Echunga, South Australia

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Echunga South Australia
Population:	500
Established:	1839
Postcode:	5153
Location:	34 km (21 mi) from Adelaide 8 km (5 mi) from Hahndorf
LGA:	District Council of Mount Barker
State District:	Electoral district of Heysen
Federal Division:	Mayo
Localities around Echunga: Hahndorf Paechtown Mount Barker Jupiter Creek Echunga Bugle Ranges Jupiter Creek Meadows 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.^[1]

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.^[2] Echunga is part of Battunga Country.^[3]

[edit] References

1. ^ Echunga. Retrieved on 2007-03-29.
2. ^ Echunga, South Australia. Retrieved on 2006-11-27.
3. ^ Battunga Country. Retrieved on 2007-07-03.

v • d • e Adelaide Hills, South Australia Major Townships Birdwood  · Clarendon  · Echunga  · Gumeracha  · Hahndorf  · Littlehampton  · Lobethal  · Macclesfield  · Meadows  · Mount Barker  · Mylor  · Nairne  · Oakbank  · Stirling  · Woodside Attractions Mount Lofty Botanic Garden  · SteamRanger  · Heysen Trail See also List of towns in the Adelaide Hills  · Wine regions of South Australia  · Adelaide

Coordinates: 35°06′S, 138°47′E