The port and industrial town of Port Augusta (pop. 14,600) is a supply center for the outback areas of the state and the large sheep stations in the area and an important railroad junction, with direct connections to Perth, Sydney and Alice Springs. The economy of the town was given a great boost when the State Electricity Trust built a number of large power stations here. These are fuelled by coal from the opencast mines at Leigh Creek, 300km north, and generate more than a third of the state's electricity.
On a Heritage Walk round the town visitors will see a number of fine buildings, including the Town Hall (1887), the Courthouse (1884) and above all St Augustine's Church, with beautiful stained glass. The Cudnatta Art Gallery is housed in the former railroad station.
The Australian Arid Lands Botanic Gardens display the surprisingly varied flora of the arid regions of Australia.
Visitors can walk through the garden network and visit the Eremophila garden with possibly the largest collection of these desert-loving plants found anywhere.
Address: Australian Arid Lands Botanic Garden, Box 202, Port Augusta, SA 5700, Australia
Hours:
9am-5pm; Sun:10am-4pm; Sat:10am-4pm
Always closed on: Christmas - Christian (December 25)
Tips: Guided tours at 11am April to October.
Guided tours at 9:30am November to March.
A particular tourist attraction is the Homestead Park Pioneer Museum which re-creates the life of pioneering days, with a blacksmith's shop, the pine-log Yudnappinna Homestead and an old steam train.
The Wadlata Outback Centre presents a picture of the outback, with its attractions and its hazards, which will be of particular interest to adventurous travelers contemplating an outback journey.
Address: Port Augusta Visitor Information Centre, 41 Flinders Terrace, Port Augusta, SA 5700, Australia
Quorn is an historic town which was a station on the Great Northern Railway prior to 1957. Today it is popular with tourists and features a history museum in an old mill.
On two occasions, in 1988 and 1997, the Flinders Ranges provided the setting for the spectacular open-air Opera in the Outback. The most recent of these music festivals took place in 2000 shortly after the Olympic Games. World-famous stars of opera and country music performed at Warren Gorge and other remarkable locations.
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Quorn, Australia
