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Statistics
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Km from Perth |
1436 |
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Population |
50 |
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Rainfall |
264mm (115.1) |
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Max Temp |
22.3C (47.9) |
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Min Temp |
11.9C (-0.6) |
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Autogas |
Available |
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Telecentre |
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Caravan
Park
Eucla 08 9039 3468
Services
Attractions
Ruins of the old telegraph
station near the coast, Eucla Pass.
Buildings of note
Unknown
Calendar of events
Unknown
Old Jetty
(C)
Caroline
Brocx
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Description
Eucla is the
last town before the South Australian Border (13 Km away).
Edward John Eyre passed through this area on his overland expedition
from South Australia in 1841. As he met no local Aborigines in the area he
did not record any name for it.
In 1867 the President of the Marine Board of South Australia, Mr B Douglas, reported the discovery of
a potential port at Eucla and this appears to be the first time the name was
recorded.
The area was first settled in 1873 by the Muir brothers who established
pastoral runs. The name is thought to come from the Aboriginal word Yerclia
which was given to a nearby bluff. Another explanation is that the name came
from the Aboriginal word "Yinculyer" which is suggested as having something
to do with the appearance of Venus in the night sky. Yet another Aboriginal
name for the Eucla townsite is Chiniala.
The overland telegraph repeater station was established in 1877 and the town
was proclaimed in 1885
(1)
although land had already been set aside as early as
1873.
In the 1890s the town experienced two consecutive plagues when it was
overrun by rabbits and some entrepreneur decided to bring in cats to control
the rabbit population. The area was then overrun by feral cats.
In an attempt to drum up a bit of publicity for the town, a story was spread
in 1971 that a half naked blonde girl had gone feral and was living with the
kangaroos. How many visitors this attracted to the town remains a mystery
but the press had a field day. Apparently the originator of this hoax was a
kangaroo shooter named Laurie Scott and his girlfriend Geneice Brooker. A
statue commemorating the 'nymph' stands outside the Flinders Medical Centre
in Adelaide.
Eucla is little more than a truck stop on the long trek across the
Nullarbor.
The ruins of the old telegraph station are sometimes visible in the ever
shifting sand dunes.
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