Wallaroo

Wallaroo is popular with families because it is great for swimming, fishing, relaxing and sightseeing. Wallaroo is only 160 kilometres north of Adelaide. It is a deep sea port with a jetty, which is one of the most popular in the state for fishing.

Visit the Wallaroo Heritage and Nautical Museum to relive the history of fishing in the area.

Enjoy a walking trail to learn about the area and history. Pick up a brochure for the Wallaroo, Kadina and Moonta Town Walking Trails from the visitor information centre.

The town is a mix of a seaside resort and a working industrial town, surrounded by some of the best grain growing and grazing land in Australia.

The name Wallaroo comes from the Aboriginal word 'Wadlu Waru' meaning wallabies urine. The early settler's tried to copy the aboriginals by calling it Walla Waroo, however they found this too big to stamp on the wool bales, so they shortened it to Wallaroo.

In 1859, copper was discovered in the Kadina region. Two shepherds, working for local entrepreneur Walter Watson Hughes, found the copper in a wombat's hole. The first copper smelter was lit in 1861 at Wallaroo. Copper mining soon became a huge industry and the township of Wallaroo grew rapidly.

Visit the Wheal Hughes Copper Mine in nearby Moonta for more mining history in the area.