Wudinna, South Australia
Encyclopedia
Wudinna is a town in South Australia
. The area was first settled in 1861 when Robert George Standley lodged a claim for 10 sq. miles of land surrounding Weedna Hill ('weedna' later became changed to Wudinna which may be an Aboriginal word meaning 'the granite hill').. It was proclaimed a town in 1916. It is on the Eyre Highway
across the top of Eyre Peninsula
.
The region is known as The granite country for its deposits of granite
in the area, with tourists able to travel the granite trail to explore local landmarks. Quarrying of granite has occurred in the local area since the 1990s. Some granite blocks quarried at the Desert Rose Quarry near Mount Wudinna can be up to 8 cubic metres in volume and weigh 20 tonnes, before being cut into smaller blocks for shipping around Australia, or for export to Asian and European markets. This granite was employed in the construction of The Australian Farmer
, an 8 metre (26 ft) high statute that was carved in the town as a community project to commemorate the early settlers.
Mount Wudinna is Australia's second largest monolith after Mount Augustus
. It is located 12 km north-east of the town.
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...
. The area was first settled in 1861 when Robert George Standley lodged a claim for 10 sq. miles of land surrounding Weedna Hill ('weedna' later became changed to Wudinna which may be an Aboriginal word meaning 'the granite hill').. It was proclaimed a town in 1916. It is on the Eyre Highway
Eyre Highway
The Eyre Highway is a highway linking Western Australia and South Australia via the Nullarbor Plain. Signed as National Highway 1/A1, it forms part of Highway 1 and the Australian National Highway network linking Perth and Adelaide. It was named after explorer Edward John Eyre, who was the first to...
across the top of Eyre Peninsula
Eyre Peninsula
Eyre Peninsula is a triangular peninsula in South Australia. It is bounded on the east by Spencer Gulf, the west by the Great Australian Bight, and the north by the Gawler Ranges. It is named after explorer Edward John Eyre who explored some of it in 1839-1841. The coastline was first explored by...
.
The region is known as The granite country for its deposits of granite
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
in the area, with tourists able to travel the granite trail to explore local landmarks. Quarrying of granite has occurred in the local area since the 1990s. Some granite blocks quarried at the Desert Rose Quarry near Mount Wudinna can be up to 8 cubic metres in volume and weigh 20 tonnes, before being cut into smaller blocks for shipping around Australia, or for export to Asian and European markets. This granite was employed in the construction of The Australian Farmer
Australian Farmer
The Australian Farmer is a statue located in Wudinna, South Australia. Regarded as one of Australia's Big Things, the granite sculpture stands at in height, and weighs in the vicinity of 70 tonnes...
, an 8 metre (26 ft) high statute that was carved in the town as a community project to commemorate the early settlers.
Mount Wudinna is Australia's second largest monolith after Mount Augustus
Mount Augustus
Mount Augustus may refer to:*Mount Augustus National Park, Australia*Mount Augustus, New Zealand...
. It is located 12 km north-east of the town.