Iron Knob, South Australia

Iron Knob (coord|32|43|S|137|09|E|region:AU-SA_type:city(156)), current population 156 (2005), is a town in South Australia on the Eyre Highway across Eyre Peninsula. Iron ore was originally mined here for use as flux in the copper smelting industry. The iron ore was of such high quality that it started an iron smelting industry as well. It is referred to as the birth place of the steel industry in Australia. It gets its name for the fact that it has a large amount of iron ore and was a major contributor to Australia's iron industry.

Quarrying for iron at the town ended in 1998. Even though the mine is closed the town remains active. There is talk about a major mine company finding gold in the area, and there are other iron ore mines elsewhere in the Middleback Ranges. The iron ore was transported by railway to Whyalla ["Iron Knob Tramway" Singleton, C.C. Australian Railway Historical Society Bulletin, February, 1942 pp15-17] where it is smelted.

New deposits of iron ore were opened at Iron Prince and Iron Duke.Due to the high price of iron ore the mine has been reopened.

When the mine closed down in 1998 people began to leave the town in the search for another job, turning it into a ghost town. Due to the recent rise in the price of housing more families are selling their home in the city at top dollar and buying or building a house in iron knob for a lower price.These days, a home can be purchased for approximately $35,000 to $70,000AUD as well as buying land from under $15,000.

Iron knob is becoming an ideal place to retire in because of cheap housing and no rates. The local community also provide meals on wheels, weekly trips to whyalla, town BBQ and no crime.

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