Yunta is a town and locality in the Australian state of South Australia located about 275 kilometres (171mi) north-east of the state capital of Adelaide. It is a service centre, supporting both the local area and travellers passing through on the Barrier Highway. It is south-west of Broken Hill and north-east of Peterborough.
History
An early spelling of the town was Yanta. In 1866 the district was known as part of the Tattawappa and Yanta Run.[11]
Yunta township was established in 1887 after the discovery of gold at the nearby diggings at Teetulpa and Waukaringa, when more than 5000 miners made their way through here. From the early 1890s the village was a small but busy railway town on the 1067mm (3ft6in) narrow-gauge line between Cockburn and Port Augusta (Cockburn being the town on the state border to which trains from Broken Hill, New South Wales brought silver-lead-zinc ore concentrates).
From 1934, Yunta was the base for the famed outback trucking and mail contractor Henry Edgar (Harry) Ding.[12]
Today Yunta is a small service centre for travellers and the surrounding properties. Yunta also provides an alternative route to the Flinders Ranges and beyond. The natural gas fields at Gidgealpa and Moomba have resulted in improved access roads to South Australia's arid north-east region.[13]
Facilities
Warning sign at the start of Tea Tree Road to Arkaroola
Village facilities include a hotel offering meals and accommodation, two roadhouses (one with caravan sites), two fuel stations, post office, Rural Transaction Centre offering internet access, police station, air strip and a primary school. Opposite the hotel there is a rest area with public toilets which can be used for free (donation) overnight stays.[14]
↑"Geographical Names Act 1991 Notice to assign names and boundaries to places"(PDF). The South Australian Government Gazette. Government of South Australia. 23 October 2003. p.3859. Retrieved 14 April 2019. Assign the namesYunta, Blinman, Bookabie, Glendambo, Yalata, Kingoonya, Olary, Innamincka, and Manna Hill, to those areas Out of Councils and shown numbered 1 to 9 on Rack Plan 857 (Sheet 3)
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