Yorketown - South Australia

Yorketown, as the name suggests, takes its name from the peninsula. It is considered to be the hub of the Southern Yorke Peninsula. The town sits at an intersection of five roads to other towns. It is 230 kilometres from Adelaide, in the heel of the Yorke Peninsula's foot - practically in the centre between Spencer Gulf and Gulf St Vincent.

Take the town walk to discover the area's history. In the early days, Yorketown was called 'Weaners Flat', because it was where the pastoralists separated the lambs from the ewes. The name changed in 1876 and suggestions for a new name included Salt Lake City after the salt lakes within a 13 kilometre radius.

Yorketown owed most of its prosperity in the early days to the salt lakes surrounding the town. With 200 salt lakes nearby, it is no wonder that the salt industry flourished. The salt industry reached its peak during the First World War with 57,000 tonnes farmed in a year. Production ceased in the 1950s when the salt refinery closed in Edithburgh.