Emu Downs, South Australia

Emu Downs South Australia
Emu Downs
Coordinates	33°54′S 138°58′E[1]
Population	52 (SAL 2021)[2]
Postcode(s)	5381[1]
LGA(s)	Regional Council of Goyder[1]
State electorate(s)	Stuart[1]
Federal division(s)	Grey[1]
Localities around Emu Downs: Koonoona Burra Worlds End Apoinga Emu Downs Hallelujah Hills Apoinga Brady Creek Robertstown
Footnotes	Adjoining localities[1]

Emu Downs is a rural locality in the Mid North region of South Australia, situated in the Regional Council of Goyder.^[1]

In 1880, the Emu Downs were described as "a vale extending between the Robertstown ranges on the west, and a line of smaller hills on the east. On the western side the country is adapted for sheep, and the stations Anlaby and Koonoona meet. Just within the rainfall line, the crops in most years are fair".^[3]

Emu Downs Post Office opened on 1 May 1881, was downgraded to a receiving office on 1 March 1921, upgraded again on 1 July 1927, and then closed permanently on 31 December 1973.^[4]

Emu Downs Lutheran Church was dedicated in 1876. The first church closed in 1908, with a new church being built the same year.^[5][6] The second church closed in 1989 and was sold to private buyers; it was severely damaged in a fire but has since been refurbished.^[7]

Emu Downs School opened as a Lutheran school as early as 1876. In June 1917, the school was one of 49 "German" schools seized and taken over by the state government in June 1917 as a consequence of World War I, and was reopened in July as a state school.^[8][9] It varied between being classed as a provisional school or primary school in subsequent years depending on numbers, before closing due to dwindling attendance in 1949.^[10] In its final year, the Emu Downs teacher lived in a caravan on the school grounds because the nearest available accommodation was four miles away.^[11]

The Emu Downs Cemetery is located off Kotz Road, and is maintained by the Russian Molokan Spiritual Christian Leapers & Jumpers Cemetery Inc.^[12]

The formal gazetted locality of Emu Downs was established in August 2000. It is located in the cadastral hundred of Apoinga.^[13]

See also

• Hopkins Creek Conservation Park

References

1. "Search result(s) for Emu Downs, 5381". Location SA Map Viewer. Government of South Australia. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
2. Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Emu Downs (suburb and locality)". Australian Census 2021 QuickStats. Retrieved 28 June 2022. 
3. "EMU DOWNS". The Kapunda Herald. Vol. XL, no. 3, 256. South Australia. 16 September 1904. p. 6. Retrieved 26 November 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
4. "Emu Downs". Post Office Reference. Premier Postal. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
5. Emmaus to Worlds End: a history of the Robertstown Council Area. District Council of Robertstown. 1986. p. 199.
6. "EMU DOWNS". The Kapunda Herald. Vol. XLIV, no. 3, 464. South Australia. 11 September 1908. p. 6. Retrieved 27 November 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
7. "Churches within the Robertstown Area". Retrieved 26 November 2016.
8. "CLOSING GERMAN SCHOOLS". The Express and Telegraph. Vol. LIV, no. 16, 152 (SPECIAL WAR ed.). South Australia. 12 June 1917. p. 3. Retrieved 26 November 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
9. "Place Names of South Australia – E". State Library of South Australia. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
10. Emmaus to Worlds End: a history of the Robertstown Council Area. District Council of Robertstown. 1986. pp. 160, 128.
11. "LIVES IN CARAVAN AT SCHOOL". The News. Vol. 52, no. 7, 979. Adelaide. 2 March 1949. p. 6. Retrieved 26 November 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
12. "Cemetery Records". Regional Council of Goyder. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
13. "Search result(s) for Burra Eastern Districts, 5417". Property Location Browser. Government of South Australia. Archived from the original on 12 October 2016. Retrieved 30 April 2016.