Wilmington is a town and locality in the

Yorke and Mid North In South Australia, one of the states of Australia, there are many areas which are commonly known by regional names. Regions are areas that share similar characteristics. These characteristics may be natural such as the Murray River, the coast ...

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 Mount Remarkable The Mount Remarkable District Council is a local government area located between the top of the Spencer Gulf and the base of the Southern Flinders Ranges in South Australia. The district encompasses a wide variety of towns, including coastal p ...

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 ...

, 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 2016 census, the locality had a population of 581 of which 419 lived in its town centre. Originally named "Beautiful Valley", Wilmington is a farming community, known for sheep, wheat and barley, but more recently the temperature conditions and rainfall have contributed to the increasing popularity of the planting of olive groves. The town has a post office, hotel, two caravan parks, take-away shop, two service stations, primary school, kindergarten, museum and op shop. It borders the

Mount Remarkable National Park Mount Remarkable National Park is a protected area in the Australian state of South Australia located about north of the state capital of Adelaide and east of Port Augusta. It is also the name of the highest peak in the park, with a height of ...

and the Alligator Gorge is a 10-minute drive from Wilmington. Wilmington is a popular place to stay due to its proximity to the tourist areas of 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 ...

, most notably

Wilpena Pound Wilpena Pound – also known by its Adnyamathanha language, Adnyamathanha name of Ikara, meaning "meeting place" – is a natural amphitheatre of mountains located north of Adelaide, South Australia, Australia in the heart of the Ikara-Flinders ...

. Wilmington was established as a stop over route for grain and wool being delivered by horse and cart from

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 ...

on its way to

. The historic Wilmington Coaching Stables on Fourth Street survive and are 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'' ...

. The town and surrounding areas formerly had their own municipality, the

District Council of Wilmington The District Council of Wilmington was a local government area in South Australia, centred on the town of Wilmington from 1888 to 1980. History The council was gazetted on 5 January 1888 under the provisions of the ''District Councils Act 1887 ...

, which merged into the current District Council of Mount Remarkable in 1980.

Transport

Wilmington was the northern terminus of the Wilmington railway line from 1915 when the line was built until it closed in 1969. Wilmington is on 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 ...

at the junction where Main North Road turns west to pass through

Horrocks Pass Horrocks Pass is a geographical location in the Australian state of South Australia in the localities of Nectar Brook, South Australia, Nectar Brook and Woolundunga, South Australia, Woolundunga in the southern Flinders Ranges, about west of ...

, and Horrocks Highway continues north to

Quorn, South Australia Quorn is a small town and railhead in the Flinders Ranges in the north of South Australia, northeast of Port Augusta. 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 R ...

. South of Wilmington, the same road carries both names to

Gawler Gawler is the oldest country town on the Australian mainland in the state of South Australia. It was named after the second Governor (British Vice-Regal representative) of the colony of South Australia, George Gawler. It is about north of the ...

on the northern outskirts of

Terka

A town was surveyed in 1924 adjacent to the Terka railway siding six kilometres south of Wilmington, which was named from a nearby homestead. The town was "declared ceased to exist" in 1983 and is now considered to be part of the area of Wilmington.

References

Towns in South Australia {{SouthAustralia-geo-stub