Tantanoola | |||||||||||||
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 Post office | |||||||||||||
  Tantanoola | |||||||||||||
| Coordinates:37°41′51″S140°27′20″E / 37.697439°S 140.455519°E /-37.697439; 140.455519[2] | |||||||||||||
| Country | Australia | ||||||||||||
| State | South Australia | ||||||||||||
| Region | Limestone Coast[1] | ||||||||||||
| LGAs | |||||||||||||
| Location | |||||||||||||
| Established | 10 July 1879 (town) 23 February 1995 (locality)[4][5] | ||||||||||||
| Government | |||||||||||||
| • State electorate | |||||||||||||
| • Federal division | |||||||||||||
| Elevation (Railway Station)[11] | 25 m (82 ft) | ||||||||||||
| Population | |||||||||||||
| • Total | 226 (UCL2021)[9] | ||||||||||||
| Time zone | UTC+9:30 (ACST) | ||||||||||||
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+10:30 (ACDT) | ||||||||||||
| Postcode | 5280[3] | ||||||||||||
| County | Grey[2] | ||||||||||||
| Mean max temp | 19.0 °C (66.2 °F)[10] | ||||||||||||
| Mean min temp | 8.2 °C (46.8 °F)[10] | ||||||||||||
| Annual rainfall | 712.4 mm (28.05 in)[10] | ||||||||||||
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| Adjoining localities[2] | |||||||||||||
Tantanoola is a town in regionalSouth Australia. The name is derived from the aboriginal wordtentunola, which meansboxwood / brushwood hill or camp.Tantanoola was originally named 'Lucieton' byGovernor Jervois after his daughter Lucy Caroline, on 10 July 1879. It was changed byGovernor Robinson to 'Tantanoola' on 4 October 1888. At the2006 census, Tantanoola had a population of 255.[12]
Tantanoola is in theWattle Range Councillocal government area, theSouth Australian House of Assembly electoral districts ofMacKillop andMount Gambier, and theAustralian House of RepresentativesDivision of Barker.
The primary school closed in July 2020 after having more staff than students. The remaining students transferred to nearby schools inMillicent andMount Gambier.
The township of Tantanoola is situated in theHundred of Hindmarsh, 425 km south east ofAdelaide, and was once a portion ofMayurra Station. It was the second town of importance on theMount Gambier to Rivoli Bay railway line which was built in 1878, converted from narrow to broad gauge in 1957 and ceased operating to freight in April 1995 then Limestone Coast Railway tourist passengers on 1 July 2006 which spanned across 128 years between Tantanoola and Mount Gambier.[citation needed]
The historicTantanoola railway station is listed on theSouth Australian Heritage Register.[13]
Tantanoola is known for the Tantanoola Tiger, aphantom cat which supposedly stalked the area during the late nineteenth century. In August 1895 an animal was shot by one Thomas John Donovan, which was believed to have been the mysterious predator. The animal turned out to be more like awolf than acat. Later, it was determined to be anArabian wolf, although how it arrived in South Australia has been the subject of a number of theories. It is currently preserved and on display at the Tantanoola Hotel (which is also known colloquially as theTantanoola Tiger Hotel).[14]Tantanoola Caves Conservation Park, featuring a spectacular dolomite cave is located nearby.
Australian poetMax Harris wrote a poem titled "The Tantanoola Tiger", which is included in the collectionThe Angry Penguin: the Poetry of Max Harris, published by theNational Library of Australia.[15][16]
The next station northwest along the railway line wasSnuggery. Snuggery is not recognised as a separate town, but is part of Tantanoola towards Millicent. The area includes theSnuggery Power Station with three diesel-powered gas turbines, and theKimberly-Clark woodchip and paper pulp mill. The pulp mill was commissioned in 1992 but ceased operations in 2011.[17] It was demolished in November 2012.[18]
