Naracoorte is a town in the Limestone Coast region of South Australia, approximately 336 kilometres south-east of Adelaide and 100 kilometres north of Mount Gambier on the Riddoch Highway (A66).
Naracoorte South Australia | |||||||||||||||
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![]() A South Australian Railways V class locomotive in a park in Naracoorte | |||||||||||||||
![]() ![]() Naracoorte | |||||||||||||||
Coordinates | 36°57′18″S 140°44′34″E[1] | ||||||||||||||
Population | 5,960 (2016 census)[2] | ||||||||||||||
Established | 1845 | ||||||||||||||
Postcode(s) | 5271[3] | ||||||||||||||
Time zone | ACST (UTC+9:30) | ||||||||||||||
• Summer (DST) | ACST (UTC+10:30) | ||||||||||||||
Location |
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LGA(s) | Naracoorte Lucindale Council | ||||||||||||||
Region | Limestone Coast[1] | ||||||||||||||
County | Robe[1] | ||||||||||||||
State electorate(s) | MacKillop | ||||||||||||||
Federal division(s) | Barker | ||||||||||||||
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Footnotes | Locations[3] Adjoining localities[1] |
Naracoorte was formed from the merger of two towns, Kincraig, founded in 1845 by Scottish explorer William Macintosh, and Narracoorte, established as a government settlement in 1847. The name has gone through a number of spellings, and is believed to be derived from the Aboriginal words for place of running water or large waterhole. It grew during the 1850s as a service town for people going to and from the Victorian gold rush. The Post Office opened on 22 March 1853 and was known as Mosquito Plains until 1861.[5]
The District Council of Naracoorte was proclaimed in August 1870 to locally govern the lands of the Hundred of Naracoorte. In 1888 the size of the district was dramatically expanded to include surrounding areas not yet locally governed. As a consequence, in February 1924 the Corporate Town of Naracoorte was established to provide dedicated local governance to the township.[6]
The Kingston-Naracoorte railway line was closed on 28 November 1987 and dismantled on 15 September 1991, followed on 12 April 1995 by the Mount Gambier to Wolseley line, still pending gauge standardisation.
Since 1993 Naracoorte has been locally governed by the amalgamated Naracoorte Lucindale Council. It is in the state electoral district of MacKillop and the federal Division of Barker.
![]() | This section needs additional citations for verification. (February 2018) |
The town has historically relied largely on sheep, cattle and wheat farming.
In recent decades, tourism has become a major industry due to the town's proximity to several wine regions and internationally recognised natural features. Both the World-Heritage-listed Naracoorte Caves National Park,[7] the Ramsar-listed Bool and Hacks Lagoons are south of the township. The wine regions of Coonawarra and Wrattonbully lie further south, while the Padthaway lies to the north, placing Naracoorte at the centre of the three.
Other places of interest to tourists include:
Naracoorte has a number of sites listed on the South Australian Heritage Register, including:
There are three schools: Naracoorte High on Stewart Terrace,[16] Naracoorte Primary on Park Terrace[17] and Naracoorte South Primary.[18] Independent schools include Naracoorte Christian School (also called Sunrise Christian School) on Caves Road (formerly on Rolland Street).[19]
The town is home to The Naracoorte Herald, a newspaper published in the town (under that name) since 1948. Prior to that, the newspaper had used the older spelling of the town, and was known as The Narracoorte Herald, which had begun publication on 14 December 1875. It was formerly part of Fairfax Media, with the Fairfax regional office located in the town on Smith Street. Since mid 2019 it has been owned by Australian Community Media who purchased the Rural Press publications when Fairfax was bought by Nine.
In 1912, a nearby publication, the Tatiara and Lawloit News (13 June 1908 – 15 June 1912), which also printed in Naracoorte, was absorbed into the Herald.
In May 2020 a new rival paper, "Naracoorte Community News" was launched by Michael Waite to fill the gap left by the suspension of ‘'The Naracoorte Herald'’ during the COVID-19 pandemic.
WIN Television's Channel 10 broadcasts Network Ten programming, Channel Seven broadcasts Seven Network programming & Channel Nine broadcasts Nine Network programming. The programming schedules for these channels is the same as Channel Nine, Channel Seven and Channel Ten in Adelaide, with local commercials inserted and some variations for coverage of Australian Football League or National Rugby League matches, state and national news and current affairs programs, some lifestyle and light entertainment shows and infomercials.
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The town has an Australian Rules football team competing in the Kowree-Naracoorte-Tatiara Football League.[20] and also supplies players for a number of surrounding teams such as Kybybolite, Padthaway and Border Districts.
Naracoorte also has a soccer club competing in the Limestone Coast Football Association.[21]
The Naracoorte Racing Club holds thoroughbred horse racing at its track located 4 kilometers from the center of the town.[22]
![]() | This section does not cite any sources. (January 2017) |
Naracoorte experiences a warm-summer mediterranean climate (Köppen: Csb, Trewartha: Csbk), with warm, relatively dry summers; mild, relatively dry springs and autumns; and cool winters with moderate precipitation.
Climate data for Naracoorte Aerodrome, South Australia, Australia (1998-present normals and extremes); 50 m AMSL | |||||||||||||
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Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
Record high °C (°F) | 45.8 (114.4) |
45.3 (113.5) |
42.0 (107.6) |
36.9 (98.4) |
29.0 (84.2) |
23.0 (73.4) |
19.0 (66.2) |
26.5 (79.7) |
30.3 (86.5) |
37.0 (98.6) |
40.3 (104.5) |
47.7 (117.9) |
47.7 (117.9) |
Mean maximum °C (°F) | 38.8 (101.8) |
37.0 (98.6) |
34.0 (93.2) |
28.0 (82.4) |
22.0 (71.6) |
17.0 (62.6) |
16.2 (61.2) |
19.0 (66.2) |
22.7 (72.9) |
28.2 (82.8) |
33.1 (91.6) |
36.1 (97.0) |
38.8 (101.8) |
Average high °C (°F) | 29.9 (85.8) |
29.1 (84.4) |
26.2 (79.2) |
22.1 (71.8) |
17.7 (63.9) |
14.9 (58.8) |
14.1 (57.4) |
15.3 (59.5) |
17.5 (63.5) |
20.6 (69.1) |
24.6 (76.3) |
27.4 (81.3) |
21.6 (70.9) |
Daily mean °C (°F) | 20.9 (69.6) |
20.5 (68.9) |
18.2 (64.8) |
15.2 (59.4) |
12.5 (54.5) |
10.2 (50.4) |
9.7 (49.5) |
10.4 (50.7) |
12.0 (53.6) |
13.8 (56.8) |
16.7 (62.1) |
18.8 (65.8) |
14.9 (58.8) |
Average low °C (°F) | 11.8 (53.2) |
11.8 (53.2) |
10.1 (50.2) |
8.2 (46.8) |
7.3 (45.1) |
5.5 (41.9) |
5.3 (41.5) |
5.5 (41.9) |
6.5 (43.7) |
6.9 (44.4) |
8.7 (47.7) |
10.1 (50.2) |
8.1 (46.7) |
Mean minimum °C (°F) | 6.0 (42.8) |
5.8 (42.4) |
4.1 (39.4) |
2.8 (37.0) |
1.8 (35.2) |
0.1 (32.2) |
1.0 (33.8) |
1.0 (33.8) |
1.7 (35.1) |
1.0 (33.8) |
2.6 (36.7) |
4.3 (39.7) |
0.1 (32.2) |
Record low °C (°F) | 1.0 (33.8) |
1.9 (35.4) |
−1.0 (30.2) |
−3.0 (26.6) |
−4.4 (24.1) |
−4.0 (24.8) |
−3.0 (26.6) |
−4.0 (24.8) |
−3.0 (26.6) |
−3.0 (26.6) |
−2.0 (28.4) |
1.0 (33.8) |
−4.4 (24.1) |
Average precipitation mm (inches) | 21.5 (0.85) |
19.2 (0.76) |
23.4 (0.92) |
26.6 (1.05) |
42.8 (1.69) |
55.0 (2.17) |
62.6 (2.46) |
69.1 (2.72) |
51.6 (2.03) |
39.0 (1.54) |
33.1 (1.30) |
34.7 (1.37) |
478.6 (18.86) |
Average precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm) | 2.5 | 2.5 | 3.9 | 5.3 | 9.3 | 9.0 | 11.8 | 12.0 | 9.3 | 7.2 | 5.2 | 4.8 | 82.8 |
Average relative humidity (%) | 45.5 | 49.0 | 55.5 | 57.5 | 71.0 | 76.5 | 77.0 | 72.5 | 67.5 | 59.5 | 53.0 | 46.0 | 60.9 |
Average dew point °C (°F) | 9.1 (48.4) |
10.1 (50.2) |
9.2 (48.6) |
8.2 (46.8) |
8.5 (47.3) |
7.2 (45.0) |
6.6 (43.9) |
6.8 (44.2) |
7.9 (46.2) |
7.6 (45.7) |
8.6 (47.5) |
8.0 (46.4) |
8.2 (46.7) |
Source: Australian Bureau of Meteorology (1998-present normals and extremes)[23] |
Towns and localities of the Naracoorte Lucindale Council | |
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Limestone Coast, South Australia | |||||||||||
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