Riddoch Highway
Encyclopedia
South Australia
South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...
branches from the Dukes Highway
Dukes Highway
The Dukes Highway is an important 189 kilometre highway corridor in South Australia which links the Australian cities of Adelaide and Melbourne. It is part of the National Highway system spanning Australia, and is signed as National Highway A8....
at Keith
Keith, South Australia
Keith is a small farming town in the south-east of South Australia. It is approximately 225 km from Adelaide at the junction of the Dukes Highway and the Riddoch Highway. It is sometimes referred to as the 'lucerne capital of Australia' due to the high number of lucerne growers in the region...
and travels south through Padthaway
Padthaway, South Australia
Padthaway is a small town on the Riddoch Highway in the south-east of South Australia, halfway from Keith to Naracoorte. The name is derived from the Potawurutj Aboriginal name for Good Water. Padthaway is in the Tatiara District Council, the state electorate of MacKillop and the federal Division...
, Naracoorte
Naracoorte, South Australia
Naracoorte is a town in the Limestone Coast region of South Australia, approximately 336 kilometres south east of Adelaide and 100 kilometres north of Mount Gambier on the Riddoch Highway .-History:...
, Penola
Penola, South Australia
Penola is located 388 km south east of Adelaide and is in the heart of one of South Australia's most productive wine growing areas. Coonawarra lies just to the north and is renowned for the quality of its red wines...
, Nangwarry
Nangwarry, South Australia
Nangwarry is a town in south eastern South Australia. The town is in the Wattle Range Council local government area, south-east of the state capital, Adelaide. At the 2006 census, Nangwarry had a population of 503....
, Tarpeena
Tarpeena, South Australia
Tarpeena is a town on the Riddoch Highway between Penola and Mount Gambier in the Limestone Coast region of South Australia. At the 2006 census, Tarpeena had a population of 406....
, and Mount Gambier
Mount Gambier, South Australia
Mount Gambier is the largest regional city in South Australia located approximately 450 kilometres south of the capital Adelaide and just 17 kilometres from the Victorian border....
to Port MacDonnell
Port MacDonnell, South Australia
Port MacDonnell is a small port about southeast of Adelaide and south of Mount Gambier, in the Limestone Coast region of south-eastern South Australia. Port MacDonnell is the southernmost town in South Australia. At the 2006 census, the town had a population of 623...
and nearby Cape Northumberland.
The highway has been designated as State Route A66 between Keith and Mount Gambier. The remainder, between Mount Gambier and Port MacDonnell has been labelled State Route B66, although this is not officially known as the Riddoch Highway.
It passes through grazing
Grazing
Grazing generally describes a type of feeding, in which a herbivore feeds on plants , and also on other multicellular autotrophs...
and cereal
Cereal
Cereals are grasses cultivated for the edible components of their grain , composed of the endosperm, germ, and bran...
-growing land, horticultural
Horticulture
Horticulture is the industry and science of plant cultivation including the process of preparing soil for the planting of seeds, tubers, or cuttings. Horticulturists work and conduct research in the disciplines of plant propagation and cultivation, crop production, plant breeding and genetic...
and vineyards (including Padthaway
Padthaway, South Australia
Padthaway is a small town on the Riddoch Highway in the south-east of South Australia, halfway from Keith to Naracoorte. The name is derived from the Potawurutj Aboriginal name for Good Water. Padthaway is in the Tatiara District Council, the state electorate of MacKillop and the federal Division...
, Wrattonbully and Coonawarra
Coonawarra, South Australia
Coonawarra is a small town north of Penola in South Australia. It is best known for the Coonawarra wine region named after it....
wine regions), and plantation
Plantation
A plantation is a long artificially established forest, farm or estate, where crops are grown for sale, often in distant markets rather than for local on-site consumption...
timber
Timber
Timber may refer to:* Timber, a term common in the United Kingdom and Australia for wood materials * Timber, Oregon, an unincorporated community in the U.S...
, predominantly pinus radiata.
The Royal Automobile Association
Royal Automobile Association
The Royal Automobile Association of South Australia, also known simply as RAA, is a South Australian automobile club providing a range of member services including: 24-hour emergency breakdown, vehicle inspection, motoring advocacy, road safety, legal services, technical advice, travel services,...
(RAA) has rated the highway at 5/10.
The Riddoch Highway is named after John Riddoch, the original landholder and vigneron in Coonawarra
Coonawarra
Coonawarra is a wine region, on the Limestone Coast of South Australia, that is known for the Cabernet Sauvignon wines produced on its "terra rossa" soil. Coonawarra is an Aboriginal word meaning "Honeysuckle". It is about 380 km southeast of Adelaide, close to the border with...
.