Wirrabara is a town and a locality in South Australia, about north of Adelaide. It is located in the Southern Flinders Ranges in the Mid North of South Australia, along the

Rocky River Rocky River may refer to: Localities *Rocky River, Ohio, USA * Rocky River, New South Wales near Uralla, Australia Electorates *Electoral district of Rocky River (South Australia) Streams In Australia: * Rocky River (New South Wales) * R ...

. The

Horrocks Highway Main North Road is the major north-south arterial route through the suburbs north of the Adelaide City Centre in the city of Adelaide, South Australia. It continues north through the settled areas of South Australia and is a total of long, fro ...

(Main North Road) passes through the town. At the

2016 census Sixteen or 16 may refer to: *16 (number), the natural number following 15 and preceding 17 *one of the years 16 BC, AD 16, 1916, 2016 Films * ''Pathinaaru'' or ''Sixteen'', a 2010 Tamil film * ''Sixteen'' (1943 film), a 1943 Argentine film dir ...

, the locality had a population of 403 of which 230 lived in its town centre.

History

The name Wirrabara derives from a corruption of two words from the Kaurna language of the "

Adelaide tribe The Kaurna people (, ; also Coorna, Kaura, Gaurna and other variations) are a group of Aboriginal people whose traditional lands include the Adelaide Plains of South Australia. They were known as the Adelaide tribe by the early settlers. Kaurna ...

", ''wirra'' (gum trees) and ''birra'' (running water); in the

Nukunu language Nukunu (or Nugunu or many other names: see below) is a moribund Australian Aboriginal language spoken by Nukunu people on Yorke Peninsula, South Australia. As of 2017, there is a revival and maintenance programme under way for the language. N ...

of the local Nukunu people, ''wira'' and ''parl'' means gum trees with honey and water. A timber milling industry was established in Wirrabara during the early 1850s. The town was surveyed in 1874. In 1877 the first government forest nursery in Australia was planted in the nearby Wirrabara forest. The

Wilmington railway line The Wilmington railway line was a railway line on the South Australian Railways network. It opened from Gladstone to Laura on 2 June 1884. It was extended from Laura to Booleroo Centre on 13 April 1910, and to Wilmington on 20 July 1915. The ...

was extended north from

Gladstone William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British statesman and Liberal politician. In a career lasting over 60 years, he served for 12 years as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, spread over four non-conse ...

and

Laura Laura may refer to: People * Laura (given name) * Laura, the British code name for the World War I Belgian spy Marthe Cnockaert Places Australia * Laura, Queensland, a town on the Cape York Peninsula * Laura, South Australia * Laura Bay, a bay on ...

through Wirrabara and

Booleroo Centre Booleroo Centre is a town in the southern Flinders Ranges region of South Australia. The town is located in the Mount Remarkable District Council local government area, north of the state capital, Adelaide. At the 2006 census, Booleroo Centre ...

to Wilmington in the 1910s after the locals had been pleading with the government to build it for many years. The historic Copper Mine Chimney, Wirrabara on Main North Road, a remnant of the former Charlton mine, is listed on the South Australian Heritage Register.

Description

According to

Peter Goers Peter Goers is a South Australian amateur actor, director, critic, columnist and current host of the radio program ''The Evening Show'' on ABC Radio Adelaide, which broadcasts throughout South Australia and to the "Silver" city of Broken Hill. ...

, the town's name is pronounced "Rabra" by locals. The town still has a timber industry and a farming community. There is a producers' market on the third Sunday of the month, and nearby is an example of

silo art A silo (from the Greek language, Greek σιρός – ''siros'', "pit for holding grain") is a structure for storing Bulk material handling, bulk materials. Silos are used in agriculture to store fermented feed known as silage, not to be co ...

by the artist Smug (aka Sam Bates).

History

Description

See also

References

Further reading