Yarrah is a rural

locality Locality may refer to: * Locality (association), an association of community regeneration organizations in England * Locality (linguistics) * Locality (settlement) * Suburbs and localities (Australia), in which a locality is a geographic subdivis ...

in the Far North region of

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

. The eastern section of Yarrah lies within the

Flinders Ranges Council Flinders Ranges Council is a local government area (LGA) located in the Flinders Ranges of South Australia. The LGA is approximately 100 km from north to south, and 45 km from east to west, with a total area of 4,198 square kilometres ...

, while the western section lies in the

Pastoral Unincorporated Area A pastoral lifestyle is that of shepherds herding livestock around open areas of land according to seasons and the changing availability of water and pasture. It lends its name to a genre of literature, art, and music (pastorale) that depicts ...

History

The

traditional owner Native title is the designation given to the common law doctrine of Aboriginal title in Australia, which is the recognition by Australian law that Indigenous Australians (both Aboriginal Australian and Torres Strait Islander people) have rights ...

s of the area are the

Barngarla people The Barngarla, formerly known as Parnkalla and also known as Pangkala, are an Aboriginal people of the Port Lincoln, Whyalla and Port Augusta areas. The Barngarla are the traditional owners of much of Eyre Peninsula, South Australia. Language ...

. The name 'Yarrah' is said to come from an Aboriginal word meaning "river red gum". A township at Yarrah, located along the railway line, was surveyed in April 1863 and offered for sale on 21 July 1864 South Australian Place Names
but was largely unsuccessful. The hundred of Yarrah was proclaimed on 16 December 1880 by Governor

William Jervois Lieutenant General Sir William Francis Drummond Jervois (10 September 1821 – 17 August 1897) was a British military engineer and diplomat. After joining the British Army in 1839, he saw service, as a second captain, in South Africa. In 18 ...

. Yarrah

Post Office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional serv ...

opened on 1 October 1887 and closed around 1909. Yarrah Primary School opened in 1893. In about 1919, it closed because of small attendance, but then re-opened in 1919, only to be closed permanently at a later date. 'The little galvanised-iron church at Yarraville ic is mentioned in the Register newspaper. Wilkatana railway station was located in the west of the hundred of Yarrah, named after nearby

Wilkatana Station Wilkatana Station is a sheep and cattle station in the Australian state of South Australia located north of the regional city of Port Augusta and south of Lake Torrens. It covers an area of which is located within the gazetted localities of ...

. The Depot Creek

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

, further to the south within the hundred of Yarrah, existed for many years; however,

Pacific National Pacific National is one of Australia's largest rail freight businesses. History In February 2002, National Rail Corporation, National Rail's freight operations and rollingstock (owned by the Government of Australia, Federal, Government of New ...

advised in 2013 that the station had been closed, although the line continues to be in use. The historic

Depot Creek Weir Depot ( or ) may refer to: Places * Depot, Poland, a village * Depot Island, Kemp Land, Antarctica * Depot Island, Victoria Land, Antarctica * Depot Island Formation, Greenland Brands and enterprises * Maxwell Street Depot, a restaurant in ...

is located at Yarrah, and is 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'' ...

. The weir dates from 1912 to 1917, when it was built as part of the supply infrastructure for the

Port Augusta Port Augusta is a small city in South Australia. Formerly a port, seaport, it is now a road traffic and Junction (rail), railway junction city mainly located on the east coast of the Spencer Gulf immediately south of the gulf's head and about ...

Kalgoorlie Kalgoorlie is a city in the Goldfields–Esperance region of Western Australia, located east-northeast of Perth at the end of the Great Eastern Highway. It is sometimes referred to as Kalgoorlie–Boulder, as the surrounding urban area includ ...

section of the

Trans-Australian Railway The Trans-Australian Railway, opened in 1917, runs from Port Augusta in South Australia to Kalgoorlie in Western Australia, crossing the Nullarbor Plain in the process. As the only rail freight corridor between Western Australia and the easter ...

; the underlying

spring Spring(s) may refer to: Common uses * Spring (season), a season of the year * Spring (device), a mechanical device that stores energy * Spring (hydrology), a natural source of water * Spring (mathematics), a geometric surface in the shape of a ...

s had earlier been used by explorer

Edward John Eyre Edward John Eyre (5 August 181530 November 1901) was an English land explorer of the Australian continent, colonial administrator, and Governor of Jamaica. Early life Eyre was born in Whipsnade, Bedfordshire, shortly before his family moved to ...

. The gazetted locality of Yarrah was created in November 1999. The locality's boundaries roughly equate to those of the hundred of Yarrah and approximately half of the adjacent hundred of Wyacca. In April 2013, an additional portion of formerly unincorporated land was added to the locality. In 2013,

Australia Post Australia Post, formally the Australian Postal Corporation, is the government business enterprise that provides postal services in Australia. The head office of Australia Post is located in Bourke Street, Melbourne, which also serves as a post o ...

altered the local postcode from 5713 to 5433 as part of a review of outback postcodes. Much of the 1950 film '' Bitter Springs'', starring

Chips Rafferty John William Pilbean Goffage MBE (26 March 190927 May 1971), known professionally as Chips Rafferty, was an Australian actor. Called "the living symbol of the typical Australian", Rafferty's career stretched from the late 1930s until his death ...

, was filmed at Yarrah.

References

{{authority control Towns in South Australia Far North (South Australia) Places in the unincorporated areas of South Australia