Peterborough | |||||||||||||
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.jpg) Main street of Peterborough | |||||||||||||
  Peterborough | |||||||||||||
| Coordinates:32°58′S138°50′E / 32.967°S 138.833°E /-32.967; 138.833 | |||||||||||||
| Country | Australia | ||||||||||||
| State | South Australia | ||||||||||||
| LGA | |||||||||||||
| Location |
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| Established | 1869 | ||||||||||||
| Government | |||||||||||||
| • State electorate | |||||||||||||
| • Federal division | |||||||||||||
| Elevation | 420 m (1,380 ft) | ||||||||||||
| Population | |||||||||||||
| • Total | 1,428 (UCL2021)[2] | ||||||||||||
| Postcode | 5422 | ||||||||||||
| Website | Peterborough | ||||||||||||
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Peterborough is a town in the mid north ofSouth Australia, inwheat country, just off theBarrier Highway. It was originally namedPetersburg after the landowner, Peter Doecke, who sold land to create the town. It was one of69 places in South Australia renamed in 1917 due to anti-German sentiments during World War I.
The first European settlers in the area purchased land from the government in 1875. The first building in the town was constructed four years later. Settler Peter Doecke transferred his land to J H Koch in 1876, who found out in 1880 that the land would be the site of a railway junction. He subdivided it and sold 33 acres (13 ha) for £1700, after failing to get £500 per acre for it in 1879.[3]
By 1880 a hotel and post office had been erected, followed by a school in 1883, and a town hall in 1884.[4]
At the prompting of mayor W. Thredgold, a newspaper, thePetersburg Times was founded in 1887 byRobert M. Osborne, becameThe Times and Northern Advertiser in 1919, under the longterm proprietorship ofW. H. Bennett and survived as a family business until 1970.[citation needed]
Peterborough has a number of heritage-listed sites, including:
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
|---|---|---|
| 1921 | 2,189 | — |
| 1933 | 3,059 | +39.7% |
| 1947 | 2,890 | −5.5% |
| 1954 | 3,473 | +20.2% |
| 1961 | 3,430 | −1.2% |
| 1966 | 3,117 | −9.1% |
| 1971 | 3,023 | −3.0% |
| 1976 | 2,760 | −8.7% |
| 1981 | 2,575 | −6.7% |
| 1986 | 2,236 | −13.2% |
| 1991 | 2,138 | −4.4% |
| 1996 | 1,855 | −13.2% |
| 2001 | 1,679 | −9.5% |
| 2006 | 1,689 | +0.6% |
| 2011 | 1,486 | −12.0% |
| 2016 | 1,416 | −4.7% |
| 2021 | 1,428 | +0.8% |
| Source:Australian Bureau of Statistics data.[17][18] | ||
Peterborough is the seat of theDistrict Council of Peterborough, and is the largest town in the council area. It is in the state electorate ofStuart and federalDivision of Grey.[citation needed]
Peterborough once had its own town council, theCorporation of the Town of Peterborough.[19] surrounded by the district council.
Peterborough sat on the intersection of theEast-West railway linkingPort Pirie andBroken Hill, and theNorth–South railway linkingAdelaide eventually toAlice Springs viaQuorn, bothnarrow gauge (1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)) lines between 1917 (when theTrans-Australian Railway opened across theNullarbor Plain) and 1937 (when a more direct south–north route bypassed thePeterborough–Quorn railway line by connecting Port Pirie toPort Augusta). ThePeterborough railway station is still in operation and was formerly a stop for the weeklyIndian Pacific train.[citation needed]
The line from Port Pirie andJamestown arrived in 1881, followed shortly after by the line fromTerowie in the south and north toQuorn. The line to Broken Hill was completed in 1887.[20]
Peterborough was the home town forBob the Railway Dog, who is remembered by a bronze statue located in the Main Street.[further explanation needed][citation needed]
In 1970, the east–west line was converted tostandard gauge (1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in)), and the line south of Peterborough to Terowie tobroad gauge (1,600 mm /5 ft 3 in). Thus Peterborough became one of three, triple-gauge railway junctions in Australia. The others beingGladstone andPort Pirie, all on the same railway corridor.[21][clarification needed]
The broad-gauge connection to Adelaide, viaBurra, was closed on 26 July 1988.[22] The narrow-gauge line north to Quorn last carried freight in 1980, and was removed, betweenEurelia andBruce in the mid-1980s. Grain trains ran as far asOrroroo into the mid-1980s. In its later years it was used by tourist trains fromSteamtown as far as Eurelia.[citation needed]
Steamtown ceased operations in 2002; however, theroundhouse continued to be used to display its coaches and locomotives. The District Council, with funding from the three tiers of government and recovery of the Eurelia line, subsequently established theSteamtown Heritage Rail Centre.[23] As of August 2025[update] the Steamtown Heritage Rail Centre and Peterborough Visitor Centre are closed owing to the District Council's financial position. It is hoped that they will be reopened in time for the 2026 tourist season, under a new operating model.[24]
The historicRadium Hill mine site nearOlary is now closed to the public, but the Radium Hill Museum was relocated to the rear of the Peterborough Steamtown Heritage Centre.[25]
In early 2022, the Nova Systems Space Precinct was officially established on a 21 ha (52-acre) site located just outside of Peterborough.[26] Australian defence engineering and technology group Nova Systems originally purchased the site in 2019, when it contained one ground station terminal belonging to the site's previous owner, Tyvak.[27] The site now hosts several ground stations on behalf ofTyvak (US), RBC Signals (US), and Leaf Space (Italy). Up to 75 more satellite dishes are planned, each with 16 antennae.[28]
The town was home to thePetersburg Times, subtitled:Orroroo Chronicle and Northern Advertiser, (12 August 1887 – May 1919). TheTimes' subtitle later evolved toTerowie, Yongala, and Northern Advertiser, and finallyNorthern Advertiser. In 1919, the overall name was changed toThe Times and Northern Advertiser, Peterborough, South Australia, in response to the government's wish toremove Germanic placenames.[29]
Peterborough was also home to the short-lived newspaper,Petersburg Enterprise and Northern Advocate (20 January – 2 August 1912), which was printed by William John Myers and Walter A. Wade.[30] Another short-lived publication wasFrith's Bulletin (15 April 1913), a monthly magazine published by F.H. Frith, but discontinued after only one issue.[31] A third one at this time was theSporting Telegraph (3 May – 26 July 1913), which was printed by W.H. Bennett for Pritchard Morgan Hall.[32]
More recently, it was also home to thePeterborough Times (2003–2006), which later became part of theMid North Broadcaster, a publication released from 2006 to 2013 inBurra. TheBroadcaster was formed by the merger of struggling local newspapers, thePeterborough Times, theBurra Broadcaster (1991–2006), and theEudunda Observer. It was owned by the Taylor group, with editorial control via theMurray Pioneer. Its distribution included the towns of Burra, Eudunda, Jamestown, and Peterborough.[citation needed]
In mid-2021, a Temporary Community Broadcasting Licence (TCBL) was issued by theAustralian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) to Peterborough Community Broadcasting Incorporated.[33] In early 2022, 5PBS commenced broadcasting on 91.1 MHz, servicing Peterborough and surrounding towns includingOodla Wirra,Terowie andYongala.[34]
Peterborough High School was opened in 1927 and caters for students from years 7 to 12.[35]
Peterborough Primary School was opened in 1883 and caters for students from years reception to 6[citation needed]
St Joseph's School is a reception to Year 7 Catholic primary school which was founded by Mary MacKillop and the Sisters of St Joseph.[citation needed]
