Coonamia, South Australia facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Coonamia Port Pirie, South Australia
Map of Coonamia (click to enlarge)
Coonamia Location in South Australia
Postcode(s)	5540
Location	219 km (136 mi) N of Adelaide 3 km (2 mi) SE of Port Pirie
LGA(s)	Port Pirie Regional Council
State electorate(s)	Stuart
Federal Division(s)	Grey
Suburbs around Coonamia: Solomontown Solomontown Germein Bay Solomontown Port Pirie South Coonamia Bungama Port Pirie South Port Pirie South Bungama
Footnotes	Adjoining localities

Coonamia (pronounced koonum-EYE-uh) is a small, quiet area in South Australia. It's located in the Mid North region, on the flat land between the city of Port Pirie and the Southern Flinders Ranges mountains. It's only about 3 kilometers (2 miles) south-east of Port Pirie. The whole area of Coonamia is about 3.65 square kilometers (1.41 square miles).

Discovering Coonamia

What's in a Name?

The name "Coonamia" comes from the local Aboriginal people, the Nukunu and Ngadjuri. In their language, "Coonamia" means "cold."

Coonamia's Railway Story

Coonamia once had a special stop for trains! In 1929, a "provisional stopping place" was opened on the railway line that went from Port Pirie to Cockburn. This stop was on Railway Terrace South in Coonamia.

• At this stop, passengers could signal the train driver to make the train stop.
• If you were already on the train and wanted to get off at Coonamia, you just had to ask the guard.

However, things changed in 1937. A new, more direct railway line was built to connect to Adelaide. This new line didn't go through Coonamia. Because of this, the old stopping place was used less and less, and it eventually closed down.

The stop was reopened in 1989 for people who had pre-booked tickets for interstate journeys (trips between different states). But in the early 2010s, it closed again. Today, all that's left is the "Coonamia" sign.