Carrieton is a small town situated in the

Flinders Ranges The Flinders Ranges are the largest mountain ranges 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 inhab ...

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

. It is located between the towns of Orroroo to the south and Cradock to the north. Originally opened in 1877 as Yanyarrie Whim, (Yanyarrie in the local indigenous dialect is the word for "eagle feathers") with the construction of a post office, the settlement was renamed in 1888 as Carrieton, after the daughter of Governor Jervois, Lucy Caroline.

Railways

The town was on the

Peterborough–Quorn railway line The Peterborough–Quorn railway line was a railway line on the South Australian Railways network. Located in the upper Mid North of South Australia, it opened from Peterborough to Orroroo on 23 November 1881, being extended to Quorn on 22 ...

which opened in December 1881, served by a Class 1 station. A large goods shed and fettler's cottage were also constructed. Passenger services were discontinued during 1969, when the

South Australian Railways South Australian Railways (SAR) was the organisation 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 Australian Natio ...

withdrew the railcar service. Declining rail traffic saw the gradual withdrawal of services on the railway, with the last station master being withdrawn on 1 July 1971. The railway was closed in 1981 and removed in 1986.Evans, J 2009; ''Proceed to Quorn'' Railmac Publications

Colonial history

Carrieton acquired a

school A school is the educational institution (and, in the case of in-person learning, the Educational architecture, building) designed to provide learning environments for the teaching of students, usually under the direction of teachers. Most co ...

(1882), a

police station A police station is a facility operated by police or a similar law enforcement agency that serves to accommodate police officers and other law enforcement personnel. The role served by a police station varies by agency, type, and jurisdiction, ...

(1884), St Raphael's Roman

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

(the large presbytery was built in 1889), a small

Methodist Church Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

(1882), an

Anglican Church Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

(1888) and the

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

, built in 1885 at a cost of £1,500.

Recent history

The road was renamed the

RM Williams Way RM Williams Way (route B80) is a road through the Yorke and Mid North region of South Australia connecting Clare in the south through Spalding, Jamestown and Orroroo to Hawker in the Flinders Ranges. The road was named after R. M. Willia ...

in recognition of the area where R. M. Williams had many associations. Carrieton is often referred to as 'Gum Greek' country. The town is serviced through a community general store, hotel, post office, and accommodation, and it is a part of the District Council of Orroroo Carrieton. Recently, after large downpours in January 2020, many of the creeks surrounding Carrieton were demolished. The bridge over Yanyarrie Creek 10 km north of Carrieton was especially damaged as huge slates of

bitumen Bitumen ( , ) is an immensely viscosity, viscous constituent of petroleum. Depending on its exact composition, it can be a sticky, black liquid or an apparently solid mass that behaves as a liquid over very large time scales. In American Engl ...

disappeared down the creek. Yanyarrie creek has since been repaired with a detour, after the first detour was ruined again by another flash flood a few weeks after the first one.

Carrieton Rodeo

Carrieton is home to the Carrieton Rodeo, an Australian Professional Rodeos Association event, held every year on

Proclamation Day Proclamation Day commonly refers to the anniversary of the proclamation of government of the province of South Australia, which continues to be celebrated in South Australia on 28 December, although no longer a public holiday. The anniversary of ...

. It held its 60th anniversary meet on 28 December 2012.

References

;Notes ;Citations {{authority control Towns in South Australia