Quorn, South Australia

Quorn is a township and railhead in the Flinders Ranges in the north of South Australia, 39 km northeast of Port Augusta. At the 2006 census, Quorn had a population of 1068.

Quorn is the home of the Flinders Ranges Council local government area. It is in the state Electoral district of Stuart and the federal Division of Grey.

History

The town was surveyed by Godfrey Walsh in 1878 and named after Quorndon in Leicestershire, United Kingdom, as part of the preparations for building the railway line from Port Augusta northwards.

The railway line from Port Augusta to Quorn opened in 1879 and was subsequently extended north to Government Gums in 1882, Marree in 1884, Oodnadatta in 1890 and Alice Springs in 1929. This railway line later became known as the "Ghan line" or Central Australia Railway.

In 1917, Quorn became the crossroads of any north–south(on the Central Australian Railway to Oodnadatta) or east–west travel in Australia, when the Trans-Australia Railway was completed between Port Augusta and Kalgoorlie. This made Quorn an important town, given that any person travelling east-west or north-south in Australia would need to pass through Quorn. As a result, many fine buildings were built as the town expanded.

Quorn's role as a crossroads was lost when a standard gauge railway connection was opened between Port Pirie Junction and Port Augusta in 1937, meaning east-west trains bypassed the...
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