Minnipa is a small town serving the local grain growing community located on

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 ...

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 af ...

History

The Nauo were the indigenous people of the area of Minnipa prior to English colonisation and the area around the town was first settled by Europeans in 1878. At the arrival of the railway line on 5 May 1913, the town consisted of two tents.Minnipa and Eyre Peninsula
Development of the surrounding districts followed the railway, and accelerated after the opening of the water pipeline from the Tod River scheme in 1925. By 1960, Minnipa was the major railway centre between

Cummins Cummins Inc. is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and distributes engines, filtration, and power generation products. Cummins also services engines and related equipment, including fuel systems, controls, air ...

and Thevenard. Before the construction of the Tod River scheme and its network of pipelines, tanks were constructed at many locations to catch the runoff from the granite outcrops which are a feature of the landscape. The earliest of these were constructed at Minnipa Hill in 1914 by the

South Australian Railways South Australian Railways (SAR) was the statutory corporation through which the Government of South Australia built and operated railways in South Australia from 1854 until March 1978, when its non-urban railways were incorporated into Aust ...

. These historic tanks were reconditioned in the 1990s and fitted with new roofs to provide a standby water supply for Minnipa.Minnipa and District
The town was proclaimed in 1915 and subsequently it became a typical wheatbelt town servicing the surrounding area and providing the necessary grain handling and rail facilities to allow farmers fast access to Thevenard and Port Lincoln. Within the town are a number of grain silos that serve to store the local wheat crop. Adjacent to the silos is a disused railway siding which used to freight the grain crop to

Port Lincoln Port Lincoln is a town on the Lower Eyre Peninsula in the Australian state of South Australia. It is situated on the shore of Boston Bay, which opens eastward into Spencer Gulf. It is the largest city in the West Coast region, and is located a ...

, which is now done by road transport for export around the world. The town's rural life includes several churches, a general store, caravan park, pub, fodder store, vet clinic and other industry based companies. Its sporting tradition includes swimming, Australian Rules football, tennis, netball and table tennis. Pildappa Rock Gawler Ranges NP360° - panoramio

Pildappa Rock Gawler Ranges NP360° - panoramio

The town is close both to the west coast of Eyre Peninsula, and to the

Gawler Ranges The Gawler Ranges are a range of stoney hills in South Australia to the north of Eyre Peninsula. The Eyre Highway skirts the south of the ranges. The Gawler Ranges National Park is in the ranges north of Kimba and Wudinna. The ranges are cover ...

. It is located in the centre of a vast low-rainfall wheat belt and the surrounding countryside includes numerous wind-shaped granite outcrops. The 'wave' shapes and varied colours of the granite outcrops or

bornhardt A bornhardt () is a dome-shaped, steep-sided, bald rock outcropping at least in height and several hundred metres in width. They are named after Wilhelm Bornhardt (1864–1946), a German geologist and explorer of German East Africa, who first d ...

s in the area were formed by moisture-induced decomposition of the sub-surface granite when the ground level was much higher. Gradual erosion of the surface soil has left the granite outcrops exposed. Popular tourist destinations These granite outcrops were noted by

Edward John Eyre Edward John Eyre (5 August 181530 November 1901) was an English land explorer of the Australian continent, colonial administrator, and Governor of Jamaica. Early life Eyre was born in Whipsnade, Bedfordshire, shortly before his family moved t ...

, and a few years later the Government sponsored an expedition to map and record the native names of the outcrops, they were Tcharkulda, Yarwondutta, Minnipa, Chilpuddie and Pildappa. Fifteen km north of Minippa township is the standout Pildappa Rock whose incredible flowing forms rival the singular form of the better known Wave Rock in Western Australia.

Climate

Minnipa has a

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 sem ...

with hot and dry summers and only moderately wet winters. Due to a change of weather station location and a closure of the old Minnipa station in 2002, this article uses the 1996-2017 averages from the new station, while records cover both, considering there was only between those.

Heritage listings

Minnipa has a number of heritage-listed sites, including: * Pildappa Road: Pildappa Rock * Yardea Road: Yarwondutta Rock and Quarry * Yardea Road: Yarwondutta Rock Tank

References

{{authority control Towns in South Australia Eyre Peninsula