Snowtown, South Australia
Encyclopedia
The town of Snowtown is located in the Mid North
of South Australia
145 km north of Adelaide
and lies on the main route between Adelaide and Perth
. The town's elevation is 103 metres and on average the town receives 389 mm of rainfall per annum.
-Wallaroo
line. Located on what was traditionally the land of the Kaurna (indigenous) people, the first pioneers arrived sometime between 1867 and 1869 due to the rapid expansion of farming to the north of the area. During this period one of the first major structures, the old Snowtown Pub was built in 1868. Bailliere's South Australian gazetteer and road guide, published in 1866, contains a brief description of "Hummock's Run" located 28 miles (45.1 km) north of Port Wakefield
. This farmland, according to the publication, contained the farming stations of Barunga, Bumbunga
and Wokurna and consisted of "salt lakes and lagoons, dense scrub, with mallee, pine and bushes, grassy plains and saltbush, well grassed spurs and hills, with oaks and wattle on the Broughton River
."
The Government only started showing interest in the settlement as late as 1869 when it planned to establish various new towns throughout the district and to divide the land into much smaller holdings. Snowtown's charter was formally proclaimed by the then Governor of South Australia, Sir William Jervois
, in 1878. Jervois named the town after one of the members of the Snow family who were his cousins and lived on Yorke Peninsula
(which lies immediately west and southwest of Snowtown). Thomas Snow became Jervois's aide de camp when Jervois received his posting in South Australia and it is widely thought by the people of Snowtown that the town was named after him.
of Bumbunga Province existed on farmland south of Snowtown owned by the Brackstone family.
', a film about the murders and the life of Bunting, was released in 2011.
for local governance. This body came into effect on 1 July 1997 as a result of the amalgamation of the former District Council of Blyth
-Snowtown and the former District Council of Wakefield Plains
.
Snowtown lies in the state electoral district of Frome
and in the federal electoral division of Grey
.
Located in what is described as a wheat-belt, the local Snowtown economy is predominantly based on cereal crops. Other primary industries include wool
growing, livestock
production and salt
mining (at the nearby Lake Bumbunga
saltworks).
Snowtown is a service centre for the local area, providing various essential services for the district as well as for motorists on the busy main road, Port Wakefield Road
, the section of Highway 1 running past the town.
In 2008, TrustPower
completed the first stage of the 47-turbine Snowtown Wind Farm
in the Barunga
and Hummocks range
s just west of Snowtown. The wind turbines are 110 metres from the ground to tip of the top wing.
In 2008, a monument in the form of a 44-metre wind turbine blade was installed at the intersection of Fourth Street and Railway Terrace East.
-Wallaroo
and Adelaide
-Crystal Brook
) intersecting the town figure less significantly in Snowtown today.
The main north-south road running just outside the western edge of the town was designated to form part of Australia's Highway 1
in 1955.
, Barunga Gap and Redhill
.
The school is located on 4.5ha of land, with an additional 10ha of land used for Agricultural Studies. Today, the school offers a range of subjects for students in Reception to Year 12, with a key focus on Agricultural Studies
and Information Communication Technology. Students are also able to study via distance education through the Open Access College at Marden
(Adelaide) or via local delivery with neighbouring schools to increase their range of subject choices, particularly in Year 11 and Year 12.
Alumni of Snowtown Area School include Australian cricketer Lauren Ebsary
.
Mid North
The Mid North is a region of South Australia, north of the Adelaide Plains, but not as far north as the Far North, or outback. It is generally accepted to extend from Spencer Gulf east to the Barrier Highway, including the coastal plain, the southern part of the Flinders Ranges, and the northern...
of 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...
145 km north of 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 lies on the main route between Adelaide 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....
. The town's elevation is 103 metres and on average the town receives 389 mm of rainfall per annum.
History
The settlement of Snowtown by non-indigenous Australians initially grew up around a railway station on the BrinkworthBrinkworth, South Australia
Brinkworth is a town in the Mid North region of South Australia with a current population of 401. It is 32 km north of the regional centre of Clare.The Brinkworth area was first settled in the 1860s and the town laid out in 1892...
-Wallaroo
Wallaroo, South Australia
Wallaroo is a port town on the western side of Yorke Peninsula in South Australia, 160 kilometres north-northwest of Adelaide. It is one of the three Copper Triangle towns famed for their historic shared copper mining industry, and known together as "Little Cornwall", the other two being Kadina ...
line. Located on what was traditionally the land of the Kaurna (indigenous) people, the first pioneers arrived sometime between 1867 and 1869 due to the rapid expansion of farming to the north of the area. During this period one of the first major structures, the old Snowtown Pub was built in 1868. Bailliere's South Australian gazetteer and road guide, published in 1866, contains a brief description of "Hummock's Run" located 28 miles (45.1 km) north of Port Wakefield
Port Wakefield, South Australia
Port Wakefield was the first government town to be established north of the capital, Adelaide, in South Australia.Port Wakefield is situated approximately 98.7 kilometres from Adelaide and lies on the Port Wakefield Road section of the A1 National Highway...
. This farmland, according to the publication, contained the farming stations of Barunga, Bumbunga
Bumbunga, South Australia
Bumbunga is a small town located in the Mid North of South Australia north of Adelaide at . It lies east of Lake Bumbunga.According to anthropologist Norman Tindale the name was derives from the Parnpangka term for 'rain water lake'....
and Wokurna and consisted of "salt lakes and lagoons, dense scrub, with mallee, pine and bushes, grassy plains and saltbush, well grassed spurs and hills, with oaks and wattle on the Broughton River
Broughton River
The Broughton River is a river in South Australia which flows from its confluence with Crystal Brook to the Spencer Gulf. Its mouth is located approximately north of Port Broughton and south west of Port Pirie....
."
The Government only started showing interest in the settlement as late as 1869 when it planned to establish various new towns throughout the district and to divide the land into much smaller holdings. Snowtown's charter was formally proclaimed by the then Governor of South Australia, Sir William Jervois
William Jervois
Sir William Francis Drummond Jervois, GCMG, CB was a British military engineer who saw service, as Second Captain, in South Africa...
, in 1878. Jervois named the town after one of the members of the Snow family who were his cousins and lived on 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...
(which lies immediately west and southwest of Snowtown). Thomas Snow became Jervois's aide de camp when Jervois received his posting in South Australia and it is widely thought by the people of Snowtown that the town was named after him.
Bumbunga Province
During the 1970s and 1980s, the secessionist micronationMicronation
Micronations, sometimes also referred to as model countries and new country projects, are entities that claim to be independent nations or states but which are not recognized by world governments or major international organizations...
of Bumbunga Province existed on farmland south of Snowtown owned by the Brackstone family.
Snowtown murders
In 1999, Snowtown became notorious as the location where the remains of eight bodies were found in barrels of acid stored in a disused bank vault. The Snowtown murders or Bodies in Barrels murders, as they came to be known, occurred in several locations in South Australia between August 1992 and May 1999. The bodies were held at a series of locations around Adelaide for some time, and were moved to Snowtown in early 1999, a few months before their discovery. Only one victim was killed in Snowtown and none of the victims or the perpetrators were local to the town. Four people led by John Justin Bunting were convicted of murder or assisting the murders. 'SnowtownSnowtown (film)
Snowtown is 2011 film about the Snowtown murders directed by Justin Kurzel and written by Shaun Grant.Screen Australia announced in March 2010 that they would be funding the film....
', a film about the murders and the life of Bunting, was released in 2011.
Geography
Snowtown is situated approximately 7 kilometres east of a cleft in the Barunga range, named Barunga Gap. The excess rainfall from these hills collects in Lake Bumbunga directly south of the township. North of the town near the highway and railway line are more lakes and an old settlement still known as Lake View. Beyond the eastern edge of the town is the Snowtown Golf Course and a swampy region populated by saltbush and other salt-tolerant flora.Governance
The town administration now falls under the control of the Wakefield Regional CouncilWakefield Regional Council
Wakefield Regional Council is a local government administrative body in South Australia.-Towns and communities:The Wakefield Regional Council includes the following townships located in the area:*Alma*Avon*Balaklava*Barabba Hill*Barunga*Barunga Gap...
for local governance. This body came into effect on 1 July 1997 as a result of the amalgamation of the former District Council of Blyth
Blyth, South Australia
Blyth is a small town in the Mid North of South Australia, located west of the renowned Clare Valley. It has a population of 306, the farming community spanning the plains between the Clare Hills and the Barunga/Hummocks ranges...
-Snowtown and the former District Council of Wakefield Plains
Wakefield Plains
The District Council of Wakefield Plains was a local government area in South Australia.It amalgamated with the former District Council of Blyth-Snowtown to form the Wakefield Regional Council with effect from 1 July 1997.-External links:*...
.
Snowtown lies in the state electoral district of Frome
Electoral district of Frome
Frome is an electoral district of the House of Assembly in the Australian state of South Australia. It is named after Edward Charles Frome, the third surveyor-general of South Australia. The electorate is based around the industrial city of Port Pirie and the agriculture areas of Clare and Gilbert...
and in the federal electoral division of Grey
Division of Grey
The Division of Grey is an Australian Electoral Division in South Australia.The division was created in 1903 and is named for Sir George Grey, who was Governor of South Australia 1841-45 ....
.
Economy
Wool
Wool is the textile fiber obtained from sheep and certain other animals, including cashmere from goats, mohair from goats, qiviut from muskoxen, vicuña, alpaca, camel from animals in the camel family, and angora from rabbits....
growing, livestock
Livestock
Livestock refers to one or more domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to produce commodities such as food, fiber and labor. The term "livestock" as used in this article does not include poultry or farmed fish; however the inclusion of these, especially poultry, within the meaning...
production and salt
Sodium chloride
Sodium chloride, also known as salt, common salt, table salt or halite, is an inorganic compound with the formula NaCl. Sodium chloride is the salt most responsible for the salinity of the ocean and of the extracellular fluid of many multicellular organisms...
mining (at the nearby Lake Bumbunga
Lake Bumbunga
Lake Bumbunga is a salt lake located in South Australia's Mid North near the towns of Lochiel and Bumbunga.According to anthropologist Norman Tindale the name was derives from the Parnpangka term for 'rain water lake'....
saltworks).
Snowtown is a service centre for the local area, providing various essential services for the district as well as for motorists on the busy main road, Port Wakefield Road
Port Wakefield Road
Port Wakefield Road is an important Australian highway. It connects Adelaide, the South Australian capital, to the Yorke Peninsula, Port Augusta, northern and western South Australia, the Northern Territory and Western Australia. It is designated National Highway A1 and a part of the National Highway...
, the section of Highway 1 running past the town.
In 2008, TrustPower
TrustPower
TrustPower Limited is a New Zealand electricity generation and electricity retailing company, listed on the New Zealand stock exchange.TrustPower is New Zealand's fifth largest electricity generator and the fourth largest electricity retailer , serving 260,000 customers throughout New Zealand...
completed the first stage of the 47-turbine Snowtown Wind Farm
Snowtown wind farm
The Snowtown wind farm is a located on the Barunga and Hummocks ranges west of Snowtown in the Mid North of South Australia, around north of the state capital, Adelaide. It is owned by TrustPower.-History:...
in the Barunga
Barunga Range
The Barunga Range is a range of hills starting near Clements Gap and Merriton in South Australia. Toward the range's southern end it merges with the Hummocks Range at Barunga Gap, approximately south west of Snowtown....
and Hummocks range
Hummocks Range
The Hummocks Range is a range of hills starting just north of the apex of Gulf St Vincent in South Australia near the settlements of South Hummocks and Kulpara...
s just west of Snowtown. The wind turbines are 110 metres from the ground to tip of the top wing.
Features
The town's main street, Fourth Street contains most of the town's civic buildings, notably the Snowtown Memorial Hall (built 1919) which is attached to the Old Institute (built 1889). Nearby is the town's tribute to the original pioneers telling visitors that the town's population is 520.In 2008, a monument in the form of a 44-metre wind turbine blade was installed at the intersection of Fourth Street and Railway Terrace East.
Transport
The two railway lines (BrinkworthBrinkworth, South Australia
Brinkworth is a town in the Mid North region of South Australia with a current population of 401. It is 32 km north of the regional centre of Clare.The Brinkworth area was first settled in the 1860s and the town laid out in 1892...
-Wallaroo
Wallaroo, South Australia
Wallaroo is a port town on the western side of Yorke Peninsula in South Australia, 160 kilometres north-northwest of Adelaide. It is one of the three Copper Triangle towns famed for their historic shared copper mining industry, and known together as "Little Cornwall", the other two being Kadina ...
and 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...
-Crystal Brook
Crystal Brook, South Australia
Crystal Brook is a town in South Australia, named after the spring-fed creek next to which it was founded. It is north of Adelaide and in 2006 had a population of 1,185.Crystal Brook is situated on Goyder's Line near the border of two climate systems...
) intersecting the town figure less significantly in Snowtown today.
The main north-south road running just outside the western edge of the town was designated to form part of Australia's Highway 1
Highway 1 (Australia)
Australia's Highway 1 is a network of highways that circumnavigate the Australian continent, joining all mainland state capitals. At a total length of approximately it is the longest national highway in the world, longer than the Trans-Siberian Highway and the Trans-Canada Highway...
in 1955.
Education
Snowtown Area School first opened in 1879 as a Provisional School by Mrs. Lamb, with a total enrolment of 14 students. Student enrolments in 2006 totalled 118, with many students also travelling from nearby LochielLochiel, South Australia
Lochiel is a small town located in the Mid North of South Australia 125 km north of Adelaide at . The town lies beside on the western edge of Lake Bumbunga and at the eastern foot of the Hummocks Range...
, Barunga Gap and Redhill
Redhill, South Australia
- Governance :Redhill is in the Port Pirie Regional Council local government area, the South Australian House of Assembly electoral district of Frome and the Australian House of Representatives Division of Grey.-History:...
.
The school is located on 4.5ha of land, with an additional 10ha of land used for Agricultural Studies. Today, the school offers a range of subjects for students in Reception to Year 12, with a key focus on Agricultural Studies
Agricultural science
Agricultural science is a broad multidisciplinary field that encompasses the parts of exact, natural, economic and social sciences that are used in the practice and understanding of agriculture. -Agriculture and agricultural science:The two terms are often confused...
and Information Communication Technology. Students are also able to study via distance education through the Open Access College at Marden
Marden, South Australia
Marden is a suburb of Adelaide, South Australia in the City of Norwood Payneham St Peters. The suburb's borders are divided between arterial roads such as Lower Portrush and O.G. Road.-History:...
(Adelaide) or via local delivery with neighbouring schools to increase their range of subject choices, particularly in Year 11 and Year 12.
Alumni of Snowtown Area School include Australian cricketer Lauren Ebsary
Lauren Ebsary
Lauren Kaye Ebsary is an Australian cricketer. Primarily a batsman, she is a current member of the Australia national women's cricket team....
.