Alford is a settlement in South Australia

South Australia

South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...

. Alford is in the Hundred of Tickera, northern Yorke Peninsula

Yorke Peninsula

The Yorke Peninsula is a peninsula located north-west and west of Adelaide in South Australia, Australia, between Spencer Gulf on the west and Gulf St Vincent on the east. It has geographic coordinates of...

, about mid-way between the towns of Kadina and Port Broughton. The natural landform is undulating fertile plains, which often feature limestone and dunes. Founded on the agricultural industry, which surrounds the township, most of the original mallee

Mallee

Mallee may refer to:* Mallee , the habit of woody plants that grow with multiple stems from underground lignotubers* Mallee , a biogeographic region in southern Western Australia...

 scrub vegetation has been cleared for highly productive broad-acre wheat

Wheat

Wheat is a cereal grain, originally from the Levant region of the Near East, but now cultivated worldwide. In 2007 world production of wheat was 607 million tons, making it the third most-produced cereal after maize and rice...

 and barley

Barley

Barley is a major cereal grain, a member of the grass family. It serves as a major animal fodder, as a base malt for beer and certain distilled beverages, and as a component of various health foods...

 farming, plus grazing and mixed farming.

History

The SA Government first surveyed the township in 1882, naming it after Henry Alford (1816–1892), pioneer and inaugural member of the South Australia Police

South Australia Police

The South Australia Police is the police force of the Australian state of South Australia. It is an agency of the Government of South Australia within the South Australian Department of Justice.-History:...

 under Henry Inman

Henry Inman (police commander)

Henry Inman , cavalry officer, Pioneer of South Australia, founder and first commander of the South Australia Police, overlander, Anglican clergyman.-Origins:...

 in 1838. The first blocks were auctioned in September 1882. Within several years there was a small township comprising a hotel (Alford Hotel), general store, churches, school, and blacksmith servicing the surrounding farming community.
The state's first automatic telephone exchange was trialled at Alford.

As road transport improved, nearby towns Kadina

Kadina, South Australia

Kadina is a town located on the Yorke Peninsula of South Australia, approximately 144 kilometres north-northwest of the state capital of Adelaide. The largest town of the Peninsula, Kadina is one of the three Copper Triangle towns famous for their shared copper mining history...

, Bute

Bute, South Australia

Bute is a town located in the northern Yorke Peninsula, approximately 40 kilometres east of Wallaroo and 24 kilometres west of Snowtown. It was proclaimed as a town in 1884 and named after the Isle of Bute, in the Firth of Clyde, Scotland...

, and Port Broughton

Port Broughton, South Australia

Port Broughton is a small South Australian town located on the Yorke Peninsula on the east coast of Spencer Gulf. It is situated about 170 km north west of Adelaide, and 56 km south of Port Pirie At the 2006 census, Port Broughton had a population of 908....

mostly usurped this role and Alford did not thrive beyond township status.

In 2002 the primary school was closed and most of the students enrolled in Kadina. The town has a hotel, bowls club and a golf course and after the general store's closure the "post office" was moved to the pub. Alford is an important hub for the district and continues to foster social and sporting activities.