A deserted house and windmill on the Yorke Peninsula near Yorketown

Yorketown
Major service town on the southern tip of the Yorke Peninsula
Located 230 km west of Adelaide, Yorketown is a small rural service centre which is literally surrounded by saltpans. The area around Yorketown was settled in the late 1840s by a group of farmers eager to exploit the region's grain growing potential. They planted crops of barley and wheat and grazed sheep. By 1872, even though the size of the community was still very small, the town was laid out and blocks of land were sold. In this year the Melville Hotel was completed and by 1876 the attractive Yorke Hotel and the Methodist Church had both been completed. The extraordinary number of salt lakes in the area persuaded a local wit to advocate that the town be renamed Salt Lake City but it failed to capture the local imagination. The town still bears the name of the surveyor who laid it out in 1872.

Things to see:  

Salt Lakes
The main attraction in the area are the extraordinary salt lakes. At various times they have been mined for their salt. Like many salt lakes in wheatbelt areas they are vulnerable to pink algae and consequently can acquire a gentle pink hue in certain seasons and under specific climatic conditions.

Yorke Hotel
Built in 1876 the Yorke Hotel, with the historic pump outside, is a fine example of the sense of prosperity which was common when the new wheatbelt towns were established.

St. Columba's Catholic Church

St. Columbašs Catholic Church
Built in 1903 this handsome church is another example of the prosperity which characterised the early history of the town.

Granite Outcrops
Travel out of Yorketown on the Stansbury Road for about 10 km and you will see a parking bay. Nearby are two large and unusual granite rocks known as the Bear Rock and Clown Rock.

	Hotels
	Melville Hotel/Motel 1 Minlaton Rd Yorketown SA 5576 Telephone: (08) 8852 1019 Rating: **
	Yorke Hotel 1 Warooka Rd Yorketown SA 5576 Telephone: (08) 8852 1221 Rating: **
	Bed & Breakfast/Guesthouses
	Yorketown Bed & Breakfast School Rd Yorketown SA 5576 Telephone: (08) 8852 1385, 1800 621 385
	Caravan Parks
	Yorketown Caravan Park Memorial Dve Yorketown SA 5576 Telephone: (08) 8852 1731 Rating: ***
	Camping & Other
	Camp Bublacowie Minlaton Rd Yorketown SA 5576 Telephone: (08) 8853 4379
	Restaurants
	Melville Hotel/Motel 1 Minlaton Rd Yorketown SA 5576 Telephone: (08) 8852 1019
	Yorke Hotel 1 Warooka Rd Yorketown SA 5576 Telephone: (08) 8852 1221