Peterborough, South Australia: Travel guide and things to do

Located 253 km north of Adelaide, Peterborough is a railway town. Its greatest claim to fame is that it is one of only two places in Australia (the other is Gladstone) where three railway gauges met. This particular absurdity was the result of different state governments being unable (or unwilling) to agree on a standard railway gauge.

Peterborough developed relatively late in the history of South Australia. Land was selected in the district and purchased from the government in 1875. It was, as Johann Koch one of the first settlers was to observe, 'a wild place and kangaroos were swarming'.

Four years later a public meeting was held and the first building in the town was constructed. There was news that the town would soon be connected to the mines in Broken Hill by a railway. One of the local landowners, Peter Doecke, decided to cut up his land and sell at auction. So successful was the auction that land which had been virtually useless a few years earlier was sold at a huge profit. By the end of the first day Doecke had sold 33 acres for £1700. Two years earlier he had not been able to sell it for £1 an acre. On the basis of this success the town was named after Doecke and became 'Petersburg'.

By 1880 the Petersburg Hotel and the local Post Office had been erected and the following year the rail link from Adelaide was completed. In 1886 the railway connection to Broken Hill was completed.

The town grew rapidly through the 1880s. The public school was opened (1883), the Town Hall erected (1884) and the town was declared a municipality (1886).

The change of the town's name occurred in 1917 when anti-German sentiment was so strong that the Nomenclature Act insisted that all German-sounding names be changed. It then became Peterborough and never changed back.

Today the town is a small service centre for the surrounding farms. It does have a number of interesting museums.

Things to see

Steamtown Peterborough Museum
It is entirely appropriate that one of the main attraction in an old railway town should be the old railway workshop with its displays of steam engines and carriages. Formed in 1977 Steamtown was created to run a steam train service between Peterborough and Quorn with rolling stock dating from 1920s. It runs from Peterborough and Euralia and Orroroo providing visitors with the experience of an old-style railway journey. For details and bookings contact (08) 8651 2847 after hours or, in business hours, contact (08) 8651 3566. This line was almost certainly closed down by increased public liability insurance payments. Check with the numbers above before contemplating a trip.

Ley's Museum
Located in Queen Street this museum features a display of dolls and collections of bottles, minerals and memorabilia.