Kyancutta, South Australia
Encyclopedia
Kyancutta is a small wheatbelt
town located at the junction of the Eyre
and Tod Highway
s on the Eyre Peninsula
in South Australia
. Once a busy town with an airport
, Kyancutta is now nearly a ghost town
, acting only as a centre for the agricultural districts surrounding it, as well as passing tourists.
'kanjakatari'; kanja - 'stone
' and katari - 'surface water', inferring water in rocks. Another possible origin is that the name was taken from a nearby hill 'Kutta kutta' which was the local Aboriginal name for the night hawk
.
An airport
was built not long after establishment, and flights between Adelaide
and Perth
stopped there regularly. This added another facet to the towns economy
, and caused the town to fall into a steady decline after its closure in 1935.
A school was built in the town in 1920, remaining active for 25 years before closing in 1945.
An official weather station
, established at Kyancutta in 1928 became Australia's first fully automated station with a three hourly programme of weather observation which is still ongoing under the care of the Australian Bureau of Meteorology.
In 1986, a memorial park
was established to honour the pioneers of agricultural settlement in the area.
silos
for storage are also located within Kyancutta.
It also serves as a rest point for travellers making their way across the Eyre Highway
. Kyancutta has no real attractions of its own, but a number of natural features including 'Waddikee Rock' and 'Corrobinne' Hill do lie within 20 km of the town.
or eating
facilities available, however a general store
with petrol pumps is present. For the locals, a post office
and a sporting complex including 18 hole golf
course, tennis
, football
and netball
facilities are also located in the town.
Wheatbelt
A wheat belt is an agricultural region predominantly dedicated to the growing of wheat--98.77.166.159 23:27, 21 November 2011 also has lots of corn and crops to deal with to.It may more specifically refer to:* Wheat belt...
town located at the junction of the Eyre
Eyre Highway
The Eyre Highway is a highway linking Western Australia and South Australia via the Nullarbor Plain. Signed as National Highway 1/A1, it forms part of Highway 1 and the Australian National Highway network linking Perth and Adelaide. It was named after explorer Edward John Eyre, who was the first to...
and Tod Highway
Tod Highway
Tod Highway is an important 177 kilometre highway serving South Australia's Eyre Peninsula's wheatbelt. It runs from Kyancutta, on the Eyre Highway to Port Lincoln and signed as B90. It practically divides the Eyre Peninsula into eastern and western halves. It is named after Robert Tod who explored...
s on the Eyre Peninsula
Eyre Peninsula
Eyre Peninsula is a triangular peninsula in South Australia. It is bounded on the east by Spencer Gulf, the west by the Great Australian Bight, and the north by the Gawler Ranges. It is named after explorer Edward John Eyre who explored some of it in 1839-1841. The coastline was first explored by...
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...
. Once a busy town with an airport
Airport
An airport is a location where aircraft such as fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and blimps take off and land. Aircraft may be stored or maintained at an airport...
, Kyancutta is now nearly a ghost town
Ghost town
A ghost town is an abandoned town or city. A town often becomes a ghost town because the economic activity that supported it has failed, or due to natural or human-caused disasters such as floods, government actions, uncontrolled lawlessness, war, or nuclear disasters...
, acting only as a centre for the agricultural districts surrounding it, as well as passing tourists.
History
The town was established in 1917 to support the surrounding agricultural lands. The name is thought to be derived from the AboriginalIndigenous Australians
Indigenous Australians are the original inhabitants of the Australian continent and nearby islands. The Aboriginal Indigenous Australians migrated from the Indian continent around 75,000 to 100,000 years ago....
'kanjakatari'; kanja - 'stone
Rock (geology)
In geology, rock or stone is a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals and/or mineraloids.The Earth's outer solid layer, the lithosphere, is made of rock. In general rocks are of three types, namely, igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic...
' and katari - 'surface water', inferring water in rocks. Another possible origin is that the name was taken from a nearby hill 'Kutta kutta' which was the local Aboriginal name for the night hawk
Night Hawk
Competitor for CanadaNight Hawk was a Canadian lacrosse player who competed in the 1904 Summer Olympics.In 1904 he was member of the Mohawk Indians Lacrosse Team which won the bronze medal in the lacrosse tournament.-References:*...
.
An airport
Airport
An airport is a location where aircraft such as fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and blimps take off and land. Aircraft may be stored or maintained at an airport...
was built not long after establishment, and flights between Adelaide
Adelaide
Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
and Perth
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
stopped there regularly. This added another facet to the towns economy
Economy
An economy consists of the economic system of a country or other area; the labor, capital and land resources; and the manufacturing, trade, distribution, and consumption of goods and services of that area...
, and caused the town to fall into a steady decline after its closure in 1935.
A school was built in the town in 1920, remaining active for 25 years before closing in 1945.
An official weather station
Weather station
A weather station is a facility, either on land or sea, with instruments and equipment for observing atmospheric conditions to provide information for weather forecasts and to study the weather and climate. The measurements taken include temperature, barometric pressure, humidity, wind speed, wind...
, established at Kyancutta in 1928 became Australia's first fully automated station with a three hourly programme of weather observation which is still ongoing under the care of the Australian Bureau of Meteorology.
In 1986, a memorial park
Memorial Park
Memorial Park may refer to:In the United States:* Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale, California* Memorial Park * Memorial Park, Houston, Texas* Memorial Park , Nebraska...
was established to honour the pioneers of agricultural settlement in the area.
Economy
The town now is the service centre for the surrounding agricultural districts, with cereal crops and sheep grazing the prevalent industries. WheatWheat
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...
silos
Silos
Silos is the plural of silo, a farm structure, typically cylindrical, in which fodder or forage is kept.Silos may also refer to:* Santo Domingo de Silos Abbey, famous for Romanesque carvings and recordings of Gregorian chant...
for storage are also located within Kyancutta.
It also serves as a rest point for travellers making their way across the Eyre Highway
Eyre Highway
The Eyre Highway is a highway linking Western Australia and South Australia via the Nullarbor Plain. Signed as National Highway 1/A1, it forms part of Highway 1 and the Australian National Highway network linking Perth and Adelaide. It was named after explorer Edward John Eyre, who was the first to...
. Kyancutta has no real attractions of its own, but a number of natural features including 'Waddikee Rock' and 'Corrobinne' Hill do lie within 20 km of the town.
Facilities
Kyancutta has no accommodationLodging
Lodging is a type of residential accommodation. People who travel and stay away from home for more than a day need lodging for sleep, rest, safety, shelter from cold temperatures or rain, storage of luggage and access to common household functions.Lodgings may be self catering in which case no...
or eating
Eating
Eating is the ingestion of food to provide for all organisms their nutritional needs, particularly for energy and growth. Animals and other heterotrophs must eat in order to survive: carnivores eat other animals, herbivores eat plants, omnivores consume a mixture of both plant and animal matter,...
facilities available, however a general store
General store
A general store, general merchandise store, or village shop is a rural or small town store that carries a general line of merchandise. It carries a broad selection of merchandise, sometimes in a small space, where people from the town and surrounding rural areas come to purchase all their general...
with petrol pumps is present. For the locals, a post office
Post office
A post office is a facility forming part of a postal system for the posting, receipt, sorting, handling, transmission or delivery of mail.Post offices offer mail-related services such as post office boxes, postage and packaging supplies...
and a sporting complex including 18 hole golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
course, tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
, football
Australian rules football
Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...
and netball
Netball
Netball is a ball sport played between two teams of seven players. Its development, derived from early versions of basketball, began in England in the 1890s. By 1960 international playing rules had been standardised for the game, and the International Federation of Netball and Women's Basketball ...
facilities are also located in the town.