Towns in Australia

Exploring Australia, town by town

Wallaroo SA

Wallaroo

Postcode: 5556

Wallaroo is a port town on the western side of Yorke Peninsula in South Australia. It is 160 kilometres north-northwest of Adelaide. It is one of the three Copper Triangle towns famed for their historic shared copper mining industry, and known together as “Little Cornwall”.

It is about 8 kilometres west of Kadina and 18 kilometres north of Moonta. The population of Wallaroo is about 3,000.

The name “Wallaroo” is thought to come from wadla waru (the indigenous tribe of Narungga), meaning “Wallaby urine”.

Wallaroo exists in a semi-arid location, above Goyder’s Line. Wallaroo is surrounded by scrub mulga. It is located on the foreshore and is 13 metres above sea level. Wallaroo has a dry Mediterranean climate with seasonal temperatures a few degrees above Adelaide’s temperatures. The temperature ranges are similar to those of Kadina’s and the weather patterns are similar to those of Kadina’s and Adelaide’s.

Wallaroo’s surrounds are used for growing barley and other crops such as legumes, canola, chickpeas and field peas. Barley from the region nearer Kadina is considered to be some of the best in the world.