Manna Hill. The rear of the railway station and the Manna Hill Hotel across the road. Station built 1887 the hotel built 1889.
Manna Hill. Despite the low rainfall and semi-arid climate in the mid-1870s South Australians were so optimistic that they could grow wheat almost anywhere that the government set up an experimental 1,280 acre wheat farm on the Manna Hill sheep station leasehold in 1877. This followed a series of above average rainfalls in the region. This was the same time that the Willochra Plains near Hawker were being surveyed into farms. The Manna Hill sheep run was established in the early 1860s. At Manna Hill in 1877 three inches of rain fell in May, one inch in June which lulled the farm manager into believing a wheat crop would grow well and it did yielding 12 bushels per acre. In 1878 the farm manager suggested a plantation to be grown at Manna Hill farm. Another good crop was obtained in 1878 but in November 1879 the farm equipment and stock was sold and the farm closed down. The town was established at the government well at Manna Hill on the Barrier Ranges railway which reached the area in 1887. The discovery of gold near Manna Hill in 1886 reinforced the need for a town in this spot. The fine stone railway station dates from around 1887. The first government school opened in 1899 and closed in 1967 when the narrow gauge line was being replaced with a new standard gauge line and railway workers left the town. It is now a residence with a school roof ventilator. The Manna Hill Hotel was built in 1889 and a galvanised iron public hall was erected at some stage. It now has a blue painted besser block facade. Manna Hill has a stone police station built around 1890 which still operates. Joseph Kenworthy owned Oulnina station and built a race course next to the Manna Hill railway station on his land for public race meetings. He died in 1943. His memorial gates to the race course are impressive. Erected in the 1940s after his death.
Manna Hill. The rear of the railway station and the Manna Hill Hotel across the road. Station built 1887 the hotel built 1889.
Manna Hill. Despite the low rainfall and semi-arid climate in the mid-1870s South Australians were so optimistic that they could grow wheat almost anywhere that the government set up an experimental 1,280 acre wheat farm on the Manna Hill sheep station leasehold in 1877. This followed a series of above average rainfalls in the region. This was the same time that the Willochra Plains near Hawker were being surveyed into farms. The Manna Hill sheep run was established in the early 1860s. At Manna Hill in 1877 three inches of rain fell in May, one inch in June which lulled the farm manager into believing a wheat crop would grow well and it did yielding 12 bushels per acre. In 1878 the farm manager suggested a plantation to be grown at Manna Hill farm. Another good crop was obtained in 1878 but in November 1879 the farm equipment and stock was sold and the farm closed down. The town was established at the government well at Manna Hill on the Barrier Ranges railway which reached the area in 1887. The discovery of gold near Manna Hill in 1886 reinforced the need for a town in this spot. The fine stone railway station dates from around 1887. The first government school opened in 1899 and closed in 1967 when the narrow gauge line was being replaced with a new standard gauge line and railway workers left the town. It is now a residence with a school roof ventilator. The Manna Hill Hotel was built in 1889 and a galvanised iron public hall was erected at some stage. It now has a blue painted besser block facade. Manna Hill has a stone police station built around 1890 which still operates. Joseph Kenworthy owned Oulnina station and built a race course next to the Manna Hill railway station on his land for public race meetings. He died in 1943. His memorial gates to the race course are impressive. Erected in the 1940s after his death.