Wudinna, South Australia facts for kids
Quick facts for kids WudinnaSouth Australia |
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The Australian Farmer, an 8-metre (26-foot) statue in Wudinna made from local granite
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 Wudinna
Location in South Australia
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| Established | 1916 | ||||||||
| Postcode(s) | 5652 | ||||||||
| Elevation | 77 m (253 ft) | ||||||||
| Location | 570 km (354 mi) NW of Adelaide | ||||||||
| LGA(s) | Wudinna | ||||||||
| State electorate(s) | Flinders | ||||||||
| Federal Division(s) | Grey | ||||||||
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| Footnotes | Climate | ||||||||
Wudinna (/ˈwʊdənə/; wood-UH-nuh) is a town of about 500 people on the Eyre Highway in the wheat-growing region of Eyre Peninsula, South Australia.
History
Since time immemorial, Wudinna has been part of the country visited from the east coast of Eyre Peninsula, seasonally and for ceremonial and special purposes, by the Barngarla people. The Barngarla name is "Woodina", meaning "granite hill". The area was first settled by Europeans in 1861, after Robert George Standley lodged a claim for 10 square kilometres (4 sq mi) of land surrounding what was then referred to as Weedna Hill.
The town, which was proclaimed in 1916, serves as the seat of the Wudinna District Council. In 2023, it won the South Australian Department of Primary Industries and Regions Agricultural Town of the Year award. In 2024 the town held its inaugural Granite Rocks music festival.
Economic activity
Wudinna is a major rural service centre: as of 2023[update] about 44 per cent of its workforce was employed in the agriculture sector and 74 per cent of its exports were agricultural products. It is the base for a farmer-owned organisation, Agricultural Innovation and Research Eyre Peninsula, which conducts research, development and extension for dryland farming systems. Eyre Peninsula Cooperative Bulk Handling, which supports Eyre Peninsula farm business owners with grain transport, storage and handling, supply chain logistics and exporting, also has its headquarters in the town.
Significant features
The region is known as "granite country" for its deposits of granite, accessible along a granite trail. Quarrying began at the Desert Rose quarry, near Mount Wudinna, in the 1990s. Blocks up to 8 cubic metres (280 cubic feet), weighing 20 tonnes (20 long tons; 22 short tons) are cut into smaller blocks for shipping around Australia or for export to Asian and European markets. An 8-metre (26-foot) statue in the town, The Australian Farmer, commemorating the area's settlers, is made from local granite.
Mount Wudinna, located 12 kilometres (7 mi) north-east of the township, is listed on the South Australian Heritage Register. It is the largest and most impressive of the granite outcrops on north-west Eyre Peninsula and is a good example of a stepped inselberg.
The Gawler Ranges National Park is 40 kilometres (25 miles) north of the town. A 7 kilometres (4.3 miles) bike-and-walking trail runs from Wudinna to Polda Rock Recreation Reserve.
Climate
Wudinna experiences a cold semi-arid climate, bordering on a hot semi-arid climate (Köppen climate classification: BSk/BSh, Trewartha: BSal); with hot, dry summers; mild to warm, dry springs and autumns; and mild, relatively dry winters.
| Climate data for Wudinna Airport, South Australia, Australia (1999–present normals and extremes); 86 m AMSL | |||||||||||||
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| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 48.2 (118.8) |
46.9 (116.4) |
43.5 (110.3) |
40.0 (104.0) |
32.3 (90.1) |
27.6 (81.7) |
25.6 (78.1) |
32.6 (90.7) |
36.8 (98.2) |
41.5 (106.7) |
46.0 (114.8) |
48.4 (119.1) |
48.4 (119.1) |
| Mean maximum °C (°F) | 42.4 (108.3) |
40.8 (105.4) |
37.0 (98.6) |
32.1 (89.8) |
25.6 (78.1) |
20.5 (68.9) |
20.4 (68.7) |
24.0 (75.2) |
30.0 (86.0) |
34.6 (94.3) |
38.0 (100.4) |
40.6 (105.1) |
42.4 (108.3) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 33.4 (92.1) |
32.5 (90.5) |
29.6 (85.3) |
25.5 (77.9) |
20.8 (69.4) |
17.4 (63.3) |
17.0 (62.6) |
18.8 (65.8) |
22.6 (72.7) |
26.1 (79.0) |
29.3 (84.7) |
31.4 (88.5) |
25.4 (77.6) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 24.5 (76.1) |
23.8 (74.8) |
21.3 (70.3) |
17.9 (64.2) |
14.7 (58.5) |
12.0 (53.6) |
11.6 (52.9) |
12.1 (53.8) |
14.9 (58.8) |
17.5 (63.5) |
20.5 (68.9) |
22.5 (72.5) |
17.8 (64.0) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 15.6 (60.1) |
15.0 (59.0) |
13.0 (55.4) |
10.3 (50.5) |
8.6 (47.5) |
6.5 (43.7) |
6.2 (43.2) |
5.6 (42.1) |
7.2 (45.0) |
8.9 (48.0) |
11.7 (53.1) |
13.6 (56.5) |
10.2 (50.3) |
| Mean minimum °C (°F) | 9.9 (49.8) |
9.6 (49.3) |
7.0 (44.6) |
5.0 (41.0) |
3.2 (37.8) |
2.0 (35.6) |
1.7 (35.1) |
0.2 (32.4) |
1.9 (35.4) |
2.8 (37.0) |
5.1 (41.2) |
8.0 (46.4) |
0.2 (32.4) |
| Record low °C (°F) | 4.0 (39.2) |
5.8 (42.4) |
2.2 (36.0) |
1.6 (34.9) |
−0.3 (31.5) |
−3.7 (25.3) |
−3.0 (26.6) |
−3.0 (26.6) |
−2.9 (26.8) |
−1.4 (29.5) |
1.2 (34.2) |
3.3 (37.9) |
−3.7 (25.3) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 14.4 (0.57) |
15.5 (0.61) |
15.8 (0.62) |
17.0 (0.67) |
23.1 (0.91) |
36.8 (1.45) |
33.9 (1.33) |
34.7 (1.37) |
23.9 (0.94) |
20.3 (0.80) |
19.5 (0.77) |
16.3 (0.64) |
271.2 (10.68) |
| Average precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm) | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 3.2 | 4.8 | 6.8 | 7.8 | 7.0 | 4.6 | 3.3 | 3.1 | 2.7 | 49.3 |
| Average relative humidity (%) | 38.5 | 43.5 | 47.5 | 51.0 | 59.5 | 68.5 | 68.0 | 60.5 | 50.5 | 40.5 | 39.0 | 34.0 | 50.1 |
| Average dew point °C (°F) | 7.7 (45.9) |
9.1 (48.4) |
7.8 (46.0) |
7.4 (45.3) |
7.3 (45.1) |
6.8 (44.2) |
6.4 (43.5) |
5.5 (41.9) |
5.4 (41.7) |
3.8 (38.8) |
5.3 (41.5) |
6.4 (43.5) |
6.6 (43.8) |
| Source: Australian Bureau of Meteorology (1999–present normals and extremes) | |||||||||||||
Notable people
- Harrison Petty, professional Australian rules football player
- Hannah Petty, Australian netball player
