Tarcoola, South Australia

Tarcoola
South Australia
Tarcoola, South Australia, 2012.
Tarcoola
Coordinates 30°42′S 134°34′E / 30.700°S 134.567°E / -30.700; 134.567Coordinates: 30°42′S 134°34′E / 30.700°S 134.567°E / -30.700; 134.567
Population 38 (2006 census)[1]
Established 1901[2]
Postcode(s) 5710[3]
Elevation 204 m (669 ft)
Time zone ACST (UTC+9:30)
 • Summer (DST) ACST (UTC+10:30)
Location
LGA(s) Unincorporated area
State electorate(s) Giles[4]
Federal Division(s) Grey[5]
Mean max temp Mean min temp Annual rainfall
27.5 °C
82 °F		 12.0 °C
54 °F		 182.7 mm
7.2 in
Localities around Tarcoola:
Wilgena Wilgena Wilgena
Wilgena
Mulgathing		 Tarcoola Wilgena
Mulgathing Mulgathing Wilgena
Footnotes Climate[6]
Adjoining localities[2]

Tarcoola is a town in the Far North of South Australia 416 kilometres (258 mi) north-northwest of Port Augusta. At the 2006 census, the Tarcoola district had a population of 38.[1]

Tarcoola was named after Tarcoola the winner of the 1893 Melbourne Cup horse race. The horse Tarcoola had been raised on Tarcoola Station on the Darling River in New South Wales. It means river bend in the aboriginal language of the area around that Tarcoola Station.

History

Tarcoola railway station, between 1926 and 1940.

Tarcoola lies on what was Kokata land. The Tarcoola Goldfield was discovered and named in 1893, but it was in an isolated arid area, and there was little development until 1900. A Post Office opened on 18 August 1900 and the town was proclaimed on 21 February 1901.[7]

The goldfield's heyday was from about 1901 to 1918. A government battery was built to process ore from small mines. Between 1901 and 1954 the field produced about 77,000oz (2.4 tonnes) of gold, most of it from the Tarcoola Blocks mine.[8]

The Trans-Australian Railway was built through Tarcoola in 1915, and in 2004 the Adelaide–Darwin railway diverged from Tarcoola to Darwin.

The town is almost completely deserted today except for transient railway maintenance staff and geological exploration teams. The original Tarcoola goldfields are long closed. However, there is now new exploration for minerals in the wider area, including the Challenger Mine.

The Tarcoola Goldfield, Battery and Township is listed on the South Australian Heritage Register as a designated place of archaeological significance.[9]

In 2017, WPG Resources commenced mining an open pit at Tarcoola intending to mine for at least two years, and transport the ore to the Challenger mine for processing in the facilities there.[10]

Transport

Rail

Tarcoola is now best known as the northern junction of the Sydney-Perth and Adelaide-Darwin railways, which share approximately 530 kilometres (329 mi) of track between Tarcoola and Crystal Brook. There is a triangular junction at Tarcoola which joins Crystal Brook, Darwin and Perth. Another triangular junction at Crystal Brook joins Tarcoola, Adelaide and Sydney.

The Ghan and the Indian Pacific passenger services through Tarcoola both run once per week in each direction all year round, and twice per week at various times.[11][12] The mail for Tarcoola arrives by train.

Governance

Tarcoola is located within the federal division of Grey, the state electoral district of Giles and the unincorporated area of South Australia.[5][4][2]

Climate

Tarcoola has a desert climate with hot, dry summers and mild winters and sparse rainfall throughout the year.

Climate data for Tarcoola Airport
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 48.9
(120)		 47.4
(117.3)		 43.0
(109.4)		 39.5
(103.1)		 32.0
(89.6)		 28.7
(83.7)		 28.0
(82.4)		 33.5
(92.3)		 39.0
(102.2)		 42.9
(109.2)		 46.5
(115.7)		 47.0
(116.6)		 48.9
(120)
Average high °C (°F) 36.9
(98.4)		 35.1
(95.2)		 31.4
(88.5)		 27.2
(81)		 22.5
(72.5)		 18.8
(65.8)		 18.8
(65.8)		 21.2
(70.2)		 25.3
(77.5)		 27.9
(82.2)		 31.6
(88.9)		 33.8
(92.8)		 27.5
(81.5)
Average low °C (°F) 19.7
(67.5)		 19.3
(66.7)		 16.1
(61)		 12.1
(53.8)		 8.2
(46.8)		 5.1
(41.2)		 4.6
(40.3)		 5.5
(41.9)		 9.0
(48.2)		 11.7
(53.1)		 15.6
(60.1)		 17.4
(63.3)		 12.0
(53.6)
Record low °C (°F) 5.6
(42.1)		 10.0
(50)		 6.1
(43)		 1.3
(34.3)		 0.0
(32)		 −3.8
(25.2)		 −2.7
(27.1)		 −3.1
(26.4)		 0.5
(32.9)		 1.0
(33.8)		 5.0
(41)		 8.4
(47.1)		 −3.8
(25.2)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 11.6
(0.457)		 26.4
(1.039)		 15.0
(0.591)		 10.2
(0.402)		 11.4
(0.449)		 13.5
(0.531)		 12.9
(0.508)		 11.4
(0.449)		 9.8
(0.386)		 16.8
(0.661)		 18.8
(0.74)		 22.4
(0.882)		 181.0
(7.126)
Source: [6]

References

  1. 1 2 Australian Bureau of Statistics (25 October 2007). "Tarcoola (State Suburb)". 2006 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 18 June 2012.
  2. 1 2 3 "Search result for "Tarcoola (Locality Bounded)" (Record no SA0065485) with the following layers selected - "Suburbs and Localities"". Property Location Browser. Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure. Retrieved 19 May 2016.
  3. ↑ "Postcode for Tarcoola, South Australia". postcodes-australia.com. Retrieved 19 May 2016.
  4. 1 2 "District of Giles Background Profile". Electoral Commission SA. Retrieved 14 May 2016.
  5. 1 2 "Federal electoral division of Grey" (PDF). Australian Electoral Commission. Retrieved 24 July 2015.
  6. 1 2 "Climate statistics for Tarcoola Aero". Bureau of Meteorology. Retrieved 3 April 2014.
  7. ↑ Premier Postal History. "Post Office List". Premier Postal Auctions. Retrieved 2011-05-26.
  8. ↑ J.F. Drexel, Mining in South Australia: a Pictorial History (Department of Mines & Energy, Adelaide, 1982, p. 129)
  9. ↑ "Tarcoola Goldfield, Government Battery and Township (designated place of archaeological significance)". South Australian Heritage Register. Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources. Archived from the original on 15 February 2016. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
  10. ↑ Fowler, Courtney (4 February 2017). "Tarcoola gold mine celebrates major milestone with first haul to Challenger". ABC Rural. ABC News. Retrieved 4 April 2018.
  11. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 5 December 2014. Retrieved 12 October 2011.
  12. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 10 October 2011. Retrieved 12 October 2011.
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