Oodnadatta
Oodnadatta is a small, remote outback town and locality in the Australian state of South Australia, located 1043 km north-north-west of the state capital of Adelaide by road or 873 km direct, at an altitude of 112 m. The unsealed Oodnadatta Track, an outback road popular with tourists, runs through the town. In the, there were 74 dwellings and the population was 318.
Town facilities include a hotel, caravan park, post office, general stores, police station, hospital, fuel and minor mechanical repairs. The old railway station now serves as a museum. From the 1880s to the 1930s, Oodnadatta was a base for camel drivers and their animals, which provided cartage when the railway was under construction and along outback tracks before roads were established.
After the railway line was lifted, Oodnadatta's role changed from that of a government service centre and supply depot for surrounding pastoral properties to a residential freehold town for Aboriginal families who, moving from cattle work, bought empty houses as their railway employee occupants left.
The name was said to be derived from the Arrernte word utnadata, meaning "yellow blossom of the mulga". However, mulga trees do not grow anywhere near the town. An alternative explanation is that it derived from coodnadatta or kudnadatta, meaning "dead man's poo": the first two syllables encompass "rotten" or "excreta" and the second two refer to "there".
Town facilities include a hotel, caravan park, post office, general stores, police station, hospital, fuel and minor mechanical repairs. The old railway station now serves as a museum. From the 1880s to the 1930s, Oodnadatta was a base for camel drivers and their animals, which provided cartage when the railway was under construction and along outback tracks before roads were established.
After the railway line was lifted, Oodnadatta's role changed from that of a government service centre and supply depot for surrounding pastoral properties to a residential freehold town for Aboriginal families who, moving from cattle work, bought empty houses as their railway employee occupants left.
The name was said to be derived from the Arrernte word utnadata, meaning "yellow blossom of the mulga". However, mulga trees do not grow anywhere near the town. An alternative explanation is that it derived from coodnadatta or kudnadatta, meaning "dead man's poo": the first two syllables encompass "rotten" or "excreta" and the second two refer to "there".
Map - Oodnadatta
Map
Country - Australia
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The ancestors of Aboriginal Australians began arriving from south east Asia approximately 65,000 years ago, during the last ice age. Arriving by sea, they settled the continent and had formed approximately 250 distinct language groups by the time of European settlement, maintaining some of the longest known continuing artistic and religious traditions in the world. Australia's written history commenced with the European maritime exploration of Australia. The Dutch navigator Willem Janszoon was the first known European to reach Australia, in 1606. In 1770, the British explorer James Cook mapped and claimed the east coast of Australia for Great Britain, and the First Fleet of British ships arrived at Sydney in 1788 to establish the penal colony of New South Wales. The European population grew in subsequent decades, and by the end of the 1850s gold rush, most of the continent had been explored by European settlers and an additional five self-governing British colonies established. Democratic parliaments were gradually established through the 19th century, culminating with a vote for the federation of the six colonies and foundation of the Commonwealth of Australia on 1 January 1901. Australia has since maintained a stable liberal democratic political system and wealthy market economy.
Currency / Language
| ISO | Currency | Symbol | Significant figures |
|---|---|---|---|
| AUD | Australian dollar | $ | 2 |
| ISO | Language |
|---|---|
| EN | English language |