Koolunga

Koolunga is a town in the Mid North of South Australia.

Koolunga is a town in the Mid North of South Australia. According to the 2016 Australian Census, the population of the town and surrounding area is approximately 200.

On 5 March 1846, John Hope applied for a land occupation licence covering what is now the township. Koolunga township was established in the 1880s beside the Broughton River near the ford known as "Hope's Crossing". The town was surveyed for the government by W.G. Evans on 30 August 1875 and the first lots of land went on sale on 7 October 1875. Koolunga is believed to be a Ngadjuri (Aboriginal) word meaning "red banks", with reference to the banks of the Broughton River east of Hope's Crossing.

By the early twentieth century, Koolunga had a general store, a hotel, post office, butcher shop, town hall, church, and a garage. However, by the end of the century, the general store, post office, and butcher shop had closed and been turned into residential properties.There was a railway station named Koolunga on the Gladstone railway line, later renamed to Boucaut station, but this was 11 kilometres (6.8 mi) southeast of the town and the railway did not pass through the town of Koolunga.