Kadina

History

The Narungga are the group of Indigenous Australians whose traditional lands include what is now termed Yorke Peninsula in South Australia. The name "Kadina" is thought to be derived from Kadiyinya, a Narungga word meaning 'Lizard Plain'. Copper was discovered at Wallaroo Mines in 1859 and adjacent land north east of the site was surveyed in 1861 to house miners and became the Government Town of Kadina. Exceptional amounts of copper were found in the following years. Copper was also found in large amounts at the nearby Matta Mine and Doora Mine. The copper mines attracted a number of highly experienced Cornish miners to Kadina. In 1862, the Hundred of Wallaroo and Hundred of Kadina were proclaimed in order to allow parcels of land to be sold in the vicinity of the copper mines. In the same year a horse-drawn railway from Kadina to the port at Wallaroo, west of the town, was opened. Further lines connecting Kadina to Port Wakefield, to the southeast, and Bute, to the northeast (Kadina-Brinkworth railway line), opened in 1878 and 1879, respectively. In 1872 Kadina became a municipality by establishment of the Corporate Town of Kadina. By 1875, the population had increased to 20,000, mostly composed of Cornish miners. In 1907 the adjacent Government Town of Kadina East was surveyed west of Eliza Terrace to cope with the need to house the growing population of the town. Mining at Kadina ceased completely in 1938, and the rail lines fell into disuse and were closed in 1989.

Geography

Kadina has a semi-arid climate (Köppen: BSk), with moderately hot, dry summers and cool, wetter winters. The town is above Goyder's Line, and is surrounded by mallee scrub. It is located inland and above sea level. Temperatures vary throughout the year, with average maxima ranging from in January to in July, and average minima fluctuating between in February and in July. Annual precipitation is rather low, averaging between 92.3 precipitation days. There are 122.3 clear days and 102.6 cloudy days annually. Extreme temperatures have ranged from on 24 January 2019 to on 30 August 2019. Extremes were combined from the closed Kadina weather station and the current Kadina AWS station.

Most-observed species

• Red Wattlebird

  Anthochaera carunculata (Shaw, 1790) · Aves
  454
• European Starling

  Sturnus vulgaris Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  443
• Magpie-lark

  Grallina cyanoleuca (Latham, 1802) · Aves
  402
• New Holland Honeyeater

  Phylidonyris novaehollandiae (Latham, 1790) · Aves
  396
• Spotted dove

  Spilopelia chinensis (Scopoli, 1786) · Aves
  394
• Crested Pigeon

  Ocyphaps lophotes (Temminck, 1822) · Aves
  389
• House Sparrow

  Passer domesticus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  362
• Rock Pigeon

  Columba livia J.F.Gmelin, 1789 · Aves
  321

Most recent

• M 3.9 — 2018-07-01
  15 km WNW of Cowell, Australia
• M 3.1 — 2008-12-04
  17 km ESE of Crystal Brook, Australia
• M 3.4 — 2006-07-17
  55 km S of Cowell, Australia
• M 2.6 — 2004-08-02
  30 km N of Clare, Australia
• M 2.7 — 2004-08-02
  29 km N of Clare, Australia
• M 2.9 — 2003-05-02
  26 km ENE of Kadina, Australia