Echunga (/ɪˈʌŋɡə/ ih-CHUNG-gə) is a small town in the Adelaide Hills located 34 kilometres (21 mi) south-east of Adelaide in South Australia.

Echunga
South Australia
Hagen Arms Hotel, located in the main street
Echunga is located in South Australia
Echunga
Echunga
Coordinates35°06′0″S 138°47′0″E / 35.10000°S 138.78333°E / -35.10000; 138.78333
Population630 (UCL 2021)[1]
Established1839
Postcode(s)5153
Location
LGA(s)District Council of Mount Barker
State electorate(s)Electoral district of Heysen
Federal division(s)Mayo
Localities around Echunga:
Chapel Hill, Biggs Flat Hahndorf Paechtown
Jupiter Creek Echunga Mount Barker
Meadows Flaxley Bugle Ranges
Footnotes[2]

The area was settled by Europeans during the period of British colonisation of South Australia in 1839, with the town laid out in 1849.[3] The name of the town was derived from a name takes its name from the Kaurna word Ityangga, meaning "over there"[4] or "close by".[5]

Gold was discovered in 1852 and Echunga became the first proclaimed goldfield in South Australia. This led to a gold rush; however, it did not last long, with the diggings exhausted and all but abandoned within a year. Subsequent discoveries in 1853 and 1854 led to smaller and equally short-lived rushes. In 1868 more gold was discovered at nearby Jupiter Creek, which proved to be a much larger and long-lived field.[3]

For a brief time Echunga prospered and it has been estimated that at its peak it had grown to a population in excess of 1,200.[5] Echunga is part of Battunga Country.[6]

References

edit
  1. ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Echunga (urban centre and locality)". Australian Census 2021.  
  2. ^ "Placename Details: Echunga". Property Location Browser. Government of South Australia. 1 August 2007. SA0021861. Archived from the original on 12 October 2016. Retrieved 28 October 2016.
  3. ^ a b "Echunga". Retrieved 29 March 2007.
  4. ^ Schultz, Chester (30 April 2018). "Place Name Summary: (PNS) 1/02: Kawandilla" (PDF). Adelaide Research & Scholarship. The Southern Kaurna Place Names Project. University of Adelaide. Retrieved 16 November 2020.[permanent dead link]
  5. ^ a b "Echunga, South Australia". The Sydney Morning Herald. 8 February 2004. Retrieved 27 November 2006.
  6. ^ "Battunga Country". Retrieved 3 July 2007.