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Pioneers of PercytonPrint Page Print this page

01-January-2021
01-January-2021

Photographs supplied by Stephen Warren
The monument, erected by the residents of Barunga Gap District, commemorates the pioneers of Percyton which was later renamed Barunga Gap.

Robert Barr Smith, the rich and influential new owner of the Hummocks Run, arrived in the locality accompanied by surveyors in February 1870. The first paved road to Kadina was completed at Barunga Gap in 1874,and a railway was connected from Kadina in 1878.

The railway line from Kadina to Barunga Gap was begun in approximately August 1877 by day labour and piecework, to afford employment for the miners thrown out of work on the (Yorke) Peninsula. The completion of this contract was expected by December 31,1878.

The railway allowed Barr Smith to ship his massive wool exports directly to the Elders & Fyffes cargo ships at Wallaroo for auction in England, and surrounding farmers and graziers to use the port at Wallaroo instead of Port Wakefield, which was shallow and required transshipment to waiting shipping using small boats.

A government town was surveyed in 1879 at Barunga Gap and proclaimed as Percyton in 1880. Later the name was changed to the current designation

Location

Address:Lochiel-Snowtown Road, Barunga Gap, 5520
State:SA
Area:AUS
GPS Coordinates:Lat: -33.828504
Long: 138.124654
Note: GPS Coordinates are approximate.
View Google Map

Details

Monument Type:Monument
Monument Theme:Landscape
Sub-Theme:Settlement

Dedication

Actual Monument Dedication Date:Sunday 11th September, 1988
Front Inscription

Barunga Gap Rail Siding     Percyton School
1879 - 1976                                1883 - 1947

                    This Stone
         Erected By Residents Of 
           Barunga Gap District
     Perpetuates The Memory Of
Pioneers Of Percyton, Later Barunga Gap
           Unveiled 11. 9. 1988.
Capsule To Be Opened 11. 9. 2038

Post Office                            Store
1882 - 1974                           1882 - 1916

Source: MA
Monument details supplied by Monument Australia - www.monumentaustralia.org.au