Echunga, South Australia

Infobox Australian Place | type = town
name = Echunga
state = South Australia


caption =
lga = District Council of Mount Barker
postcode = 5153
pop = 500
est = 1839
stategov = Electoral district of Heysen
fedgov = Mayo
dist1 = 34
location1= Adelaide
dist2 = 8
location2= Hahndorf
near-nw = Hahndorf
near-n = Paechtown
near-ne = Mount Barker
near-w = Jupiter Creek
near-e = Bugle Ranges
near-sw = Jupiter Creek
near-s = Meadows
near-se = Macclesfield

Echunga is a small town in the Adelaide Hills located 34 km south-east of Adelaide in South Australia.

The area was initially settled in 1839, with the town laid out in 1849. 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.cite web | url=http://www.southaustralianhistory.com.au/echunga.htm | title=Echunga | accessdate=2007-03-29]

The town reputedly takes its name from an Aboriginal word 'eechungga' which may mean either 'a short distance' or 'close by'. 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. Today Echunga is a sleepy little town.cite web | url=http://www.smh.com.au/news/South-Australia/Echunga/2005/02/17/1108500204243.html | title=Echunga, South Australia | accessdate=2006-11-27] Echunga is part of Battunga Country.cite web | url=http://www.battunga.org.au | title=Battunga Country | accessdate=2007-07-03]

References