This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Snowtown, South Australia" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(May 2019) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

Snowtown
Town
South-western entrance to Snowtown
Snowtown
Coordinates:33°47′0″S138°12′0″E / 33.78333°S 138.20000°E /-33.78333; 138.20000
Country	Australia
State	South Australia
LGA	Wakefield Regional Council
Location	145 km (90 mi) north ofAdelaide
Established	1878
Government
• State electorate	Narungga[1]
• Federal division	Grey
Elevation	103 m (338 ft)
Population
• Total	356 (UCL2021)[3]
Postcode	5520
County	Daly
Mean max temp	23.3 °C (73.9 °F)
Mean min temp	9.7 °C (49.5 °F)
Annual rainfall	407.4 mm (16.04 in)
Localities around Snowtown Mundoora,Port Broughton Hope Gap,Burnsfield,Lake View Brinkworth Wokurna Snowtown Condowie,Blyth Barunga Gap,Bute Lochiel,Bumbunga Everard Central

Snowtown is a town located in theMid North ofSouth Australia 145 km (90 miles) north ofAdelaide and lies on the main road and rail routes between Adelaide andPerth – theAugusta Highway andAdelaide-Port Augusta railway line. The town's elevation is 103 metres (338 feet) and on average the town receives 389 mm of rainfall per annum.

The settlement of Snowtown by non-Indigenous Australians initially grew up around arailway station on theBrinkworth-Wallaroo line. Located on what is traditionally the land of theKaurna, anAboriginal people, the first pioneers arrived sometime between 1845 and 1869 due to therapid expansion of grazing, then farming to the north of the area.Baillière's South Australian gazetteer and road guide, published in 1866, contains a brief description of "Hummock's Run"^[4] located 28 miles (45 km) north ofPort Wakefield. This farmland, according to the publication, contained the farming stations ofBarunga,Bumbunga andWokurna and consisted of "salt lakes and lagoons, dense scrub, with mallee, pine and bushes, grassy plains and saltbush, well grassed spurs and hills, with oaks and wattle on theBroughton River."^[5]

The hill to the east of Snowtown, Black Point Hill^[6] (and the nearby Black Point Lagoon) gave its name "Black Point" to the area by 1856^[7] before Snowtown was established in 1878. This permanent waterhole and scrub-covered hill were then known as territory occupied by aboriginals, but claimed by Paddy Gleeson, founder of Clare^[8] as his 'Black Point Run'.^[9]

From 1862,^[10] and 1863^[11] and well before 1870^[12] settlers and graziers campaigned for better transport routes^[13] from Black Point toKadina for easier freight transport of wheat and wool. By 1867 a Parliamentary Enquiry produced a Report recommending the Clare to Wallaroo railway be built for a cost of £144.15s.^[14] Only with the arrival in 1870^[15] ofRobert Barr Smith at the Hummocks Run,^[16] did the surveyors immediately arrive in February 1870,^[17] and then, first a paved road (1874),^[18] and later a railway (1878)^[19] get built fromKadina to Barunga (nowBarunga Gap), a location on the Western side of theHummocks. On September 25, 1877, the Commissioner for Crown Lands agreed with a local delegation that a township should be established at Black Point,^[20] and the railway was extended fromBarunga Gap to Black Point.^[21]

The Government only started showing interest in the settlement as late as 1869 when it planned to establish various new towns throughout the district and to divide the land into much smaller holdings. Snowtown's charter as a government town was proclaimed on 19 December 1878 by GovernorWilliam Jervois.^[22] Jervois named the town after one of the members of the Snow family who were his cousins and lived onYorke Peninsula (which lies immediately west and southwest of Snowtown). It is officially considered that the town was named after Thomas Snow,^[23] who became Jervois's aide de camp when he received his posting in South Australia. The town boundaries were defined as an approximate rectangle immediately adjacent to section 114 in theHundred of Barunga north east of Barunga Creek, north west of Salt Lagoon and south of Boundary Creek.^[24] During this period one of the first major structures, the old Snowtown Pub was built in 1879 by Mr. Richard Hazelgrove, who paid £171 for block 160 on which he built the hotel.^[25] In 1879 the Snowtown school was also established on Glen Davidson Drive and theKadina railway line was opened to Snowtown in October of that year. The extension to Brinkworth would be completed in 1894.^{[citation needed]}

In 1888 theDistrict Council of Snowtown was established by proclamation of theDistrict Councils Act 1887,^[26] along with 20 other new local government bodies in South Australia. The new council incorporated the entirety of the hundreds of Barunga andBoucaut.

In 1923 theLong Plains railway line extension reached Snowtown^[27] and, in 1925, was completed toRedhill,^[28] bringing an increase of rail traffic to the town.

St Canice's Catholic Church was built in 1936 to designs by Adelaide architectsHerbert Jory and Stanley Pointer inRomanesque Revival style.^[29]

Salt Lake school once existed at the southern extremity of the locality about 2.4 kilometres (1.5 mi) east ofAugusta Highway.^{[when?][citation needed]}

During the 1970s and 1980s, the secessionistmicronation ofBumbunga Province existed on farmland owned by the Brackstone family atBumbunga, 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) south of Snowtown.

In 1999, Snowtown became known as the location where the remains of eight bodies were found in barrels of acid stored in a disused bank vault. The "Snowtown murders" or "bodies in barrels murders", as they came to be known, occurred in several locations in South Australia between August 1992 and May 1999. The bodies were held at a series of locations around Adelaide for some time, and were moved to Snowtown in early 1999, a few months before their discovery.^{[citation needed]}

Only one victim was actually killed in Snowtown, and none of the victims or the perpetrators were local to the town. Most of the murders had actually been committed in the outer northern suburbs of Adelaide, located on the outskirts of the South Australian capital.^{[citation needed]}

Four people, including ringleader John Justin Bunting, were convicted of murder or assisting the murders.Snowtown, a film about the murders and the life of Bunting, was released in 2011.

Snowtown is situated approximately 7 kilometres east of Barunga Gap, a cleft between theBarunga andHummocks ranges. The excess rainfall from these hills collects inLake Bumbunga, directly south of the township, and in a trail of smaller lakes stretching north of the town toLake View near the main highway and railway line. Beyond the eastern edge of the township is the Snowtown Golf Course and a swampy region populated bysaltbush and other salt-tolerant flora.

Snowtown has a warmMediterranean climate with average summer temperatures around 30 °C and winter temperatures around 16 °C. The average annual rainfall is 407.4 millimetres (16.04 in), most of which falls in the winter months.^[30]

The town administration now falls under the control of theWakefield Regional Council for local governance. This body came into effect on 1 July 1997 as a result of the amalgamation of the former councils ofBlyth-Snowtown andWakefield Plains.

Snowtown lies in the state electoral district ofNarungga and in the federal electoraldivision of Grey.

Snowtown was home to a weekly newspaper called theBroughton Star (5 March 1909 – 5 July 1912) which was founded by James Barclay.^[31] The newspaper was "continued" by Barclay, although it was in fact absorbed by another of his publications, theStanley Herald (a reference to theelectorate of Stanley), which he had also started in March 1909. The merged newspaper ran until 26 June 1941, at which point publication stopped due towartime restrictions. Publication of theHerald resumed on 11 December 1947 for a little over a year at which point post-war labour shortages halted production on 16 December 1948.

Since 2002, the Snowtown Community Management Committee has published a monthly newsletter calledSnowtown's View.^[32] The publication is edited by a committee of community volunteers.^[33]

Located in what is described as a wheat-belt, the local Snowtown economy is predominantly based oncereal crops. Other primary industries includewoolgrowing,livestock production andsalt mining (at the nearbyLake Bumbunga saltworks).^[34]

Snowtown is a service centre for the local area, providing various essential services for the district^[35] as well as for motorists on theAugusta Highway, the section ofHighway 1 past the town.

In 2008,TrustPower completed the first stage of the 47-turbineSnowtown Wind Farm in theBarunga andHummocks ranges just west of Snowtown. The wind turbines are 110 metres from the ground to tip of the top wing.^[36]Snowtown Wind Farm 2 is one of the most modern wind farms in Australia. This wind farm produces enough electricity for 180,000 South Australian homes; the 270MW Snowtown 2 Wind Farm was commissioned in October 2014, producing an average of 875GWh of electricity per year.^[37]

The town's main street, Fourth Street contains most of the town's civic buildings, notably the Snowtown Memorial Hall (built 1919) which is attached to the Old Institute (built 1885).^[38] Nearby is the town's tribute to the original pioneers. The town's population is 467.^[39]

In 2008, a monument in the form of a 44-metre wind turbine blade was installed at the intersection of Fourth Street and Railway Terrace East.^[40]

The main north–south road running just outside the western edge of the town was designated to form part of Australia'sHighway 1 in 1955.^[41] The section passing Snowtown (fromPort Wakefield toPort Augusta) was named Augusta Highway in 2011.^[42]

The Snowtown-Kadina railway line opened in 1879.^[43] It connected Snowtown viaBute to the port ofWallaroo, initially built as narrow gauge. This line was converted to broad gauge in 1927, but closed following the gauge standardisation of the Adelaide-Crystal Brook line in 1982.^[44] The Snowtown-Brinkworth railway line was opened on 30 March 1894^[45] with a siding halfway between, named Condowie. The fullKadina-Brinkworth railway line opened for traffic on 2 July 1894.^[46] The Snowtown to Brinkworth section closed on 20 February 1990 followed by the rest of the line on 3 March 1993.^[47]

Themain rail line from Salisbury has intersected the town along a north–south axis since 1923.^[27] Snowtown was linked by direct rail to Adelaide when the line fromBumbunga siding was opened on 2 September 1923.^[48] The line was extended north toRedhill later in that year. From then until 1982 the line was known as thePort Pirie line as there was a break of gauge from broad gauge to standard gauge at that terminus. TheAdelaide-Port Augusta railway line through Snowtown was converted to standard gauge in 1982.

In 1879 Mrs Lamb opened a Provisional School in Snowtown with a total enrolment of 14 pupils.^{[citation needed]} During its lifetimeagricultural science has been a particular focus for the school.^[49][50]

In 1961 the school became an area school known as Snowtown Area School and was located on 4.5 hectares (11 acres) of land, with an additional 10 hectares (25 acres) of land used for agricultural studies.^{[citation needed]}

In the 1970s and 1980s, the school's respected agricultural credentials drew students from neighbouring communities.^[50] The school provided many entries intoRoyal Adelaide Show livestock and horticulture competitions, especially the sheep and beef cattle categories. In the early 1980s the school became apoll dorset sheep stud called 'SASdor' for several years.^[50]

Pupil enrolments at Snowtown Area School in 2006 totalled 118, with many pupils also travelling from nearbyLochiel, Barunga Gap andRedhill.^{[citation needed]} As of 2006^[update] pupils were also able to study via distance education through theOpen Access College atMarden (Adelaide) or via larger neighbouring schools to increase their range of subject choices.

By 2012, the fall in enrolments, and consequent drop in funding, led to the ceasing of senior enrolments at the commencement of the 2013 school year. The school was subsequently renamed to Snowtown Primary School.^[50]

In 2015, pupil enrolments at Snowtown Primary School totalled 52.^[51]

• Australian cricketerLauren Ebsary was born and schooled in Snowtown.^[52]

• Stanley Football Association
• Snowtown Museum
• List of cities and towns in South Australia
• Snowtown murders

• Jones, A. (1978).Snowtown, the First Century, 1878–1978. Snowtown Centenary Committee, Australia.
• Whitworth, Robert Percy, ed. (1866).Baillière's South Australian gazetteer and road guide: containing the most recent and accurate information as to every place in the Colony. F.F. Bailliere.

• Keane, Daniel; Martin, Patrick (20 May 2019)."Life after death: Dark tourism and the future of Snowtown".ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation.Twenty years after police uncovered one of the nation's worst serial killings, Snowtown locals are facing tough decisions about whether to cash in on the town's infamy.
• Town Map
• Snowtown's weather – Government data
• Local salt mining
• Snowtown online Museum

• Wakefield Regional Council - Snowtown Community Management Committee, with strategic plan 2012-2022

• Towns in South Australia
• 1878 establishments in Australia
• Mid North (South Australia)

• Pages using gadget WikiMiniAtlas
• CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list
• CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list
• CS1 errors: missing periodical
• Use dmy dates from August 2020
• Use Australian English from April 2013
• All Wikipedia articles written in Australian English
• Articles needing additional references from May 2019
• All articles needing additional references
• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Coordinates on Wikidata
• Australian place articles using Wikidata population values
• All articles with unsourced statements
• Articles with unsourced statements from January 2021
• All articles with vague or ambiguous time
• Vague or ambiguous time from January 2021
• Articles with unsourced statements from May 2016
• Articles containing potentially dated statements from 2006
• All articles containing potentially dated statements