Quorn is a small town and railhead in the

Flinders Ranges The Flinders Ranges are the largest mountain range in South Australia, which starts about north of Adelaide. The ranges stretch for over from Port Pirie to Lake Callabonna. The Adnyamathanha people are the Aboriginal group who have inhabi ...

in the north 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 ...

, northeast of

Port Augusta Port Augusta is a small city in South Australia. Formerly a port, seaport, it is now a road traffic and Junction (rail), railway junction city mainly located on the east coast of the Spencer Gulf immediately south of the gulf's head and about ...

. At the , the locality had a population of 1,230, of which 1,131 lived in its town centre. Quorn is the home of the

Flinders Ranges Council Flinders Ranges Council is a local government area (LGA) located in the Flinders Ranges of South Australia. The LGA is approximately 100 km from north to south, and 45 km from east to west, with a total area of 4,198 square kilometres ...

local government area A local government area (LGA) is an administrative division of a country that a local government is responsible for. The size of an LGA varies by country but it is generally a subdivision of a State (administrative division), state, province, divi ...

. It is in the state

Electoral district of Stuart Stuart is a single-member electoral district for the South Australian House of Assembly. At 323,131 km², it is a vast country district extending from the Spencer Gulf as far as the Northern Territory border in the north and the Queensl ...

and the federal Division of Grey. With its picturesque setting and heritage-listed buildings, the town is known for tourism and as a filming location, as well as being the terminus of the

Pichi Richi Railway The Pichi Richi Railway is a narrow-gauge heritage railway in the southern Flinders Ranges of South Australia between Quorn and Port Augusta. For much of its length the line lies in the picturesque Pichi Richi Pass, where the line was complete ...

History

The town was surveyed by Godfrey Walsh in 1878 and named after Quorndon in

Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ; postal abbreviation Leics.) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East Midlands, England. The county borders Nottinghamshire to the north, Lincolnshire to the north-east, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire t ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

, as part of the preparations for building the railway line from

northwards. The railway line from Port Augusta to Quorn opened in 1879 and was subsequently extended north to Government Gums (Farina) in 1882, Marree in 1884,

Oodnadatta Oodnadatta is a small, remote outback town and locality in the Australian state of South Australia, located north-north-west of the state capital of Adelaide by road or direct, at an altitude of . The unsealed Oodnadatta Track, an outback road ...

in 1890 and

Alice Springs Alice Springs ( aer, Mparntwe) is the third-largest town in the Northern Territory of Australia. Known as Stuart until 31 August 1933, the name Alice Springs was given by surveyor William Whitfield Mills after Alice, Lady Todd (''née'' Al ...

in 1929. This railway line later became known as the Great Northern Railway and later the

Central Australia Railway The former Central Australia Railway, which was built between 1878 and 1929 and closed in 1980, was a 1067 mm narrow gauge railway between Port Augusta and Alice Springs. A standard gauge line duplicated the southern section from Port Aug ...

. In 1917, Quorn became the crossroads of any north–south (on the Central Australian Railway to Oodnadatta) or east–west travel in Australia, when the

Trans-Australian Railway The Trans-Australian Railway, opened in 1917, runs from Port Augusta in South Australia to Kalgoorlie in Western Australia, crossing the Nullarbor Plain in the process. As the only rail freight corridor between Western Australia and the easter ...

was completed between Port Augusta and

Kalgoorlie Kalgoorlie is a city in the Goldfields–Esperance region of Western Australia, located east-northeast of Perth at the end of the Great Eastern Highway. It is sometimes referred to as Kalgoorlie–Boulder, as the surrounding urban area includ ...

. This made Quorn an important town, given that any person travelling east–west or north–south in Australia would need to pass through Quorn. As a result, many fine buildings were built as the town expanded. Quorn's role as a crossroads was lost when a standard gauge railway connection was opened between Port Pirie Junction and

in 1937, meaning east–west trains bypassed Quorn. However, during

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 opposin ...

, Quorn was a vital service point for trains heading north to

and carried over 1,000,000 troops heading to Darwin and on to Papua New Guinea. Trains services through Quorn peaked at over 50 per day during and immediately after the period of World War II. Services during this time also included coal mined at Leigh Creek being moved to the newly opened

Playford A Power Station Playford may refer to: Places * City of Playford, Australia * Electoral district of Playford, Australia * Playford B Power Station, South Australia * Playford, Suffolk, a village in England * Hotel in Australia, part of Accor Hotels People *The ...

in Port Augusta. During the 1950s a new standard gauge line was built that passed on the western side of

The Dutchmans Stern __NOTOC__ The Dutchmans Stern is a mountain in South Australia located in the Flinders Ranges about north-west of the town of Quorn, South Australia, Quorn and north east of the city of Port Augusta, South Australia, Port Augusta. The mount ...

, Mount Arden and

Mount Eyre E, or e, is the fifth letter and the second vowel letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''e'' (pronounced ); plu ...

, from

Stirling North Stirling North is a town located east of Port Augusta in the Australian state of South Australia. The now abandoned Marree railway line forms the official border line separating the two towns. Primarily, Stirling North is a satellite town to Po ...

to Brachina and then roughly following the original narrow gauge route through Leigh Creek and to Marree, thus bypassing Quorn. This bypass took away the last railway traffic through the Pichi Richi Pass, and the last major freight traffic through Quorn. The only services left operating through Quorn were freight between

Peterborough Peterborough () is a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, east of England. It is the largest part of the City of Peterborough unitary authority district (which covers a larger area than Peterborough itself). It was part of Northamptonshire until ...

and

Hawker Hawker or Hawkers may refer to: Places * Hawker, Australian Capital Territory, a suburb of Canberra * Hawker, South Australia, a town * Division of Hawker, an Electoral Division in South Australia * Hawker Island, Princess Elizabeth Land, Antarct ...

. As a result, Quorn's importance diminished and eventually in 1980s the railway was completely closed as the last freight was moved to road transport. One unusual aspect of the railway working from Peterborough to Quorn and then on to Hawker was the need for the engine to be turned and attached to the opposite end of the train when arriving at Quorn, as it was not a "through" station for the trip from Peterborough to Hawker. In 1973, a group of railway enthusiasts assembled with the desire to preserve the unique bridges and stone work built in the previous century that formed the railway through the Pichi Richi Pass between Quorn and Stirling North. Thus the Pichi Richi Railway Preservation Society was formed. Although the intention was to just preserve the railway through the Pichi Richi Pass, they later acquired operable railway rollingstock and locomotives and today provide a tourist railway service through the Pichi Richi Pass from Quorn to Port Augusta. There is at least one book by preservationists showing the line in its heyday.

Tourism

A main attraction in Quorn is the

. There are also self-guided walking tours in the town, including several based around the town's historic old buildings, the railway yards and other historic locations. Quorn recently installed signage outside the historic buildings for historic and tourist information. The Flinders Ranges Visitor Information Centre / Pichi Richi Railway in the

Quorn railway station Quorn railway station was located on the Central Australia Railway, and also the Peterborough-Quorn railway line serving the South Australian town of Quorn. History Quorn station opened on 15 December 1879 as the interim terminus of the Centra ...

has a museum, and provides visitor information including workshop tours, bookings for travel on the railway, accommodation information, heritage self-guided walking maps and souvenirs. There are a number of restaurants, bistro and cafes in town. at the hotels on Railway Terrace, (Transcontinental, Austral, Criterion Hotels) and cafe's including Teas on the Terrace and Quandong Café. Emilys Bistro in First Street is currently closed. The

Heysen Trail The Heysen Trail is a long distance walking trail in South Australia. It runs from Parachilna Gorge, in the Flinders Ranges via the Adelaide Hills to Cape Jervis on the Fleurieu Peninsula and is approximately in length. Route summary From n ...

and the Mawson Trail, a pair of long-distance trails dedicated respectively to walking and cycling, pass through town and there are many bushwalks and

four-wheel drive Four-wheel drive, also called 4×4 ("four by four") or 4WD, refers to a two-axled vehicle drivetrain capable of providing torque to all of its wheels simultaneously. It may be full-time or on-demand, and is typically linked via a transfer case ...

tracks. Quorn is a stopover for many travellers coming from

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 ...

to explore the

. The tourist office is in the Quorn Railway Station provides free information, maps and trails to safely see the best sites in the Flinders, including Warren Gorge,

Kanyaka Station Kanyaka Station was a cattle and sheep station in the Flinders Ranges of South Australia located at Kanyaka, approximately north-north-east of Quorn, South Australia. along Hawker-Stirling North Road (B83) History The area was inhabited by ...

, Proby's Grave and Itali Itali. The grain silos in the Quorn railway yards are viewing area for a nightly film showing the local history or Quorn and surrounds and on display every evening after dark. This is an open-air and free event. Quorn has also been the location for several popular films, including '' The Shiralee'', '' Sunday Too Far Away'', ''

Gallipoli The Gallipoli peninsula (; tr, Gelibolu Yarımadası; grc, Χερσόνησος της Καλλίπολης, ) is located in the southern part of East Thrace, the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles ...

'', '' Wolf Creek'', '' The Sundowners'', '' The Lighthorsemen'' and ''The Last Ride'' starring

Hugo Weaving Hugo Wallace Weaving (born 4 April 1960) is an English actor. Born in Colonial Nigeria to English parents, he has resided in Australia for the entirety of his career. He is the recipient of six AACTA Awards, Australian Academy of Cinema and Tel ...

. In 2014

Russell Crowe Russell Ira Crowe (born 7 April 1964) is an actor. He was born in New Zealand, spent ten years of his childhood in Australia, and moved there permanently at age twenty one. He came to international attention for his role as Roman General Maxi ...

directed ''

The Water Diviner ''The Water Diviner'' is a 2014 drama film starring and directed by Russell Crowe, in his directorial debut, and written by Andrew Anastasios and Andrew Knight. The film is loosely based on the book of the same name written by Andrew Anastasio ...

'', using the Pichi Richi Railway for the railway scenes.

People

*Quorn is home to country music artist

Jedd Hughes Jedd Hughes (born in Quorn, Australia) is an Australian singer, songwriter, session musician, and record producer. Early life Hughes grew up in Quorn, where he grew up listening to his father's country records. He won a local country music ...

*Birthplace of politician

Brian Harradine Richard William Brian Harradine (9 January 1935 – 14 April 2014) was an Australian politician who served as an independent member of the Australian Senate, from 1975 to 2005, representing the state of Tasmania. He was the longest-serving indep ...

*Birthplace of actress Anne Haddy *Birthplace of champion

SANFL The South Australian National Football League, or SANFL ( or ''S-A-N-F-L''), is an Australian rules football league based in the Australian state of South Australia. It is also the state's governing body for the sport. Originally formed as the ...

footballer

Fos Williams Foster Neil "Fos" Williams AM (21 February 1922 – 1 September 2001) was a leading Australian rules footballer who played for and coached the Port Adelaide and West Adelaide Football Clubs and coached South Adelaide in the South Australian ...

*Former Australian of the Year,

Lowitja O'Donoghue Lowitja Lois O'Donoghue Smart, (born 1932) is an Aboriginal Australian retired public administrator. In 1990-1996 she was the inaugural chairperson of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC) (dismantled in 2004). She is p ...

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

, spent much of her childhood at the

Colebrook Children's Home Colebrook Home was a South Australian institution for Australian Aboriginal children run by the United Aborigines Mission from 1924 (named Colebrook in 1927) to 1981, existing at four different locations over its lifetime. History Colebrook Hom ...

, an institution housing Aboriginal children run by the

United Aborigines Mission The United Aborigines Mission (UAM) (also known as UAM Ministries, United Aborigines' Mission (Australia), and United Aborigines' Mission of Australia) was one of the largest missions in Australia, having dozens of missionaries and stations, and c ...

*Quorn is also home to

SES SES, S.E.S., Ses and similar variants can refere to: Business and economics * Socioeconomic status * Scottish Economic Society, a learned society in Scotland * SES, callsign of the TV station SES/RTS (Mount Gambier, South Australia) * SES S.A., ...

volunteer and cleaner, Jose Omonte-Estrada; he murdered two young women (one under the age of 18) in 2012.

Heritage listings

Quorn has a number of heritage-listed sites, including: * Arden Vale Road: Mt Arden Station * 37 First Street: Savings Bank of South Australia, Quorn * 45-47 First Street: Foster's Store * Quorn-Port Augusta Road: Woolshed Flat Railway Bridge * Railway Terrace: Catholic Church of the Immaculate Conception, Quorn * Railway Terrace:

* 20 (Rear) Railway Terrace: Quorn Institute * 2 Railway Terrace: Dunn's Flour Mill * 6 Railway Terrace: Bank of Adelaide, Quorn * 11 Railway Terrace: National Bank, Quorn * 14-15 Railway Terrace: Transcontinental Hotel, Quorn * 16 Railway Terrace Austral Hotel, Quorn * 17 Railway Terrace: Bruse's Hall * 18 Railway Terrace: Criterion Hotel, Quorn * 19 Railway Terrace: Quorn Courthouse * 20 Railway Terrace: Quorn Town Hall * 25 Railway Terrace: Grand Junction Hotel * 15 Seventh Street: St Matthew's Anglican Church, Quorn

Gallery

Image:Quorn-Council-Chambers.JPG, Quorn Town Hall Image:Quorn-Methodist-Church.JPG, Methodist Church (now Uniting Church), Quorn Image:Savings Bank of South Australia - Old Quorn Branch.jpg, Built in the 1890s as a saddlery, it then became the Savings Bank of SA Image:Steam_Motor_Coach_No.1.jpg, The Coffee Pot Image:Quorn_Railway_Station,_Quorn_SA.jpg, Quorn Railway Station

References

External links

SA History - Quorn

Pichi Richi Railway Website
{{authority control Towns in South Australia Flinders Ranges Populated places established in 1878 1878 establishments in Australia Far North (South Australia)