Naracoorte, South Australia

Naracoorte is a town in the Limestone Coast region of South Australia, approximately 336 kilometres south-east of Adelaide and 100 kilometres north of Mount Gambier on the Riddoch Highway (A66).

Naracoorte
South Australia
A South Australian Railways V class locomotive in a park in Naracoorte
Naracoorte
Coordinates36°57′18″S 140°44′34″E[1]
Population5,960 (2016 census)[2]
Established1845
Postcode(s)5271[3]
Time zoneACST (UTC+9:30)
 • Summer (DST)ACST (UTC+10:30)
Location
LGA(s)Naracoorte Lucindale Council
RegionLimestone Coast[1]
CountyRobe[1]
State electorate(s)MacKillop
Federal Division(s)Barker
Mean max temp[4] Mean min temp[4] Annual rainfall[4]
21.6 °C
71 °F		 8.0 °C
46 °F		 483.8 mm
19 in
Localities around Naracoorte:
Lochaber Lochaber
Wild Dog Valley		 Hynam
Stewart Range Naracoorte Hynam
Moyhall Mount Light Mount Light
FootnotesLocations[3]
Adjoining localities[1]

History

Naracoorte was formed from the merger of two towns, Kincraig, founded in 1845 by Scottish explorer William Macintosh, and Narracoorte, established as a government settlement in 1847. The name has gone through a number of spellings, and is believed to be derived from the Aboriginal words for place of running water or large waterhole. It grew during the 1850s as a service town for people going to and from the Victorian gold rush. The Post Office opened on 22 March 1853 and was known as Mosquito Plains until 1861.[5]

The District Council of Naracoorte was proclaimed in August 1870 to locally govern the lands of the Hundred of Naracoorte. In 1888 the size of the district was dramatically expanded to include surrounding areas not yet locally governed. As a consequence, in February 1924 the Corporate Town of Naracoorte was established to provide dedicated local governance to the township.[6]

The Kingston-Naracoorte railway line was closed on 28 November 1987 and dismantled on 15 September 1991 following the Mount Gambier to Wolseley line closed on 12 April 1995 still pending for gauge standardization.

Since 1993 Naracoorte has been locally governed by the amalgamated Naracoorte Lucindale Council. It is in the state electoral district of MacKillop and the federal Division of Barker.

Industry

The town has historically relied largely on sheep, cattle and wheat farming.

In recent decades, tourism has become a major industry due to the town's proximity to several wine regions and internationally-recognised natural features. Both the World-Heritage-listed Naracoorte Caves National Park,[7] the Ramsar-listed Bool and Hacks Lagoons are south of the township. The wine regions of Coonawarra and Wrattonbully lie further south, while the Padthaway lies to the north, placing Naracoorte at the centre of the three.

Vineyards surrounding Naracoorte

Other places of interest to tourists include:

  • The Visitor Information Centre & Sheep's Back Museum - MacDonnell Street
  • Lions Pioneer Park - MacDonnell Street
  • Tiny Train Park & Mini Golf - Park Terrace
  • Naracoorte Art Gallery - Ormerod Street
  • Mini Jumbuk Centre - 61 Smith Street
  • Swimming Lake - Moore Street
  • Jubilee Nature Park - Moore Street
  • Russet Ridge Winery - Cnr Caves Road and Riddoch Highway
  • Struan House - Riddoch Highway

Heritage listed sites

Naracoorte has a number of sites listed on the South Australian Heritage Register, including:

Former Limbert's store and residence on MacDonnell Street, occupied as a café in 2019
  • 6 Church Street: St Andrew's Presbyterian Church [8]
  • DeGaris Place: Commercial Bank of South Australia Building (current council office) [9]
  • 2 Laurie Crescent: St Paul's Anglican Church [10]
  • MacDonnell Street: Simpson's Flour Mill (current Sheep's Back Museum) [11]
  • 23-25 McDonnell Street: Limbert's Store and Residence [12]
  • 30 McLeay Street: Dartmoor Homestead [13]
  • 13 Ormerod Street: Old Naracoorte District Council Chambers [14]
  • 81 Smith Street: National Bank Building [15]

Services

Schools

There are three schools: Naracoorte High on Stewart Terrace,[16] Naracoorte Primary on Park Terrace[17] and Naracoorte South Primary.[18] Independent schools include Naracoorte Christian School (also called Sunrise Christian School) on Caves Road (formerly on Rolland Street).[19]

Other services
  • Naracoorte Hospital
  • Police at 66 Smith Street
  • Banks - ANZ Bank, Bank SA, Commonwealth Bank, National Bank, People's Choice Credit Union
  • RAA - Kincraig Motors or Vans Automotive Service
  • Service stations - MoGas, Mobil, Caltex, Shell and On The Run
  • Supermarkets - Woolworths, Kincraig Plaza and Foodland
  • Transport - Bus station at 170 Smith Street
  • Food services - Naracoorte Pizza House, McDonald's, Sweet Espresso and W T Morris And Son's Bakery

Media

The town is home to The Naracoorte Herald, a newspaper published in the town (under that name) since 1948. Prior to that, the newspaper had used the older spelling of the town, and was known as The Narracoorte Herald, which had begun publication on 14 December 1875. It was formerly part of Fairfax Media, with the Fairfax regional office located in the town on Smith Street. Since mid 2019 it has been owned by Australian Community Media who purchased the Rural Press publications when Fairfax was bought by Nine.

In 1912, a nearby publication, the Tatiara and Lawloit News (13 June 1908 – 15 June 1912), which also printed in Naracoorte, was absorbed into the Herald.

In May 2020 a new rival paper, “Naracoorte Community News” was launched by Michael Waite to fill the gap left by the suspension of ‘’The Naracoorte Herald’’ during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Sport

The town has an Australian Rules football team competing in the Kowree-Naracoorte-Tatiara Football League.[20] and also supplies players for a number of surrounding teams such as Kybybolite, Padthaway and Border Districts.

Naracoorte also has a soccer club competing in the Limestone Coast Football Association.[21]

Notable residents

Climate

References
  1. "Search results for Naracoorte, LOCB' with the following datasets selected – 'Suburbs and Localities', 'Government towns', 'Counties', 'Local Government Area', 'SA Government Regions' and 'Gazetteer'". Location SA Map Viewer. South Australian Government. Retrieved 30 June 2018.
  2. Australian Bureau of Statistics (27 June 2017). "Naracoorte (State Suburb)". 2016 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 28 January 2018.
  3. "Postcode for Naracoorte, South Australai". Postcodes Australia. postcodes-australia.com. Retrieved 1 July 2018.
  4. "Naracoorte Aerodrome". Climate statistics for Australian locations. Bureau of Meteorology. April 2014. Retrieved 3 April 2014.
  5. Premier Postal History, Post Office List, retrieved 11 April 2008
  6. "History of the District Council". Naracoorte Lucindale Council. Retrieved 8 March 2019.
  7. "Naracoorte Caves". Naracoorte Caves. National Parks South Australia, Government of South Australia. 2 December 2014. Retrieved 8 March 2019.
  8. "St Andrew's Presbyterian Church". South Australian Heritage Register. Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources. Retrieved 2 July 2016.
  9. "Naracoorte Council Office (former Commercial Bank of SA Naracoorte Branch) and front fence". South Australian Heritage Register. Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources. Retrieved 2 July 2016.
  10. "St Paul's Anglican Church". South Australian Heritage Register. Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources. Retrieved 2 July 2016.
  11. "The Sheep's Back Museum (former Simpson's Flour Mill)". South Australian Heritage Register. Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources. Retrieved 2 July 2016.
  12. "Former Limbert's Store and Residence". South Australian Heritage Register. Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources. Retrieved 2 July 2016.
  13. "Naracoorte (previously Dartmoor) Homestead Complex, including the homestead, two-storey building, cottage and old cottage". South Australian Heritage Register. Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources. Retrieved 2 July 2016.
  14. "Shop (former Naracoorte District Council Chambers)". South Australian Heritage Register. Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources. Retrieved 2 July 2016.
  15. "National Bank Naracoorte Branch". South Australian Heritage Register. Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources. Retrieved 2 July 2016.
  16. Naracoorte High
  17. Naracoorte Primary
  18. Naracoorte South Primary
  19. Sunrise Christian School, Naracoorte
  20. Full Points Footy, Kowree-Naracoorte-Tatiara, archived from the original on 13 May 2007, retrieved 25 July 2008
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