Quorn is a township and railhead in the
Flinders RangesFlinders Ranges is the largest mountain range in South Australia, which starts approximately 200 km north west of Adelaide. The discontinuous ranges stretch for over 430 km from Port Pirie to Lake Callabonna...
in the north of
South AustraliaSouth 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....
, 39 km northeast of
Port AugustaPort Augusta is the fifth most populous city in South Australia after Adelaide, Mount Gambier, Whyalla and Murray Bridge. It is a seaport located on the east coast of the Eyre Peninsula in South Australia and is located at the head of the Spencer Gulf, 322 km north of the state capital.It is...
. At the 2001
censusThe Australian census is administered by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The most recent census was conducted on 8 August 2006. Prior to the introduction of regular censuses in 1961, they have also been run in 1901, 1911, 1921, 1933, 1947, and 1954...
, Quorn had a population of 988.
Quorn is the home of the
Flinders Ranges CouncilFlinders Ranges Council is a local government area in the Flinders Ranges of South Australia.The council area is approximately 100 km from north to south, and 45 km from east to west, with a total area of 4,198 square kilometres....
local government area. It is in the state
Electoral district of StuartStuart is an electorate for the South Australian House of Assembly. It covers the northeast part of the state extending from just north of the Barossa Valley all the way to the Northern Territory, Queensland and New South Wales borders, and extending west to include Port Augusta...
and the federal
Division of GreyThe Division of Grey is an Australian Electoral Division in South Australia.The division was created in 1903 and is named for Sir George Grey, who was Governor of South Australia 1841-45 ....
.
The town was surveyed by Godfrey Walsh in 1878 and named after
QuorndonQuorn is a village in Leicestershire, England. Its name was shortened from Quorndon in 1889, to avoid postal difficulties owing to its similarity to the name of another village, Quarndon, a few miles away. Its original name is said to derive from the Old English cweordun...
in
LeicestershireLeicestershire or , abbreviation Leics.is a landlocked county in central England. It takes its name from the heavily populated City of Leicester, traditionally its administrative centre, although the City of Leicester unitary authority is today administered separately from the rest of Leicestershire...
,
United KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
, as part of the preparations for building the railway line from
Port AugustaPort Augusta is the fifth most populous city in South Australia after Adelaide, Mount Gambier, Whyalla and Murray Bridge. It is a seaport located on the east coast of the Eyre Peninsula in South Australia and is located at the head of the Spencer Gulf, 322 km north of the state capital.It is...
northwards.
The railway line from Port Augusta to Quorn opened in 1879 and was subsequently extended to the north to Marree, Oodnadatta and Alice Springs (later to be known as
the "Ghan line"|}The Ghan is a passenger train operating between Adelaide, Alice Springs, and Darwin on the Adelaide-Darwin railway in Australia. Operated by Great Southern Railway and with locomotives provided by Pacific National, the journey takes 48 hours to travel the 2,979 kilometres...
or Central Australia Railway).
Quorn is a township and railhead in the
Flinders RangesFlinders Ranges is the largest mountain range in South Australia, which starts approximately 200 km north west of Adelaide. The discontinuous ranges stretch for over 430 km from Port Pirie to Lake Callabonna...
in the north of
South AustraliaSouth 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....
, 39 km northeast of
Port AugustaPort Augusta is the fifth most populous city in South Australia after Adelaide, Mount Gambier, Whyalla and Murray Bridge. It is a seaport located on the east coast of the Eyre Peninsula in South Australia and is located at the head of the Spencer Gulf, 322 km north of the state capital.It is...
. At the 2001
censusThe Australian census is administered by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The most recent census was conducted on 8 August 2006. Prior to the introduction of regular censuses in 1961, they have also been run in 1901, 1911, 1921, 1933, 1947, and 1954...
, Quorn had a population of 988.
Quorn is the home of the
Flinders Ranges CouncilFlinders Ranges Council is a local government area in the Flinders Ranges of South Australia.The council area is approximately 100 km from north to south, and 45 km from east to west, with a total area of 4,198 square kilometres....
local government area. It is in the state
Electoral district of StuartStuart is an electorate for the South Australian House of Assembly. It covers the northeast part of the state extending from just north of the Barossa Valley all the way to the Northern Territory, Queensland and New South Wales borders, and extending west to include Port Augusta...
and the federal
Division of GreyThe Division of Grey is an Australian Electoral Division in South Australia.The division was created in 1903 and is named for Sir George Grey, who was Governor of South Australia 1841-45 ....
.
History
The town was surveyed by Godfrey Walsh in 1878 and named after
QuorndonQuorn is a village in Leicestershire, England. Its name was shortened from Quorndon in 1889, to avoid postal difficulties owing to its similarity to the name of another village, Quarndon, a few miles away. Its original name is said to derive from the Old English cweordun...
in
LeicestershireLeicestershire or , abbreviation Leics.is a landlocked county in central England. It takes its name from the heavily populated City of Leicester, traditionally its administrative centre, although the City of Leicester unitary authority is today administered separately from the rest of Leicestershire...
,
United KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
, as part of the preparations for building the railway line from
Port AugustaPort Augusta is the fifth most populous city in South Australia after Adelaide, Mount Gambier, Whyalla and Murray Bridge. It is a seaport located on the east coast of the Eyre Peninsula in South Australia and is located at the head of the Spencer Gulf, 322 km north of the state capital.It is...
northwards.
The railway line from Port Augusta to Quorn opened in 1879 and was subsequently extended to the north to Marree, Oodnadatta and Alice Springs (later to be known as
the "Ghan line"|}The Ghan is a passenger train operating between Adelaide, Alice Springs, and Darwin on the Adelaide-Darwin railway in Australia. Operated by Great Southern Railway and with locomotives provided by Pacific National, the journey takes 48 hours to travel the 2,979 kilometres...
or Central Australia Railway). This made Quorn an important town, being on such a major rail route. The town flourished and many fine buildings were erected.
At one time Quorn was the junction between north-south and east-west transcontinental railway lines. This role was lost when a standard gauge connection was opened between Port Pirie Junction and
Port Augusta. However, during
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Quorn was a vital service point for trains heading north to Alice Springs.
During the 1950s a new standard gauge line was built that passed on the western side of the
Flinders RangesFlinders Ranges is the largest mountain range in South Australia, which starts approximately 200 km north west of Adelaide. The discontinuous ranges stretch for over 430 km from Port Pirie to Lake Callabonna...
from Stirling North to Marree, thus bypassing Quorn, and taking away the last traffic through the Pass, Leigh Creek Coal. Being now a stop on a minor railway that mostly served the local area, Quorn's importance diminished and eventually in 1980 the railway was completely closed, reflecting the growing dominance of road freight.
However, a band of railway enthusiasts wanted to preserve the unique bridges and stone work built in the previous century and so formed the
Pichi Richi Railway Preservation Society IncThe Pichi Richi Railway is a tourist railway using parts of the former Central Australia Railway.It is headquartered in Quorn and runs through the Pichi Richi Pass to Port Augusta...
. They later acquired operable railway rollingstock and today provide a tourist railway service through the Pichi Richi Pass.
Tourism
The main attraction of Quorn is the
Pichi Richi RailwayThe Pichi Richi Railway is a tourist railway using parts of the former Central Australia Railway.It is headquartered in Quorn and runs through the Pichi Richi Pass to Port Augusta...
. There is also a self-guided walking tour which passes the many fine old buildings in the town (ask at the tourist office for a leaflet).
There are a number of restaurants in town, at the four hotels, the Old Mill (now a motel) and at the old Pichi Richi brewery (a few kilometres from Quorn).
Quorn is home to country music artist
Jedd HughesJedd Hughes is a country musician born in Australia. Hughes grew up in Quorn, where he grew up listening to his father's country records. He won a local country music contest at the age of eight and began playing guitar from age nine, taking lessons from his father. He toured Europe when he was 12...
, and was the birthplace of politician
Brian HarradineBrian Harradine , Australian politician, was an independent member of the Australian Senate from 1975 to 2005, representing the state of Tasmania. He was the longest-serving independent federal politician in Australian history, and a Father of the Senate.He was born in Quorn, South Australia before...
and champion SANFL footballer
Fos WilliamsFoster Neil "Fos" Williams AM was a leading Australian rules footballer who played for and coached Port Adelaide and West Adelaide Football Clubs and coached South Adelaide Football Club in the South Australian National Football League...
. Former Australian of the year and
AC-Science:*Actinium , a chemical element* Acetaldehyde , an organic ion* Acetate , an organic ion* Acetyl , a functional group in chemistry* Acromioclavicular joint in humans and other animals, frequently injured in sport...
,
CBECBE and C.B.E. are abbreviations for Commander of the Order of the British Empire, a grade in the Order of the British Empire.Other uses include:*Calgary Board of Education, public school board for the city of Calgary, Alberta...
,
Lowitja O'DonoghueDr Lowitja "Lois" O'Donoghue, AC, CBE, DSG is an Aboriginal Australian retired public administrator.She was named Australian of the Year in 1984 and 1990, and was inaugural chairperson of the now dissolved Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission .-Personal life:Lowitja O'Donoghue was the...
also spent a huge portion of her childhood at the Aboriginal mission in Quorn, Colebrook Children's Home.
Quorn is a delightful stop over for many travellers coming via
AdelaideAdelaide is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of South Australia, and is the fifth-largest city in Australia, with a population of more than 1.1 million. It is a coastal city situated on the eastern shores of Gulf St. Vincent, on the Adelaide Plains, north of the Fleurieu...
to explore the
Flinders RangesFlinders Ranges is the largest mountain range in South Australia, which starts approximately 200 km north west of Adelaide. The discontinuous ranges stretch for over 430 km from Port Pirie to Lake Callabonna...
. The tourist office on the main street, manned by volunteers every week day, provides free information, maps and trails to safely see the best sites in the lower Flinders, including Warrens Gorge,
Kanyaka StationKanyaka Station was a cattle and sheep station in the Flinders Ranges of South Australia approximately 40 km north of Quorn, South Australia.- History :Kanyaka Station was established as a cattle station in February 1852 by Hugh Proby...
,
Proby's GraveKanyaka Station was a cattle and sheep station in the Flinders Ranges of South Australia approximately 40 km north of Quorn, South Australia.- History :Kanyaka Station was established as a cattle station in February 1852 by Hugh Proby...
and Itali Itali.
External links