Coonalpyn (; ) is a town and a locality in the Australian state of

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 ...

located about south-east of the state capital of

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

and about south-east of the municipal seat in

Tailem Bend Tailem Bend (locally, "Tailem") is a rural town in South Australia, south-east of the state capital of Adelaide. It is located on the lower reaches of the River Murray, near where the river flows into Lake Alexandrina (South Australia), Lake Al ...

. It is within the local government area of

the Coorong District Council Coorong District Council is a local government area in South Australia located between the River Murray and the Limestone Coast region. The district covers mostly rural areas with small townships, as well as part of the Coorong National Park. ...

, the State electoratal district of MacKillop and the Federal division of

Barker Barker may refer to: Occupations * Barker (occupation), a person who attempts to attract patrons to entertainment events * Barker (coachbuilder), a builder of horse-drawn coaches and later of bodywork for prestige cars * a person who strips tanbar ...

Origin of the name

The town's name is derived from the Aboriginal word ''Coonalpyn'', meaning "barren woman". ''Coonalpyn Downs'' was chosen by

John Barton Hack John Barton Hack (2 July 1805 – 4 October 1884) was an early settler in South Australia; a prominent farmer, businessman and public figure. He lost his fortune in the financial crisis of 1840 and despite his best efforts, never regained anythin ...

to name the property, and the railway station within its boundaries took the same name.

History

The town of Coonalpyn was proclaimed on 25 November 1909. Coonalpyn was considered as part of the

Ninety Mile Desert The Ninety Mile Desert is an area in the Australian state of 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 , ...

until about 1949, when the land was developed by the

AMP Society AMP Limited (formerly Australian Mutual Provident Society) is an Australian financial services company that operates in Australia and New Zealand. It offers superannuation and investment products, financial advice and banking services through '' ...

. The town became the seat for the District Council of Coonalpyn Downs, established on 30 May 1957. In 1997, the District Council of Coonalpyn Downs amalgamated with the Peake District Council and Meningie District Council to form

The Coorong District Council Coorong District Council is a local government area in South Australia located between the River Murray and the Limestone Coast region. The district covers mostly rural areas with small townships, as well as part of the Coorong National Park. ...

. Electricity came to Coonalpyn through the ETSA in 1962, and the Tailem Bend–Keith pipeline was constructed in 1968. Boundaries for the locality of Coonalpyn were set on 24 August 2000.

Lutheran churches

A group of Lutheran settlers moved to the Coonalpyn district in the early 1920s, the first congregation, Bethlehem Lutheran Congregation, being formed in 1930. A second congregation, Immanuel Lutheran Congregation, was formed in 1940. In 1952, the two congregations decided to move out of the old town

institute An institute is an organizational body created for a certain purpose. They are often research organisations (research institutes) created to do research on specific topics, or can also be a professional body. In some countries, institutes ca ...

into a new Coonalpyn Lutheran Church. The church was finished and dedicated in 1953. When Lutheran Amalgamation occurred in 1966, the

United Evangelical Lutheran Church in Australia The Lutheran Church of Australia (LCA) is the major Lutheran denomination in Australia and New Zealand. It was created from a merger of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Australia and the United Evangelical Lutheran Church of Australia in 1966 ...

(UELCA) and Evangelical Lutheran Church of Australia (ELCA) congregations merged to form the Redeemer Lutheran congregation, and a new parish was formed that included congregations at Tintinara and Meningie.

Sporting teams

In 1992, the

Australian Rules Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an Australian rules football playing field, oval field, often a modified ...

Border-Downs Magpies and Tintinara Blues amalgamated to form the Border-Downs Tintinara Crows Football Club. The club was then a member of the

River Murray Football League The River Murray Football League is an Australian rules football competition based in the Murray Bridge, South Australia, Murray Bridge region of South Australia, Australia. It is an affiliated member of the South Australian National Football Le ...

, and in 2001 joined the Mallee Football League. This also includes the Crows Netball Club. Coonalpyn has a tennis club that belongs to the Border-Downs Tennis Association, which includes Malinong, Culburra, Yumali, Coomandook, Tintinara and Ki Ki. An active lawn bowls club which has a series of "community bowls" nights during the summer months to encourage the community to enjoy

lawn bowls Bowls, also known as lawn bowls or lawn bowling, is a sport in which players try to roll their ball (called a bowl) closest to a smaller ball (known as a "jack" or sometimes a "kitty"). The bowls are shaped (biased), so that they follow a curve ...

Photo gallery

Image:Coonalpyn entrance.JPG, Entrance to Coonalpyn Image:Coonalpyn Silo Art 004.jpg, Art on the grain silos at Coonalpyn Image:Silo art Coonalpyn - End.jpg, End view of silos Image:Coonalpyn hall.JPG, Town hall / Institute building Image:Coonalpyn parkingbay.JPG, Parking bay at highway rest area Image:Coonalpyn station.JPG, Old Coonalpyn railway station Image:Coonalpyn pool.JPG, Community swimming pool Image:Coonalpyn war.JPG, War memorial Image:Cynluthchurch3.jpg, Redeemer Lutheran Church Image:Coonalpyn uniting.JPG, Uniting Church Image:Coonalpyn bakery.JPG, Coonalpyn Bakery Image:Coonalpyn pub.JPG, Coonalpyn Hotel

References

External links

Coonalpyn, South Australia
{{authority control Towns in South Australia