Wynarka is a very 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 ...

southeast 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 ...

on the Karoonda Highway (B55) and

Loxton railway line The Loxton railway line is a closed railway line in the northern Murray Mallee region of South Australia. It ran north-east from Tailem Bend to grain silos near Loxton. History The first stage of the Brown's Well railway line opened from ...

in the

Murray Mallee The Murray Mallee is a cereal, grain-growing and sheep-farming area in the east of the Australian state of South Australia. The name is not formally designated but is widely used to refer to an area of approximately bounded by the Murray Rive ...

. Wynarka lies within the District Council of Karoonda East Murray.

Founding

The government town of Wynarka was proclaimed on 9 January 1913 on land in the cadastral unit of the

Hundred of Hooper ''Hooper'' may refer to: Place names in the United States: * Hooper, Colorado, town in Alamosa County, Colorado * Hooper, Georgia, an unincorporated community * Hooper, Nebraska, town in Dodge County, Nebraska * Hooper, Utah, place in Weber Count ...

located to the immediate south of the Wynarka Railway Station on the

Boundaries

The locality's boundaries were created on 11 November 1999 and includes the site of the government town of Wynarka which is located in its approximate centre. The current boundaries of Wynarka include the former locality of Kulde, the next railway station towards

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 ...

, named after the local Aboriginal word for "brothers".

Etymology

The name Wynarka is from an Aboriginal word meaning ''a strayer''.

2015 deaths

On 15 July 2015, the remains of a young child in a suitcase were discovered near the side of the Karoonda Highway near Wynarka. The child was not identified until October as having been Khandalyce Kiara Pearce who had been reported missing with her mother from extended family in

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 ...

in 2009. Her mother's body had been found but not identified in 2010 in the

Belanglo State Forest Belanglo State Forest is a planted forest, of mainly pine but some native forestry around the edges, open to the public, in the Australian state of New South Wales; its total area is about 3,800 hectares. The Belanglo State Forest is located ...

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

and is also believed to have been murdered.

Population

The

2016 Australian census The 2016 Australian census was the 17th Census in Australia, national population census held in Australia. The census was officially conducted with effect on Tuesday, 9 August 2016. The total population of the Commonwealth of Australia was count ...

which was conducted in August 2016 reports that Wynarka had a population of 76 people.

References

{{authority control Towns in South Australia