Warooka

Warooka is thought to mean 'muddy waterhole.' The site of the township of Warooka was originally farmland owned by Nicholas Player jr. A township sprang up here amongst the pastoral properties in the 1870s, with a post office in existence from 1874. By 1885 the town had a population of 400. A Methodist Church was opened in 1874, and this housed the public school  from 1879 until 1882.

A jetty at nearby Point Turton was petitioned for in 1874, and when completed in October 1877 was just over 90 metres long. It was needed for the export of the locally grown grain, as well as the convenient shipping of goods for Warooka. 

The Norwegian barque Ethel was stranded at the bottom of Yorke Peninsula near Warooka during a ferocious storm in January 1904. The only life lost was that of a sailor Leonard Stenersen, who drowned while attempting to secure a line to the shore. The ship was successfully refloated in May, but almost immediately an unexpected gale blew up, washing the ship back onto the shore, and causing the hull to crack. The remains of the Ethel can still be seen today.

Further reading: Souvenir booklet to commemorate the 75th year of local government in the Warooka district: celebrations held from Friday, 30th August to Sunday, 1st September, 1963 [Warooka, S. Aust.: The Council?, 1963?];

Warooka Primary School Centenary Committee, Warooka Primary School 1879-1979, centenary 'Mallee fowl', Yorketown (S. Aust.): Pioneer Print, 1979

Warooka Historical Committee West of the Peesey: an account of a community: Warooka, Corny Point, Stenhouse Bay Warooka, S. Aust.: Warooka Historical Committee, 1976