Yongala, South Australia

Yongala is a small town located in the state of South Australia, Australia. It has a population of approximately 240 people and is situated on the Clare-Peterborough Road (B79). The town was proclaimed on 23 May 1876 and within 5 years had a population of 353 as developers anticipated the connection of a railway. The railway instead went through the nearby town of Peterborough.Yongala is situated on a high plateau and winter snowfalls are common. The town holds several records for the lowest minimum temperature in South Australia.HistoryYongala was established as a hundred in the County of Dalhousie in 1871, one of the first of the 12 hundreds to be declared in that county. Land could be purchased in a hundred as soon as it had been declared.The SS Yongala launched in 1903 and owned by the Adelaide Steamship Company was named after the town. It sank in a storm in 1911 off the coast of Townsville, Queensland and its wreck site is protected by the Commonwealth Historic Shipwrecks Act 1976.ClimateYongala recorded a temperature of -8.2C on 20 July 1976. This is the coldest recorded temperature in South Australia. The town also holds the record low temperatures in South Australia for the months of May, June, August and September.