Mindarie South Australia | |||||||||||||||
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Coordinates | 34°48′56″S 140°13′00″E / 34.815514°S 140.216621°E[1] | ||||||||||||||
Population | 38 (2016 census)[2] | ||||||||||||||
Established | 25 June 1914 (town) 11 November 1999 (locality)[3][1][4] | ||||||||||||||
Postcode(s) | 5309[5] | ||||||||||||||
Time zone | ACST (UTC+9:30) | ||||||||||||||
• Summer (DST) | ACDT (UTC+10:30) | ||||||||||||||
Location | |||||||||||||||
LGA(s) | District Council of Karoonda East Murray | ||||||||||||||
State electorate(s) | Hammond[6] | ||||||||||||||
Federal division(s) | Barker[7] | ||||||||||||||
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Footnotes | Adjoining localities[1] |
Mindarie is a small town in the Murray Mallee of South Australia between Karoonda and Loxton. The town was gazetted in 1912. The name Mindarie is believed to originate from the Dieri Aboriginal language, and possibly means "festival to invoke peace".[citation needed]
Mindarie was a stop on the Barmera railway line which opened in 1912. Mindarie is no longer a stop on what is now the Loxton railway line.[citation needed]
Mindarie school was founded in 1916, initially being taught in the town institute hall.[9] The school received its own building in 1929.[10] The Mindarie school has been replaced by East Murray Area School[11] which is located about 10 km northwest of Mindarie. It educates about 50 students from Reception to Year 12 in an isolated location.[12]
Mindarie is home to the Murray Zircon heavy mineral sands mine.[13] The mine is Chinese owned and operated, with a 120 room mine camp located beside the Karoonda Highway, with a large disused separation plant located nearby and also visible from Karoonda Highway. The mining operation is now approximately 25k east at Galga, but know at Mercunda Mindarie Mine which was developed in late 2023 and went into full production of HMC in 2024. The mine employs around 100 direct employees and 60 contractors at the mine.
Together with nearby Halidon, it hosts the Mindarie-Halidon Races in September each year, which is known as the Melbourne Cup of the Mallee.[14]
The August 2016 Australian census reported that Mindarie had a population of 38.[2]