Canowie, South Australia facts for kids
Quick facts for kids CanowieSouth Australia |
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 Canowie
Location in South Australia
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| Established | 1865 | ||||||||||||||
| Postcode(s) | 5419 | ||||||||||||||
| LGA(s) | Regional Council of Goyder | ||||||||||||||
| State electorate(s) | Stuart | ||||||||||||||
| Federal Division(s) | Grey | ||||||||||||||
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Canowie is a quiet farming area in the Mid North region of South Australia. It's a place where people mostly do farming and raise animals like sheep or cattle. The area is quite flat, but you can see the Browne Hill Range of hills to the west.
The name Canowie comes from an Aboriginal word, "Kanya-Owie." This word means "rock waterhole," and it was important for the original Canowie Station, which was a very large farm.
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What is Canowie Like Today?
Canowie is a rural area in South Australia where farming and raising animals are the main activities. The boundaries of this area were officially set in the year 2000. It's a sparsely populated place, meaning not many people live there.
A Town That Didn't Grow
Back in 1865, the government planned to build a town in Canowie. They even drew up maps with streets and places for a cemetery and a water reserve. The town was placed on a major route where farmers would move their animals from one place to another. There was also a special area called a "livestock pound" where stray animals could be kept.
However, the town didn't really take off. Sections of land were offered for sale, but very few people bought them. By 1870, only two people lived in the town. A general store operated for a few years, and a post office opened in 1867. This post office later moved to the Canowie Station homestead and closed in 1924. Because the town didn't grow, it was officially declared to be "diminished" in December 1930. Today, almost nothing remains of the original town.
Canowie Station and Old Canowie
The Canowie area was once part of a very large farm called Canowie Station. The main house and buildings of this old farm are now known as Old Canowie. This historic site is located about eleven kilometres north of the current Canowie area. It is now part of the nearby area called Belalie East.
Modern Energy in Canowie
Even though the old town didn't succeed, the Canowie district is home to some modern energy facilities. The Hallett Power Station, which uses gas to create electricity, is located here. Also, part of the Hallett Wind Farm, which uses wind turbines to generate clean energy, is along the western edge of Canowie in the Browne Hill area.
