Percyton/Barunga Gap
Barunga Gap history
Barunga Gap is a small historic locality in South Australia, about 12 km south-west of Snowtown. Its history is closely connected with the Hummocks Range, pastoralism, wheat farming and the development of the railway between Kadina and the Mid North.
Before European settlement
The wider district is part of Nharangga/Narungga Country. The name Barunga is recorded with more than one interpretation. South Australian historical sources give Barunga as an Aboriginal word associated with “a place for meat,” while another interpretation connects it with the physical gap in the range. The latter is particularly associated with the geographical feature at Barunga Gap.
1860s–1870s: pastoral settlement
European pastoral activity expanded into the district during the 1860s. A major figure was Robert Barr Smith, who took over the Hummocks Run and arrived with surveyors in February 1870. His pastoral interests became an important factor in improving transport through the district.
The Barunga Gap itself was strategically important because it provided a route through the ranges between the agricultural country to the east and Kadina and Wallaroo to the west.
The road and railway
Transport was the big turning point.
A road through Barunga Gap toward Kadina was improved during the 1870s, with the first paved road completed around 1874. Then construction of a railway from Kadina towards Barunga Gap began in 1877. The line reached Barunga Gap in 1878 and officially opened in 1879.
Originally built as narrow gauge (3 ft 6 in), it was converted to broad gauge (5 ft 3 in) on August 1, 1927.
Barunga Gap.
"A party was formed at Kadina and travelled the track from thence to Mr. Michael's residence, where thirty farmers were assembled to meet them, and where also the hospitality of the owner of the homestead was made abundantly manifested.
According to our contemporary's report, they, one and all, protested that they wanted to get their wheat to Kadina or Wallaroo as directly as possible. They assured Messrs. Duncan arid Ross that there was not a farmer in the district who was not of that opinion.
Mr. Michael and others pointed to the immense flat stretching before them towards Wallaroo, all of which they said was excellent land, and would bring £2 per acre if put into the market, and trucks, laden with wheat, would run neariy the whole distance without any propelling power.
After arrival, a very excellent lunch, kindly provided by Mr. and Mrs. Michael, was partaken of by all the gentleman present, arid then it was resolved to visit the Gap. which was about a mile away. On the way thither the various wants of the locality were discussed. The great desideratum in the mind of everybody was. of course, the direct railway, and various instances were given of the increased cost the farmers would be put to if they had to send their wheat by any other route...
The Gap is place that there would not be the least difficulty in taking a railway over. The proposed terminus is half-a-mile away from it. But beyond it there is a vast stretch of land of the most fertile character, perfectly level, and clear from bush or timber with the exception of a few gum trees that mark the courses of the Creeks.
This is in the Hundred of Boucaut". and on it live the Messrs. Freebourne. one of whom had said he had 500 tons of wneat for export this year.
The farmers there say that the line should come direct to either Kadina or Wallaroo—which, neither they nor anyone in Kadina or Wallaroo care. They are also far-sighted enough to see that if it be carried through the Gap, into the flat country beyond, it must, in process of time, be taken North, where it, will, without difficulty, cut the line which is proposed from Port Augusta, and thus the one straight to Wallaroo, would ease the southern portion of some of its traffic.
This was particularly important for wheat, wool and other agricultural produce. Instead of relying on difficult overland transport to places such as Port Wakefield, farmers and graziers could move their produce by rail towards Wallaroo, where it could be shipped overseas."
Kadina loco Rx231 preserved
Percyton
The McCormack general store
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The Percyton township is top left of this map below:
The A1 Highway and train to Adelaide proceed centre-south of this map
Check out district views and locations here.
A township was surveyed at Barunga Gap in 1879. It was originally proclaimed Percyton on 15 January 1880. The name Barunga Gap was officially adopted in 1942.
Percyton was named by Governor Jervois probably after a friend of his John Percy and military officer. The town was surveyed and gazetted in January 1880 with 195 building lots.
In 1881 when a SA census was held Percyton had only a few residents. The town was divided by the Bute to Snowtown railway and railway reserve.
Then Michael McCormack built a general store and residence in 1882. He also erected a small Post Office in the town.
McCormack’s wife was the first teacher at the Percyton School when it opened in 1883 and she was the post mistress. A room on the McCormack house was used as the early school room. As late as 1921 it was recorded as having only five or six buildings.
There were two stone houses built as railway workers cottages, a small wooden boxlike railway station, the general store and the McCormack residence and the McCormack post office.
Schools and community
The area developed a small farming community, with the Barunga Gap school operating for many decades. Historical records also show schools at Barunga, Barunga East and Barunga North, reflecting the number of farming families scattered around the ranges and plains.
McCormack’s wife was the first teacher at the Percyton School when it opened in 1883 and she was the post mistress. A room on the McCormack house was used as the early school room.
The McCormack school room was replaced in 1908 with a stone government school in the “suburban lands” beyond the surrounding “parklands” and north of the railway.
The school had a classroom on the east, a central lunch room in the middle and on the west side was a stone tack room for the bridles etc.as all the students rode a jigger or trap to school. The girls had a galvanised iron toilet but the boys had a two cubicle stone toilet.
The school closed in 1947 as it only had five students in that year. Today all the remains are the ruins of the three stone rooms and the stone boys’ toilet.
Railway decline
Barunga Gap remained a railway station on the Kadina–Brinkworth line, linking the agricultural districts with the wider South Australian railway network. The railway eventually closed in the late 20th century, ending an important chapter in the district's history. Sources differ slightly on the exact closure date, with records placing it around 1990–1993. The railway siding closed in 1976 but the line was used for some years after that for grain trains to Wallaroo.
Barunga Gap today
The locality is now best known for its farming landscape and the dramatic Barunga/Hummocks ranges. The modern landscape also reflects a much newer form of infrastructure: wind turbines are prominent along the tops of the ranges.
One particularly interesting historical reminder is the Pioneers of Percyton monument, which commemorates the early settlers of the district and its original name.
This video concludes (@9 min) with the route through Barunga Gap, to Snowtown, and joins the (busy) main line.
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1870–1875 — the first farming families
A major change occurred after Robert Barr Smith arrived at the Hummocks Run with surveyors in February 1870. The pastoral country was progressively being divided and opened to smaller agricultural holdings.
One of the most significant early farming families was the Michael family.
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The Michael family
According to the Snowtown Museum's historical research, John Michael selected land near the Barunga Range in 1873. His original holding was about 250 hectares, on what had previously formed part of Hummocks Station. SSnowtown Museum+1
This makes the Michaels particularly interesting if you're tracing one of the district's earliest farming families.
Land records also show John Michael receiving land grants in the Hundred of Barunga in the 1880s, while Michael McCormack appears in land records associated with Kulpara and Percyton.
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1876–1879 — transport transforms the district
The Port Broughton–Barunga Range horse tramway opened on 11 March 1876. The road and railway developments then made the Gap increasingly important as a transport route. MManning IndexA railway from Kadina towards Barunga Gap was constructed during 1877–78. It gave local farmers and graziers access to Wallaroo, making it much easier to ship agricultural produce. MMonument Australia
For family research, this matters because people who appear in the records as farmers at Barunga, Hummocks or Percyton may have been connected economically to Kadina, Wallaroo and Port Broughton, rather than just Snowtown.
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1880 — Percyton is born
The township was surveyed in 1879 and officially proclaimed Percyton on 15 January 1880. The name was apparently chosen by Governor William Jervois, probably in honour of John Percy, an English military lecturer.
The original town plan contained 195 allotments, although the settlement remained very small. A description from the late 19th century paints a picture of a railway platform, a small station, railway cottages and only a handful of buildings among the surrounding hills. So don't expect a large "town" in historical records—the Percyton population was tiny. -
The McCormack family
The McCormacks are another particularly important family for reconstructing Percyton's history.
Michael McCormack
Around 1882, Michael McCormack established a general store and residence at Percyton and also operated a post office. FFlickr
The family became closely associated with the little township.
Most interestingly, McCormack's wife became the first teacher at the Percyton school, with an early classroom operating in a room of the McCormack residence. She also served as postmistress. FFlickr
Land records independently identify:
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Michael McCormack — farmer, Kulpara, with a land grant in 1879–80.
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Michael McCormack — Percyton, appearing in later land records.
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Michael Louis McCormack — farmer, Percyton, appearing in 20th-century land records.
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John Gerald McCormack — Percyton, with a township allotment grant in 1880. LLocalWiki
This suggests that several members of the McCormack family were involved in the district rather than there being only one McCormack household.
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1881 — the first cemetery records
The Percyton Cemetery, now generally called Barunga Gap/Percyton Cemetery, dates from 1881.
It is therefore one of the most valuable places to investigate if you're looking for families who lived around the Gap in the 1880s and 1890s.
The cemetery is located off the Bute–Snowtown Road. Snowtown Museum specifically identifies it as: Barunga Gap or Percyton Cemetery and provides burial-record research links.
The surviving cemetery history indicates that Michael and Mary McCormack were buried there in 1922 alongside four of their infant children.
That is a particularly poignant example of how the cemetery can reveal family relationships that aren't obvious from property records.
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1883 — Percyton School
There is a small discrepancy between sources concerning the school's opening date.
The South Australian place-name research records Percyton School as opening in 1883, while another historical compilation gives 1878. MManning Index+1
The more detailed local account says the school initially operated in the McCormack residence, with Mrs McCormack as teacher.
The school was eventually replaced by a purpose-built stone government school in 1908.
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1908 — the stone school
The new school was built in the "suburban lands" north of the railway.
The surviving description is unusually detailed. It consisted of:
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a classroom
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a central lunch room
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a stone tack room
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separate toilet facilities
Children commonly travelled to school by horse-drawn trap or jigger, which gives a wonderful glimpse into everyday family life in the district.
The school ultimately closed in 1947, when only five pupils remained.
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