Crystal Brook, South Australia

Crystal Brook is a town in South Australia, named after the spring-fed creek next to which it was founded. It is 197km north of Adelaide and in 2006 had a population of 1,185.Crystal Brook is situated on Goyder's Line near the border of two climate systems. While apparently cold semi-arid, the town benefits from a temperate mediterranean climate zone near to the east, making possible slightly more intense farming in the region. To the west and north-west lies some marginal, semi-arid farmland. The local farming community still supports many small businesses in the town.HistoryLocal governmentThe District Council of Crystal Brook was established in 1882. It amalgamated with the District Council of Redhill in 1988 to form the District Council of Crystal Brook-Redhill which continued to be seated at Crystal Brook. From 1997 Crystal Brook has been locally governed by the Port Pirie Regional Council following a merger between Crystal Brook-Redhill and the Port Pirie City councils.Military HistoryDuring World War 2, Crystal Brook was the location of RAAF No.31 Inland Aircraft Fuel Depot (IAFD), built in 1942 and closed on 14 June 1944. Usually consisting of 4 tanks, 31 fuel depots were built across Australia for the storage and supply of aircraft fuel for the RAAF and the US Army Air Forces at a total cost of £900,000 ($1,800,000).