Wudinna is a town in

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 area was first settled by Europeans in 1861 when Robert George Standley lodged a claim for of land surrounding Weedna Hill ('weedna' later became changed to Wudinna which may be an Aboriginal word meaning 'the granite hill'). It was proclaimed a town in 1916. It is on the

Eyre Highway Eyre Highway is a highway linking Western Australia and South Australia via the Nullarbor Plain. Signed as National Highways 1 and A1, it forms part of Highway 1 and the Australian National Highway network linking Perth and Adelaide. It ...

across the top of

Eyre Peninsula The Eyre Peninsula is a triangular peninsula in South Australia. It is bounded by the Spencer Gulf on the east, the Great Australian Bight on the west, and the Gawler Ranges to the north. Originally called Eyre’s Peninsula, it was named aft ...

. It is the seat of the

Wudinna District Council Wudinna District Council is a rural local government area on central Eyre Peninsula, South Australia. Its seat is Wudinna, on the Eyre Highway, west of Adelaide. The district's economy is largely driven by agriculture, mainly cereal crops, with ...

Geography

The region is known as ''The granite country'' for its deposits of

granite Granite () is a coarse-grained (phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies undergro ...

in the area, with tourists able to travel the ''granite trail'' to explore local landmarks. Quarrying of granite has occurred in the local area since the 1990s. Some granite blocks quarried at the Desert Rose Quarry near Mount Wudinna can be up to 8 cubic metres in volume and weigh 20 tonnes, before being cut into smaller blocks for shipping around Australia, or for export to Asian and European markets. This granite was employed in the construction of '' The Australian Farmer'', an 8-metre (26 ft) high statue that was carved in the town as a community project to commemorate the early settlers and provide something memorable for tourists.

Mount Wudinna Mount Wudinna is located near the locality of Wudinna, South Australia. It is claimed to be the second largest monolith in Australia, Uluru Uluru (; pjt, Uluṟu ), also known as Ayers Rock ( ) and officially gazetted as UluruAyers Rock ...

is thought to be Australia's second largest monolith after Uluru in the Northern Territory. It is located north-east of the township. The site 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. It extends legal protection regarding demolition and development under the ''Heritage Places Act 1993'' ...

. Wudinna is part of the

Barngarla The Barngarla, formerly known as Parnkalla and also known as Pangkala, are an Aboriginal people of the Port Lincoln, Whyalla and Port Augusta areas. The Barngarla are the traditional owners of much of Eyre Peninsula, South Australia. Languag ...

Aboriginal country and its Barngarla name is ''Woodina''. Zuckermann, Ghil'ad and the Barngarla (2019)
Manoo (Speaking Barngarla Together)''
Barngarla Language Advisory Committee.
''Barngarlidhi Manoo'' – Part II
/ref>

Climate

Wudinna experiences a

cold semi-arid climate A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of semi-ar ...

, bordering on a

hot semi-arid climate A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of semi-ar ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

: ''BSk/BSh'', Trewartha: ''BSal''); with hot, dry summers; mild to warm, dry springs and autumns; and mild, relatively dry winters.

References

External links

Wudinna tourism
Towns in South Australia Eyre Peninsula 1861 establishments in Australia {{SouthAustralia-geo-stub