Minlaton

Minlaton is a town in the Yorke Peninsula of South Australia with a population of 800 in 2016.

Understand

Minlaton is a beautiful town with wide main street featuring grass and tree studded median strip. The town is perfect for a casual stroll to peruse the many and varied shops. Visit Minlaton on your way to and from "the bottom end" of the Yorke Penisnsula.

Minlaton was the hometown of Harry Butler, a World War I flying ace. His Bristol M1C monoplane has been restored and is preserved in pride of place in a building the centre of the town. When he flew an air mail run from Adelaide across Gulf St Vincent to Minlaton in 1919, it was the first over-water flight in the Southern Hemisphere.

Climate

Minlaton, like most of the Yorke Peninsula, has a dry Mediterranean Climate bordering on Semi-Arid. Annual rainfall is around 360mm, most of which falls in the winter months.

Get in

By far, as of 2021, the only way to get to Minlaton is via car. From the state's capital of Radelaide, it's 202km. The first part of the drive which include M2 North South Motorway, and A1 Port Wakefield Highway are mostly a divided dual carriageway. Once you've passed Port Wakefield, you've another one hour to go, and use the B85, but then turn onto the B86 Yorke Highway and go on for about 100km until Minlaton.

See

• 1 Harry Butler Red Devil Memorial, Maitland Rd. Includes the very red plane that you see in the banner. Free. (updated Oct 2021)

Eat

• Tavern on Turton, 154 Bay Rd, Point Turton (35 km SW of Minlaton), ☏ +61 8 8854 5063, genankivell@internode.on.net. Overlooking the beautiful views of Hardwicke Bay and Flaherty's Beach, try the fish. 

Sleep

• 1 Minlaton Caravan Park, 1 Bluff Rd, ☏ +61 8 8853 2435. (updated Oct 2021)
• 2 Sip'n Save - Minlaton Hotel, 26 Main St, ☏ +61 8 8853 2014. Check-in: 10AM, check-out: 10AM. (updated Oct 2021)