__NOTOC__ Parachilna ( ) is a country town in South Australia. The town was first surveyed in 1863 due to its closeness to a government

water well A well is an excavation or structure created on the earth by digging, driving, or drilling to access liquid resources, usually water. The oldest and most common kind of well is a water well, to access groundwater in underground aquifers. The ...

. It is on the railway line and road between

Port Augusta Port Augusta (''Goordnada'' in the revived indigenous Barngarla language) is a coastal city in South Australia about by road from the state capital, Adelaide. Most of the city is on the eastern shores of Spencer Gulf, immediately south of the ...

and Leigh Creek. Today, the Prairie Hotel, railway station, airstrip and a few buildings remain. The road east into 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 ...

leads through Parachilna Gorge to

Blinman Blinman is a locality incorporating two towns in the Australian state of South Australia within the Flinders Ranges about north of the state capital of Adelaide city centre, Adelaide. It includes the highest surveyed town in South Australia, wi ...

. The town is surrounded by Motpena station pastoral lease. The town's name is from the Aboriginal ''patajilnda'', meaning "place of peppermint gum trees". The spelling difference is due to an early translation misreading. The railway station was completed in 1881 as part of the line to Leigh Creek through Beltana. The area was one of the set locations for the Australian feature film, Rabbit Proof Fence. The Prairie Hotel is the only substantial building in the town, dating from the days when the rail was supreme. Away from the highway, the hotel fronts the railway line and the now derelict station building. The sandstone and limestone building has been in part retained, in part restored and extended. There are now no passengers on the line that once ran from

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 ...

to Marree and connected with the old Ghan line to

Oodnadatta Oodnadatta is a small, remote outback town and locality in the Australian state of South Australia, located north-north-west of the state capital of Adelaide city centre, Adelaide by road or direct, at an altitude of . The unsealed Oodnadatta ...

and

Alice Springs Alice Springs () is a town in the Northern Territory, Australia; it is the third-largest settlement after Darwin, Northern Territory, Darwin and Palmerston, Northern Territory, Palmerston. The name Alice Springs was given by surveyor William ...

. The hotel's patrons come by car or bus. Local Aboriginal artwork decorates the lounges and dining room and there are displays of the nearby Ediacaran fossils. The hotel serves

feral animals A feral (; ) animal or plant is one that lives in the wild but is descended from Domestication, domesticated individuals. As with an introduced species, the introduction of feral animals or plants to non-native regions may disrupt ecosystems ...

like camel, goat and pig, as well as kangaroo and emu. The historic Parachilna Fettlers' Cottages Ruins 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'' ...

. Parachilna is located within the federal

Division of Grey The Division of Grey is an Divisions of the Australian House of Representatives, Australian electoral division in South Australia. The division was one of the seven established when the former Division of South Australia was redistributed on 2 ...

, the state electoral districts of Giles and

Stuart Stuart may refer to: People *Stuart (name), a given name and surname (and list of people with the name) * Clan Stuart of Bute, a Scottish clan *House of Stuart, a royal house of Scotland and England Places Australia Generally *Stuart Highway, ...

, the

Pastoral Unincorporated Area The pastoral genre of literature, art, or music depicts an idealised form of the shepherd's lifestyle – herding livestock around open areas of land according to the seasons and the changing availability of water and pasture. The target aud ...

of South Australia and the state's Far North region. In the absence of a local government authority, the community in Parachilna receives municipal services from a state government agency, the

Outback Communities Authority The Outback Communities Authority (OCA) is a statutory authority in South Australia (SA) created under the ''Outback Communities (Administration and Management) Act 2009''. It has been established to "manage the provision of public services and f ...

. The town gives its name to a 2013 album by Andy Irvine.

References

Notes

Citations

External links

Parachilna, Walkabout Australian travel guide
{{authority control Towns in South Australia Flinders Ranges Far North (South Australia) Places in the unincorporated areas of South Australia

See also

References

Notes

Citations

External links