Booborowie is a locality in

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

. It is located north of Adelaide.

Booborowie Station

In 1843, Dr

William James Browne William James Browne, (1815 – 4 December 1894), generally referred to as Dr. Browne, was a grazier and pastoralist in South Australia who was born and died in England. His brother, John Harris Browne, was a noted explorer and pastoralist in ...

and his brother Dr

John Harris Browne John Harris Browne (22 April 1817 – 12 January 1904), generally referred to as J. Harris Browne, was an explorer in Australia and a pioneer pastoralist. Early years Browne was born in Ilford, Wiltshire, England, son of Benjamin Browne, landow ...

took up the Booborowie run. In 1851 they purchased a crown lease of 153 square miles, and in 1853 the brothers purchased 46,978 acres of the lease. The Browne brothers established a merino stud and ran shorthorn cattle. They went on to purchase properties on the

Adelaide Plains The Adelaide Plains (Kaurna name Tarndanya) is a plain in South Australia lying between the coast ( Gulf St Vincent) on the west and the Mount Lofty Ranges on the east. The southernmost tip of the plain is in the southern seaside suburbs of A ...

, at

Mount Gambier Mount Gambier is the second most populated city in South Australia, with a population of 25,591 as of the 2021 census. The city is located on the slopes of Mount Gambier (volcano), Mount Gambier, a volcano in the south east of the state, about ...

, the

Flinders Ranges The Flinders Ranges are the largest mountain ranges in South Australia, which starts about north of Adelaide. The ranges stretch for over from Port Pirie to Lake Callabonna. The Adnyamathanha people are the Aboriginal group who have inhab ...

, and the

Eyre Peninsula The Eyre Peninsula is a triangular peninsula in South Australia. It is bounded by the Spencer Gulf on the east, the Great Australian Bight on the west, and the Gawler Ranges to the north. Earlier called Eyre's Peninsula, it was named after e ...

, and were instrumental in establishing

Katherine Katherine (), also spelled Catherine and Catherina, other variations, is a feminine given name. The name and its variants are popular in countries where large Christian populations exist, because of its associations with one of the earliest Ch ...

in the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (abbreviated as NT; known formally as the Northern Territory of Australia and informally as the Territory) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian internal territory in the central and central-northern regi ...

. This led to a large sheep and cattle drive, under the supervision of Alfred Giles, to leave South Australia in 1878. The northern portion of the station was sold to Henry Dutton and George Melrose in 1897. The remainder of the station was sold in 1910 and 1912 for closer settlement.

History of the township

The Booborowie Township was proclaimed on 29 March 1877. Being a farming community, the chief products produced are wool, wheat, lucerne and canola. The town is named after the nearby Booborowie Waterhole, a small seasonal waterhole on Walton Palace Creek about north west of the town, the "owie" signifying "waterhole" in the language of the indigenous

Ngadjuri people The Ngadjuri people are a group of Aboriginal Australian people whose traditional lands lie in the mid north of South Australia with a territory extending from Gawler in the south to Orroroo in the Flinders Ranges in the north. Name Their ethno ...

, as in

Hundred of Minlacowie County of Fergusson is a cadastral unit located in the Australian state of South Australia which spans Yorke Peninsula south of Price. It was proclaimed in 1869 by Governor Fergusson after whom the county was named. Description The County ...

, Terowie and Yarcowie (modern linguists tend to render the word as awi'''). The spelling "Booboorowie" was common in the 19th century. A feature of the area is the "Camel Hump", a

drystone wall Dry stone, sometimes called drystack or, in Scotland, drystane, is a building method by which structures are constructed from stones without any mortar to bind them together. A certain amount of binding is obtained through the use of carefully ...

which runs over from Booborowie to

Farrell Flat Farrell Flat (formerly Hanson) is a town in South Australia. The town is located east of Clare and southwest of Burra. Once the heart of a thriving farming community, Farrell Flat today is largely a satellite town to the larger towns nearby. ...

. The historic Booborowie Homestead and the former Booborowie Council Chambers are listed on the

South Australian Heritage Register The South Australian Heritage Register, also known as the SA Heritage Register, is a statutory register of historic places in South Australia. It extends legal protection regarding demolition and development under the ''Heritage Places Act 1993'' ...

. Today, Booborowie is a popular destination for visitors enjoying the rural scenery, historic buildings and camping facilities at the town oval. The town is serviced by a primary school (opened 1892) with playgroup, and a grocer, incorporating hardware and post office facilities.

References

;Notes ;Citations Towns in South Australia Mid North (South Australia) {{SouthAustralia-geo-stub