Coonalpyn

About Coonalpyn

Coonalpyn is a small rural town in the Murray and Mallee region of South Australia, located approximately 143 kilometres south-east of Adelaide within the Coorong District Council local government area. The locality covers a large area of around 630 square kilometres of flat, semi-arid mallee and pastoral country at an elevation of approximately 22 metres. With a population of around 193 residents according to the 2021 Census, Coonalpyn is a quiet agricultural service town that has existed since its formal establishment in November 1909. The town sits in County Buccleuch and serves the surrounding farming communities of the lower Murraylands and Mallee.

Coonalpyn's economy and identity are strongly tied to broadacre farming — predominantly grain cropping and sheep grazing across the surrounding mallee plains. The town provides basic services to the surrounding rural district, and its position on the Dukes Highway offers reasonable road connections to Tailem Bend (61 kilometres north-west) and to the Victorian border. The Coorong National Park, a UNESCO Ramsar wetland of international significance, lies within the broader region and draws nature-based tourism to the area. The town has a primary school, a general store, and a pub — the essentials of a small Australian country town — with Murray Bridge and Tailem Bend providing more comprehensive services.

Coonalpyn falls under postcode 5265 and is governed by the local council Council (LGA). For state elections, residents vote in the Mackillop electorate.

Nearby Suburbs

• Field, SA 5265
• Bunbury, SA 5266
• Colebatch, SA 5266
• Coorong, SA 5264
• Deepwater, SA 5266
• Meningie, SA 5264