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Milang South Australia
Milang
Milang
Coordinates	35°24′22″S 138°58′17″E / 35.406168°S 138.971311°E / -35.406168; 138.971311
Population	831 (UCL 2021)
Established	1853
Postcode(s)	5256
Time zone	ACST (UTC+9:30)
• Summer (DST)	ACDT (UTC+10.30)
Location	63 km (39 mi) SE of Adelaide 20 km (12 mi) NE of Goolwa
LGA(s)	Alexandrina Council
Region	Fleurieu and Kangaroo Island
State electorate(s)	Finniss
Federal division(s)	Mayo
Localities around Milang: Angas Plains Nurragi Angas Plains Lake Plains Nurragi Finniss Milang Lake Plains Lake Alexandrina Clayton Bay Clayton Bay Point Sturt
Footnotes	Locations Adjoining localities

Milang (/məˈlæŋ/ m(ə)-LANG) is a town and locality located in the Australian state of South Australia on the west coast of Lake Alexandrina about 71 kilometres (44 mi) south-east of the state capital of Adelaide and about 20 kilometres (12 mi) north-east of the municipal seat of Goolwa.

History

The town was surveyed in December 1853; it became a significant port on the River Murray system between 1860 and 1880. Between December 1884 and June 1970, a branch line off the Mount Barker–Victor Harbor railway ran 13.1 km (8.1 mi) from a junction at Sandergrove to Milang, mainly for freight traffic but also as a minor passenger service. The line was dismantled after its closure in 1970.

Milang played an historic role as host to the first South Australian Boy Scout camp in the summer of 1909–1910; a bronze plaque marks the location.

Milang Football Club, the Milang Panthers, compete in the Hills Football League C Grade competition.

Heritage listings

Milang has many 19th century buildings, and some heritage-listed sites, including:

• Coxe Street: 1867 Royal Salute cannon, Soldiers Memorial Park
• 46-50 Coxe Street: Milang School
• 22-23 Daranda Terrace: Milang Butter Factory
• Lake front: Milang jetty and hand crane
• 5-7 Markland Street: Dwelling with pressed iron facade

Butter Factory

The Milang Lakeside Butter Factory, whose original buildings date from 1893, made butter from the milk brought to the jetty from surrounding small farms. Much of the butter was sent to the Western Australian Goldfields. In 1919, it was bought by Farmers Union, who added and a manager's cottage. However operations ceased in the 1960s.

Parts of the factory were used during the filming of the television series Shadows of the Heart in 1990, but it remained intact and closed. The factory was added to the SA Heritage Register on 11 June 1998.

After the factory and manager's cottage came up for sale in 2014, a group of residents of the small town got together and lobbied the council to buy the property, and then proceeded to apply for a series of grants to restore the buildings. The council donated A$350,000 towards the purchase of the factory, and various other organisations gave grants to cover the cost of engineering and preserving works. Members of the community held many fundraisers put in many hours of work over 10 years, until, by February 2024, just a few jobs were left to complete the restoration.

Location and governance

Milang is situated at the west coast of Lake Alexandrina, around 71 kilometres (44 mi) south-east of Adelaide and 20 kilometres (12 mi) north-east of the municipal seat of Goolwa.

It lies within the federal division of Mayo, the state electoral district of Hammond and the local government area of the Alexandrina Council.

In the 2021 Australian census, there were 831 people in the locality of Milang.

Tourist attractions

Milang tourist attractions include fishing from the state heritage-listed jetty, the Milang Historical Society museum, the Milang Historical Walk, and boating and swimming on Lake Alexandrina.

The Milang Historical Railway Museum, opened in 1992 and located in the station building of the now-closed Milang railway line, features many old photos and railway memorabilia from the era when Milang was a significant port for the River Murray shipping trade. It has become one of Milang's major attractions with its displays of the railway-era history of the town and surrounding districts, its locomotive and carriages and, in the locomotive, a computer operated driving simulator that visitors over the age of 10 can operate.

Another railway-themed attraction is the South Australian Light Railway Centre, on the museum site, which tells the story of about 700 light railways that once operated in the state in mines, forests, wineries, munitions factories and quarries, and at jetties to transport goods from ships. It includes three historic locomotives and two section cars, displays, rolling stock models, and a model light railway that visitors can drive.

References

1. ^ "Search result for "Milang, LOCB" with the following datasets selected – "Suburbs and Localities", "Counties", "Government Towns", "Local Government Areas", "SA Government Regions" and "Gazetteer"". Location SA Map Viewer. South Australian government. Retrieved 17 September 2018.
2. Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Milang (urban centre and locality)". Australian Census 2021. 
3. ^ "Postcode for Milang, South Australia". postcodes-australia.com. Retrieved 17 September 2018.
4. "Fleurieu Kangaroo Island SA Government region" (PDF). The Government of South Australia. Retrieved 17 April 2017.
5. "Milang, South Australia". Place Names Online. Government of South Australia Department for Transport, Energy and Infrastructure. Retrieved 2 August 2008.
6. "Milang: The Jetty". Archived from the original on 19 July 2008. Retrieved 2 August 2008.
7. Sallis, Roger (1998). Railways in the Adelaide Hills, 1st edition. Openbook Publishers, Adelaide. ISBN 0-646-35473-6.
8. "Scouts under canvas". Observer (Adelaide). Adelaide, SA. 1 January 1910. p. 35. Retrieved 3 June 2019 – via Trove.
9. "Ladder for Men C Grade". GameDay. Retrieved 10 March 2024.
10. "Home". MILANG PANTHERS FC. Retrieved 10 March 2024.
11. "Cannon that fired royal salute in 1867, Soldiers Memorial Park". South Australian Heritage Register. Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources. Retrieved 11 September 2016.
12. "Milang School". South Australian Heritage Register. Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources. Retrieved 11 September 2016.
13. ^ "Former Milang Butter Factory". South Australian Heritage Register. Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources. Retrieved 10 March 2024.
14. "Milang Jetty and Hand Crane". South Australian Heritage Register. Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources. Retrieved 11 September 2016.
15. "Dwelling with pressed iron facade". South Australian Heritage Register. Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources. Retrieved 11 September 2016.
16. ^ Horn, Caroline (10 February 2024). "Heritage-listed Milang Lakeside Butter Factory restored to life by volunteers after 10 years' work". ABC News (Australia). Retrieved 10 March 2024.
17. "Federal electoral division of Mayo, boundary gazetted 16 December 2011" (PDF). Australian Electoral Commission. Retrieved 25 January 2018.
18. Hammond (Map). Electoral District Boundaries Commission. 2016. Retrieved 17 September 2018.
19. "Milang (L), 2021 Census". Australian Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved 10 March 2024.
20. Walsh, Dave (12 December 2016). "Port Milang Historic Railway Museum". Weekend notes. Oat Labs, Sydney. Retrieved 3 June 2019.
21. ^ Walsh, Dave (14 December 2016). "South Australian Light Railway Centre opening". Weekend notes. Oat Labs, Sydney. Retrieved 3 June 2019.
22. "Milang Easter Fair".
23. "The new South Australian Light Railway Centre". The Port Milang Historic Railway Museum. Milang Historical Railway Museum Inc. 2019. Retrieved 3 June 2019.

• Towns in South Australia