Town in South Australia
| Tarcoola South Australia | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Tarcoola, South Australia, 2012. | |||||||||||||||
  Tarcoola | |||||||||||||||
| Coordinates | 30°41′41″S 134°33′22″E / 30.694859°S 134.55616°E / -30.694859; 134.55616 | ||||||||||||||
| Population | 0 (2016 census) | ||||||||||||||
| Established | 21 February 1901 (town) 29 July 2004 (locality) | ||||||||||||||
| Postcode(s) | 5710 | ||||||||||||||
| Elevation | 123 m (404 ft)(airport) | ||||||||||||||
| Time zone | ACST (UTC+9:30) | ||||||||||||||
| • Summer (DST) | ACST (UTC+10:30) | ||||||||||||||
| Location |
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| LGA(s) | Pastoral Unincorporated Area | ||||||||||||||
| Region | Far North | ||||||||||||||
| State electorate(s) | Giles | ||||||||||||||
| Federal division(s) | Grey | ||||||||||||||
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| Footnotes | Adjoining localities | ||||||||||||||
Tarcoola is a town in the Far North of South Australia 416 kilometres (258 mi) north-northwest of Port Augusta. At the 2016 census, Tarcoola had no people living within its boundaries.
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 lies on 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.
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.
The Trans-Australian Railway was built through Tarcoola in 1915, and in 1980 it became a junction station when the Adelaide–Darwin railway diverged from Tarcoola to Alice Springs. The link from Alice Springs through to Darwin was eventually completed in 2004.
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.
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.
Transport
Rail
Main article: Tarcoola railway stationTarcoola 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. 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 Pastoral Unincorporated Area of South Australia.
Climate
Tarcoola has a desert climate with hot, dry summers and mild winters and sparse rainfall throughout the year. A record high temperature of 49.1 °C was recorded on 24 January 2019.
| Climate data for Tarcoola Aero (1997–2020); 123 m AMSL; 30° 42′ 18.36″ S | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 49.1 (120.4) |
48.2 (118.8) |
44.0 (111.2) |
39.7 (103.5) |
34.2 (93.6) |
28.7 (83.7) |
29.4 (84.9) |
33.5 (92.3) |
39.0 (102.2) |
42.9 (109.2) |
46.5 (115.7) |
48.1 (118.6) |
49.1 (120.4) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 36.8 (98.2) |
35.3 (95.5) |
31.7 (89.1) |
27.2 (81.0) |
22.4 (72.3) |
18.8 (65.8) |
19.0 (66.2) |
21.2 (70.2) |
25.5 (77.9) |
28.6 (83.5) |
31.7 (89.1) |
34.3 (93.7) |
27.7 (81.9) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 19.8 (67.6) |
19.1 (66.4) |
16.2 (61.2) |
12.3 (54.1) |
8.1 (46.6) |
5.2 (41.4) |
4.6 (40.3) |
5.7 (42.3) |
9.0 (48.2) |
12.2 (54.0) |
15.4 (59.7) |
17.6 (63.7) |
12.1 (53.8) |
| Record low °C (°F) | 5.6 (42.1) |
9.1 (48.4) |
6.1 (43.0) |
1.3 (34.3) |
0.0 (32.0) |
−3.8 (25.2) |
−2.9 (26.8) |
−3.1 (26.4) |
−0.1 (31.8) |
1.0 (33.8) |
5.0 (41.0) |
7.8 (46.0) |
−3.8 (25.2) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 12.1 (0.48) |
23.0 (0.91) |
17.4 (0.69) |
12.6 (0.50) |
10.7 (0.42) |
13.1 (0.52) |
10.8 (0.43) |
13.0 (0.51) |
9.8 (0.39) |
16.5 (0.65) |
20.3 (0.80) |
19.8 (0.78) |
179.1 (7.08) |
| Average precipitation days (≥ 0.2 mm) | 2.6 | 2.8 | 3.2 | 4.0 | 4.9 | 5.8 | 4.7 | 5.3 | 3.2 | 4.8 | 4.8 | 4.0 | 50.1 |
| Source: Australian Bureau of Meteorology | |||||||||||||
References
- ^ "Search results for 'Tarcoola, LOCB' with the following datasets selected - 'Suburbs and localities', 'Government Towns', 'Local Government Areas', 'SA Government Regions', 'Gazetteer' and 'Railways'". Location SA Map Viewer. South Australian Government. Retrieved 16 April 2019.
- ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (27 June 2017). "Tarcoola (State Suburb)". 2016 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 10 March 2020.
- Jenkins, J.G. (21 February 1901). "TOWN OF TARCOOLA" (PDF). The South Australian Government Gazette. Government of South Australia. p. 368. Retrieved 16 April 2019.
- Kentish, P.M. (29 July 2004). "GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES ACT 1991 Notice to Assign Names and Boundaries to Places" (PDF). The South Australian Government Gazette. Government of South Australia. p. 2671. Retrieved 16 April 2019.
assign the names TARCOOLA, WOOMERA, PIMBA and IRON KNOB, to those areas Out of Councils and shown numbered 1 to 4 on Rack Plan 857 (Sheet 1).
- "Postcode for Tarcoola, South Australia". postcodes-australia.com. Retrieved 19 May 2016.
- ^ "Climate statistics for Tarcoola Aero". Bureau of Meteorology. 11 April 2019. Retrieved 17 April 2019.
- ^ "District of Giles Background Profile". Electoral Commission SA. Retrieved 14 May 2016.
- ^ "Federal electoral division of Grey" (PDF). Australian Electoral Commission. Retrieved 24 July 2015.
- Premier Postal History. "Post Office List". Premier Postal Auctions. Retrieved 26 May 2011.
- J.F. Drexel, Mining in South Australia: a Pictorial History (Department of Mines & Energy, Adelaide, 1982, p. 129)
- "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.
- Fowler, Courtney (4 February 2017). "Tarcoola gold mine celebrates major milestone with first haul to Challenger". ABC Rural. ABC News. Retrieved 4 April 2018.
- "Timetables :: GSR". Archived from the original on 5 December 2014. Retrieved 12 October 2011.
- "Great Southern Rail :: Timetables". Archived from the original on 10 October 2011. Retrieved 12 October 2011.