Orroroo

Orroroo South Australia
The main street of Orroroo
Orroroo
Coordinates	32°44′S 138°36′E / 32.733°S 138.600°E / -32.733; 138.600Coordinates: 32°44′S 138°36′E / 32.733°S 138.600°E / -32.733; 138.600
Population	540 (shared with other localities in the “State Suburb of Orroroo”) (2011 census)
Postcode(s)	5431
Elevation	428 m (1,404 ft)
Location	270 km (168 mi) N of Adelaide 120 km (75 mi) NE of Port Pirie 100 km (62 mi) NW of Port Augusta
LGA(s)	District Council of Orroroo Carrieton
State electorate(s)	Stuart
Federal Division(s)	Grey
Localities around Orroroo: Walloway Johnburgh Minburra, Yalpara Coomooroo Orroroo Erskine Pekina Black Rock Minvalara

Orroroo is a town in the Flinders Ranges region of South Australia. At the 2011 census, Orroroo shared a population of 540 with adjoining localities. The Wilmington-Ucolta Road passes through here, intersecting with the RM Williams Way which leads to the Birdsville and Oodnadatta Tracks. The Peterborough–Quorn railway line extended from Peterborough to Orroroo also in 1881 and Quorn in 1882, connecting with the new Central Australia Railway from Port Augusta. These railways have now been abandoned. Orroroo is situated near Goyder's Line, a line drawn up in 1865 by Surveyor General Goyder which he believed indicated the edge of the area suitable for agriculture.

Prior to European settlement, Orroroo was the home of the Ngadjuri Aboriginal people whose domain was the area to the east of the Flinders Rangers. The name Orroroo is believed to have Aboriginal origins, but the true meaning of the word is uncertain. The name was first used by an early pioneer who conducted a nearby coaching house which served travellers on the Burra-Blinman track.

In 1844, the first Europeans to settle, John and James Chambers, took up the Pekina Run which covered 320 square miles. They did not receive a millimetre of rain during the 17 months that they lived there. As a result of this drought, they sold the Pekina Run for £30.

Charlie Easther settled in Orroroo during 1864 and opened up an eating house that became a popular stopping point for the drovers and bullockys who travelled through the area. The town was surveyed in 1875, when Solly's Hut, a clay-pugged log structure, was constructed as the town's first house and is now used as a museum. In September 1875, the town was officially named by George Goyder following the suggestion made by Charlie Easther (See § Origin of the name "Orroroo", below.). The first land sales were made in May 1876. The town was granted its own local council, the District Council of Orroroo, in 1887 (taking effect in 1888(, and the town's council offices were constructed in 1888. The District Council of Orroroo would survive until 1997, when it was merged to create the District Council of Orroroo Carrieton.