Robertstown, South Australia

Robertstown is a town in South Australia. The town is located 23 kilometres (14 mi) north of Eudunda, in the Regional Council of Goyder. At the 2006 census, Robertstown and the surrounding area had a population of 318.[1] Robertstown is named for the John Roberts, the first postmaster in the area, who laid out the town in 1871. It was previously known as Emu Flats and Roberts Town.[3]

Robertstown
South Australia
Robertstown
Coordinates34°00′0″S 139°04′0″E
Population336 (2011 census)[1]
Postcode(s)5381
Elevation344 m (1,129 ft)
Location
LGA(s)Regional Council of Goyder
State electorate(s)Stuart
Federal Division(s)Grey
Localities around Robertstown:
Emu Downs Hallelujah Hills Bright
Brady Creek Robertstown Rocky Plain
Ngapala Point Pass Australia Plains
Footnoteselevation[2]

Robertstown is the hub of a small broadacre farming community. The town is host to the Robertstown Hotel, Lehmann's General Store and Tschirn's Mechanical which does vehicle repairs and sells fuel.

Transport

Robertstown is on the Worlds End Highway between Eudunda and Burra. It was also previously the terminus of the Robertstown railway line from Eudunda and Adelaide, which operated between 1914 [4] and 1986.[5]

Mining

The Robertstown area has been host to several asbestos mines. The S.A. Asbestos & Mining Co. Ltd operated a mine from 1894 that was 8 miles (13 km) northeast of the town.[6] The Blue Hole Mine was operated as an open-cut quarry from 1940 to 1951, 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) northwest of the town.[7]

Motorsport

The Robertstown area is renowned for numerous motoring events each year, with the June long weekend every year being a busy place for Robertstown as the previous Robertstown Football Club and now the Southern Saints Football Club (Eudunda and Robertstown combined) hold their Annual Dinner Dance on the Friday night which has been conducted for approximately 45 years.

On the Saturday and Sunday, the Velocette Motor Cycle club conduct a 2 Day Road Reliability Motor Cycle Trial with 2013 being 40 years since it commenced. The Robertstown Oval is used as the Main Control where an average of between 80 - 100 Solo and Sidecars Motorcycles with riders and passengers commence riding on the roads to approximately ten different controls on private property where they ride competitive sections within each property around the local area riding two laps each day consisting of approximately 80 kilometres per lap. The riders are timed in the competitive sections and they lose points for being late against a time set by the organisers for each section. At the end of the event the solo and sidecar riders with the fewest points lost are declared the winners outright and then there are winners in individual classes according to the size of the engine of the bike and the experience of the riders. Catering for the event is done by the Football Club.

The Walkerville All Cars Club conduct their "Walky 100" Car Rally each year, once again using the Robertstown Oval as Parc Ferme. They transverse on public roads to Special Stages where the public roads are closed to all other traffic and timed for travelling through each section and as with the bikes the car that travels through each stage the fastest is declared the outright winner and they also have various classes as well. Once again the Football Club do the catering for the event supplying food and drinks for those that attend the event.

There is also an annual Motorcycle Enduro event conducted where the riders ride their bikes on private property around a designated track and the riders who ride the most numbers of laps within a set time win the event.

Finally an Annual Pony Express Motorcycle event is held, where riders pair up and ride individually for one lap and then they change over riding again on private property on a marked track for a set period of time. The pair that rides the most laps are the winners. The Robertstown Hotel & Community Social Club caters for these two events.

References
  1. Australian Bureau of Statistics (25 October 2007). "Robertstown (State Suburb)". 2006 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 27 May 2009.
  2. "Placename Details: Robertstown Railway Station". Property Location Browser. Land Services, Government of South Australia. SA0059039. Retrieved 15 February 2016.
  3. "Placename Details: Robertstown (LOCB)". Property Location Browser. Land Services, Government of South Australia. 17 September 2008. SA0059036. Retrieved 15 February 2016.
  4. "ROBERTSTOWN RAILWAY". The Advertiser. Adelaide, SA: National Library of Australia. 10 December 1914. p. 9. Retrieved 21 February 2016.
  5. Mary Eberhard. "The last wheat train leaves Robertstown, 1986" (photograph). Johnny's Pages. Retrieved 21 February 2016.
  6. "Other Mines". Burra History Group. Retrieved 30 August 2016.
  7. "Blue Hole Mine (Apoinga Asbestos; Blue Success)". Mindat.org. Retrieved 30 August 2016.
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