Apoinga, South Australia

Apoinga South Australia
Apoinga
Coordinates	33°56′S138°56′E / 33.93°S 138.94°E / -33.93; 138.94 Coordinates: 33°56′S138°56′E / 33.93°S 138.94°E / -33.93; 138.94
Population	29 (SAL 2021) [1]
Postcode(s)	5413 [2]
Location	27 km (17 mi) S of Burra
LGA(s)	Regional Council of Goyder
State electorate(s)	Stuart [2]
Federal division(s)	Grey [2]
Localities around Apoinga: Porter Lagoon Koonoona Emu Downs Black Springs Apoinga Emu Downs Waterloo Tothill Belt Brady Creek
Footnotes	Coordinates [3]

Apoinga is a rural locality in the Mid North region of South Australia, situated in the Regional Council of Goyder. ^[2]

The area was originally the territory of the Ngadjuri people. ^[4] The cadastral Hundred of Apoinga was proclaimed on 7 August 1851 by Governor Henry Young. It is believed to be a corruption of "appinga", a name of a local Aboriginal tribe. ^[2] The hundred had its own local government, the District Council of Apoinga, from 1873 to 1932; however, the council seat was at Logan Gap. ^[5] The Apoinga Lutheran Church opened on 10 July 1936 in the former Apoinga School, but the congregation relocated to the Black Springs Church (a former Anglican church) in 1963. ^[6]

The modern locality was established in August 2000, when boundaries were formalised for the "long established local name". A portion of Apoinga was severed and added to Emu Downs on 20 August 2015 to resolve an access problem. The locality is much smaller than the cadastral hundred, consisting of a north–south strip along part of the hundred's western border. ^{[2] [3]}

The historic former Apoinga Hotel and the Apoinga Smelter Site (the former Penny's Smelting Works) on Tothill Belt Road are listed on the South Australian Heritage Register. ^{[7] [8]} The smelter was established at Apoinga in 1848 by Messrs Penny and Owen. Until then, ore from the copper mines at Burra was transported to Port Adelaide and shipped to Swansea in Wales for smelting. Establishing smelters in Australia could reduce the cost of producing copper ingots. There was no supply of coal known in South Australia to fuel a smelter. Penny believed he had a process of smelting ore using a smelter fueled by charcoal made from the abundant timber supplies in the area. Apoinga was on the road from Burra to Adelaide. The smelter produced its first copper in January 1849, but had closed by 1852 as the miners moved to the Victorian gold rush. ^{[9] [10]}

References

1. Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Apoinga (Suburb and Locality)". Australian Census 2021 QuickStats. Retrieved 28 June 2022. 
2. "Search result(s) for Apoinga, 5413". Location SA Map Viewer. Government of South Australia. Retrieved 30 April 2016.
3. "Search result(s) for Apoinga, 5413". Property Location Browser. Government of South Australia. Archived from the original on 12 October 2016. Retrieved 30 April 2016.
4. Emmaus to Worlds End: a history of the Robertstown Council Area. The Area – Its Settlement and Development: District Council of Robertstown. 1986.
5. Marsden, Susan (2012). "A History of South Australian Councils to 1936" (PDF). Local Government Association of South Australia. p. 41. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 March 2016. Retrieved 30 October 2015.
6. Emmaus to Worlds End: a history of the Robertstown Council Area. District Council of Robertstown. 1986. p. 190.
7. "Former Apoinga Hotel, 'Wilivere'". South Australian Heritage Register. Retrieved 1 May 2016.
8. "Apoinga Smelter Site". South Australian Heritage Register. Retrieved 1 May 2016.
9. Mel Davies. "Balanced costs: Inland copper smelting location and fuel in South Australia 1848-76: Were they so naïve?". University of Western Australia . Retrieved 2 May 2016.
10. Greg J. Drew (June 2011). "Australia's first mining era" (PDF). MESA Journal. 61: 42. Retrieved 2 May 2016.