runs" in South Australia, became a stopping-point for coaches on the run between Blinman and Burra. In 1871, Pekina Station was resumed and broken up for closer settlement. The region was settled by German and especially Irish migrant farmers. Problems with

drought A drought is defined as drier than normal conditions.Douville, H., K. Raghavan, J. Renwick, R.P. Allan, P.A. Arias, M. Barlow, R. Cerezo-Mota, A. Cherchi, T.Y. Gan, J. Gergis, D. Jiang, A. Khan, W. Pokam Mba, D. Rosenfeld, J. Tierney, an ...

rust Rust is an iron oxide, a usually reddish-brown oxide formed by the reaction of iron and oxygen in the catalytic presence of water or air moisture. Rust consists of hydrous iron(III) oxides (Fe2O3·nH2O) and iron(III) oxide-hydroxide (FeO( ...

and locusts in the 1880s meant the town grew slowly with only around 75 residents at the beginning of the 20th century. Pekina's Irish Roman Catholic heritage has seen the district nicknamed "Vatican Valley". The historic former Pekina Animal Pound is listed 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. ...

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Further reading