Wallaroo

Wallaroo is a coastal town on the western side of Yorke Peninsula in South Australia and is a popular tourist destination. Along with Kadina and Moonta, Wallaroo forms the Copper Coast, formerly known as the Copper Triangle.

Understand

The name Wallaroo comes from the Indigenous Australian Narungga word 'Wadlu Waru' meaning wallaby urine. The early British colonials tried to copy this word by calling it Walla Waroo, however they found this too big to stamp on the wool bales, so they shortened it to Wallaroo.

Wallaroo has a deep sea port, at which the Viterra grain terminal is located and ships dock to fill up with grain. When there's no ship in port, the jetty is a favourite location for fishing.

Wallaroo is also home to the Spencer Gulf Prawn fleet, and has a multi-million dollar marina - Copper Cove Marina.

• Copper Coast Visitor Information Centre, Kadina (The Farm Shed Museum & Tourism Centre), 50 Moonta Road, Kadina, toll-free: 1800 654 991, fax: +61 8 8821 4633, thefarmshed@coppercoast.sa.gov.au. M-F 9AM - 5PM; Sa & Su 10AM - 4PM. 

Get in

By ferry

Sea SA Car & Passenger Ferries has temporarily suspended all services between Wallaroo on the Yorke Peninsula and Lucky Bay on the Eyre Peninsula while a new ferry is constructed. Sea SA plans to resume daily services in early 2011, on the arrival of the new ferry Aurora.

• Sea SA Car & Passenger Ferries, admin@seasa.com.au. Crossing the Spencer Gulf in just over 2 hours between Wallaroo on the Yorke Peninsula and Lucky Bay (near Cowell) on the Eyre Peninsula. Services scheduled to commence in 2011. The 56 m Aurora ferry will carry 85 cars and 300 passengers. 

See

• 1 Wallaroo Heritage and Nautical Museum, Jetty Rd, ☏ +61 8 8823 3015. 10AM-4PM. (updated Jun 2021)

Do

Wallaroo is a popular fishing destination, with many fishing charter tour operators using it as a base.

• Kernewek Lowender (Copper Coast Cornish Festival), Kadina, Moonta & Wallaroo, ☏ +61 8 8821 4500, info@kernewek.org. The world’s largest Cornish Festival is celebrated in South Australia’s Copper Coast every 2 years. Rich in Cornish heritage, the towns of Moonta, Wallaroo and Kadina, known as ‘Australia’s Little Cornwall’, host the week-long Kernewek Lowender – which translates from the Cornish language to English as ‘Cornish Happiness’. Visitors can experience the Cornish impact on this region all-year-round by visiting the Moonta Mines State Heritage area, Wheal Hughes Copper Mine, indulging in a locally baked Cornish Pasty. some free, some charges apply. 
• Paskeville Field Days (Paskeville a small town in the north 28 km southeast of Wallaroo on the Copper Coast Highway), ☏ +61 8 8827 2040, fax: +61 8 8827 1011, ypfd@netyp.com.au. 3-day event held biennially in late September: Tu Th F 9AM-5PM. Major focus on agriculture and features extensive displays of the latest agricultural machinery and equipment, technology, information and services in 30 hectare of static displays. This is one of Australia's iconic agricultural field day events and as such is a significant event for the region. It also offers travellers an opportunity to view the people, equipment, agricultural technology and social interactions of this community. Events include sheep dog trials, fashion parades, wool and sheep displays, speaker presentations, quality crafts and extensive farm machinery and general equipment displays. The field days were first held in 1894 to demonstrate agricultural machinery and are Australia's longest running such event. Adult: $15 per day or $30 for a 3-day pass, child $3. 

Eat

• Coopers Alehouse at Wallaroo (Wallaroo Marina Hotel), 11 Heritage Drive, Wallaroo (On the southern side of the marina complex), ☏ +61 8 8823 2488, wallaroomarinahotel@bigpond.com. The hotel and the two adjacent five story accommodation towers are part of the Copper Cove Marina development. Panoramic vistas of the marina, North Beach and Spencer Gulf. 

Sleep

Budget

• 1 Cornucopia Hotel, 49 Owen Tce, ☏ +61 8 8823 3457, cornucopia@eftel.net.au. Newly furnished accommodation, with single rooms, twin rooms, double rooms with queen sized beds and family rooms that sleep up to 6 people. 3 bedroom house available. Caters for bus groups, family and social groups and independent travellers. 

Contact

Cellular (mobile) telephone network reception may not be available in many areas especially those distant from cellular network repeater towers normally located along the major highways and near larger townships. Hilly terrain will also effect reception. In an emergency seek higher ground. Some networks provide a poor coverage in regional and rural areas. It is generally considered that the best reception is available from either Telstra or Optus when in areas such as Yorke Peninsula.

For emergency services including police, fire services and ambulance call 000 from any telephone and ask the operator to connect you. Such calls are placed without charge to the calling party.