Stones and Rail

The Orroroo Carrieton region is situated in the Mid North of South Australia about 300 kilometres north of Adelaide. This area was first settled by European pastoralists in the 1840s. They stayed until the mid-1870s when hundreds of farmers and their families established themselves on small farms – an initiative of the government ‘wheat drive’.

Small regional service towns developed and ‘the railway’ became the most important form of transport. In the 21st Century the number of stone ruins, large and small, suggest a once prosperous and well-populated district. But only the towns of Orroroo and Carrieton survive to serve the local farmers, graziers, townspeople and visitors.

We hope you enjoy this audio tour, which takes you through the development of this unique district through John Mannion’s collection of stories from past and present ‘locals’ and John O’Dea’s songs.