Borrika near Karoonda. On the left is the 1915 tin public hall and on the right is the limestone Soldiers Memorial Hall which opened in 1925.
Borrika.
Like other towns and settlement in the Murray Mallee this area was taken out in pastoral leases in the 1850s or later but many were given up as dense Mallee, too many foxes and dingoes meant that sheep stations were not profitable. This was one of the last regions of the state surveyed for grain farmers and that mainly happened as railways passed through this area to reach the Upper Riverland. The Hundred of Wilson was declared in 1910. The railway from Tailem Bend to Alawoona and Loxton and Brown’s Well (Paruna) came through here in 1912 at a cost of £312,000 with an expected revenue of the line being over £17,000 per year. The first train ran through here from Adelaide to Wanbi on January 6th 1913. The small town of Borrika, meaning “stranger’s hut” in a local Aboriginal language, was surveyed and established in 1914 but farmers took up their lands from 1912. An Agricultural Bureau branch was established in Borrika in May 1914. Town allotments were sold (as they were for Sandalwood, Lowaldie and Mindarie) in August 1914. The town was set up as a bore here provided water for settlers and the railway. The school opened in 1915 with Margaretta Nancarrow as the first teacher and the school operated through to 1941 when children were bussed to Karoonda. The still existing government school room was erected in 1927 and is now a private residence. The original school in 1915 used the tin and iron institute until the school room was built in 1927. That original tin and iron institute which opened in 1915 was replaced with the fine 1925 brick and stone structure which still stands. That institute was used for Methodist Mission services from 1915 and for many years afterwards. In fact the first Methodist Mission service was held in Borrika in January 1914 before the institute was erected. When the school closed in 1941 it was used as the Methodist Church until it was sold in 1947 when the Methodist services returned to the Institute. The last Methodist Church service was held in the Borrika institute in 1965. The Borrika institute was extended in 1973 but now seems to be unused. The old general store/Post Office and residence built in 1923 still stands on the main highway. Borrika’s claim to fame is that in 1927 farmers here formed the Farmers’ Protection Society which in 1930 became the SA Wheatgrowers Association when the headquarters moved from Borrika to Adelaide. In its heyday Borrika also had a very active Country Women’s’ Association branch. The Borrika Institute was last used as a polling place for a federal election in 1993. All remains of the railway siding are gone and with only a handful of residents motorists are only required to slow down to 80 kms per hour as they speed through Borrika. But the tennis courts still look used.
Borrika near Karoonda. On the left is the 1915 tin public hall and on the right is the limestone Soldiers Memorial Hall which opened in 1925.
Borrika.
Like other towns and settlement in the Murray Mallee this area was taken out in pastoral leases in the 1850s or later but many were given up as dense Mallee, too many foxes and dingoes meant that sheep stations were not profitable. This was one of the last regions of the state surveyed for grain farmers and that mainly happened as railways passed through this area to reach the Upper Riverland. The Hundred of Wilson was declared in 1910. The railway from Tailem Bend to Alawoona and Loxton and Brown’s Well (Paruna) came through here in 1912 at a cost of £312,000 with an expected revenue of the line being over £17,000 per year. The first train ran through here from Adelaide to Wanbi on January 6th 1913. The small town of Borrika, meaning “stranger’s hut” in a local Aboriginal language, was surveyed and established in 1914 but farmers took up their lands from 1912. An Agricultural Bureau branch was established in Borrika in May 1914. Town allotments were sold (as they were for Sandalwood, Lowaldie and Mindarie) in August 1914. The town was set up as a bore here provided water for settlers and the railway. The school opened in 1915 with Margaretta Nancarrow as the first teacher and the school operated through to 1941 when children were bussed to Karoonda. The still existing government school room was erected in 1927 and is now a private residence. The original school in 1915 used the tin and iron institute until the school room was built in 1927. That original tin and iron institute which opened in 1915 was replaced with the fine 1925 brick and stone structure which still stands. That institute was used for Methodist Mission services from 1915 and for many years afterwards. In fact the first Methodist Mission service was held in Borrika in January 1914 before the institute was erected. When the school closed in 1941 it was used as the Methodist Church until it was sold in 1947 when the Methodist services returned to the Institute. The last Methodist Church service was held in the Borrika institute in 1965. The Borrika institute was extended in 1973 but now seems to be unused. The old general store/Post Office and residence built in 1923 still stands on the main highway. Borrika’s claim to fame is that in 1927 farmers here formed the Farmers’ Protection Society which in 1930 became the SA Wheatgrowers Association when the headquarters moved from Borrika to Adelaide. In its heyday Borrika also had a very active Country Women’s’ Association branch. The Borrika Institute was last used as a polling place for a federal election in 1993. All remains of the railway siding are gone and with only a handful of residents motorists are only required to slow down to 80 kms per hour as they speed through Borrika. But the tennis courts still look used.