Freeling is a small town in

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 ...

, about 60 km north 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 ...

. It neighbours the Barossa Valley wine region. At the 2021 census, Freeling had a population of 2,688.

Description

Freeling is in the Light Regional Council, the

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

electoral district of Schubert and the federal

Division of Barker The Division of Barker is an Australian electoral division in the south-east of South Australia. The division was established on 2 October 1903, when South Australia's original single multi-member division was split into seven single-member d ...

History

The township of Freeling was surveyed in March 1860 by Robert Stephenson. It was named after Major-General Sir Arthur Henry Freeling, Surveyor-General of South Australia from 1849 to 1861. Freeling was a stopping place on the Gawler to Kapunda railway, which opened in 1860 but is no longer used. The Freeling Hotel was founded in 1863, the Railway Hotel in 1867 and the St Petri Lutheran Church (now a private home) in 1871. By 1866, Freeling's population numbered approximately 60.

Local economy

The main source of income for the town is its extensive farming land, where mainly

cereal A cereal is a grass cultivated for its edible grain. Cereals are the world's largest crops, and are therefore staple foods. They include rice, wheat, rye, oats, barley, millet, and maize ( Corn). Edible grains from other plant families, ...

crops are grown. It is regarded as some of the best farming land in Australia, with the

University of Adelaide The University of Adelaide is a public university, public research university based in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. Its main campus in the Adelaide city centre includes many Sa ...

's Roseworthy Campus, ( Roseworthy, South Australia) situated nearby. The long-term rainfall average for Freeling is 475mm/Yr, this enables wheat crops of up to 5-6T/Ha to be grown as well as large tonnages of cereal hay, with thousands of acres of hay being harvested each year. A factory making farming implement blades and parts, has also been situated at Freeling for many years. A major tourist attraction for the town and surrounding area is a popular Australian Drama television series, '' McLeod's Daughters''. The town had many sets used on the show, including the Gungellan Hotel (previously the Railway Hotel), truckstop and showgrounds.

Gallery

File:FreelingInstitute.JPG, Institute File:FreelingPostOffice.JPG, Post office File:FreelingPublicLibrary.JPG, Public library File:FreelingUnitingChurch.JPG, Uniting Church File:FreelingWarMemorial.JPG, War Memorial

References

External links