Since time immemorial, Wudinna has been part of the country visited from the east coast of Eyre Peninsula, seasonally and for ceremonial and special purposes, by the Barngarla people.[5] The Barngarla name is "Woodina",[6][failed verification] meaning "granite hill". The area was first settled by Europeans in 1861, after Robert George Standley lodged a claim for 10 square kilometres (4 sq mi) of land surrounding what was then referred to as Weedna Hill.
Wudinna is a major rural service centre: as of 2023[update] about 44 per cent of its workforce was employed in the agriculture sector and 74 per cent of its exports were agricultural products.[8] It is the base for a farmer-owned organisation, Agricultural Innovation and Research Eyre Peninsula, which conducts research, development and extension for dryland farming systems.[9] Eyre Peninsula Cooperative Bulk Handling, which supports Eyre Peninsula farm business owners with grain transport, storage and handling, supply chain logistics and exporting, also has its headquarters in the town.[10]
Significant features
The region is known as "granite country" for its deposits of granite, accessible along a "granite trail". Quarrying began at the Desert Rose quarry, near Mount Wudinna, in the 1990s. Blocks up to 8 cubic metres (280 cubic feet), weighing 20 tonnes (20 long tons; 22 short tons) are cut into smaller blocks for shipping around Australia or for export to Asian and European markets. An 8-metre (26-foot) statue in the town, Australian Farmer, commemorating the area's settlers, is made from local granite.
Mount Wudinna, located 12 kilometres (7 mi) north-east of the township, is listed on the South Australian Heritage Register. It is the largest and most impressive of the granite outcrops on north-west Eyre Peninsula and is a good example of a stepped inselberg.[11]
The Gawler Ranges National Park is 40 kilometres (25 miles) north of the town. A 7-kilometre (4.3 mi) bike-and-walking trail runs from Wudinna to Polda Rock Recreation Reserve.[12]
Climate
Wudinna has a semi-arid climate (Köppen: BSk/BSh), with hot, dry summers and mild, somewhat wetter winters. Temperatures vary throughout the year, with average maxima ranging from 33.4 °C (92.1 °F) in January to 17.1 °C (62.8 °F) in July, and average minima fluctuating between 15.6 °C (60.1 °F) in January and 5.6 °C (42.1 °F) in August. Annual precipitation is low, averaging 275.5 mm (10.85 in) between 97.7 precipitation days. Extreme temperatures have ranged from 48.4 °C (119.1 °F) on 19 December 2019 to −4.0 °C (24.8 °F) on 7 August 2023.[13]
Climate data for Wudinna (33º02'24"S, 135º27'00"E, 86 m AMSL) (1999-2024 normals and extremes)
^Zuckermann, Ghil'ad; Richards, Jenna (2019). "Barngarlidhi Manoo". University of Adelaide. Barngarla Language Advisory Committee. Retrieved 24 July 2024.
^"Contact". Wudinna District Council. Retrieved 14 February 2016.
