{{other uses|Oodnadatta (disambiguation) {{!}}Oodnadatta}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}} {{Use Australian English|date=March 2013}} {{Infobox Australian place | type = town | name = Oodnadatta | state = SA | image = The-Pink-Roadhouse-Oodnadatta.JPG | caption = The Pink Roadhouse at Oodnadatta | image_alt = | relief = | coordinates = {{coord|27.54811|S|135.445432|E|format=dms|display=inline,title}} | coord_ref = <ref name=LMV>{{cite web|title= Search results for 'Oodnadatta, LOCB' with the following datasets: 'Suburbs and Localities', 'Counties', 'Government Towns', 'Local Government Areas', 'SA Government Regions' and 'Gazetteer' |url=http://location.sa.gov.au/viewer/?map=roads&x=135.47497&y=-27.54678&z=12&uids=19,2,115,11,20,105&pinx=135.446730&piny=-27.546650&pinTitle=Location&pinText=Oodnadatta,+Locb |website=Location SA Map Viewer |publisher=Government of South Australian Government |access-date=13 May 2018}}</ref> | pushpin_label_position = | map_alt = | pop = <!--leave blank to draw the latest automatically from Wikidata--> | poprank = | density = | density_footnotes = | established = 30 October 1890 (town)<br/>8 February 2001 (locality) | established_footnotes = <ref name="SAGG-1890">{{cite web|last1=Bray|first1=J.C.|title=Untitled proclamation (Town of Oodnadatta)|url=http://www9.austlii.edu.au/au/other/sa_gazette/1890/49/1068.pdf|website=The South Australian Government Gazette|publisher=South Australian Government|access-date=13 May 2018|page=1068|date=30 October 1890|archive-date=10 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191210044859/http://www9.austlii.edu.au/au/other/sa_gazette/1890/49/1068.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name=LMV/> | abolished = | gazetted = | postcode = 5734<ref name=postcode>{{cite web|title= Postcode for Oodnadatta, South Australia|url= https://postcodes-australia.com/areas/sa/country+south+australia/oodnadatta | publisher=Postcodes Australia|access-date=13 May 2018}}</ref> | elevation = 121 | elevation_footnotes = (railway station)<ref name=LMV-RSTA>{{cite web|title= Search results for 'Oodnadatta Railway Station' with the following datasets selected – 'Suburbs and Localities', 'Government Towns' and 'Gazetteer' |url=http://location.sa.gov.au/viewer/?map=roads&x=135.44817&y=-27.54886&z=15&uids=19,2,115,11,20,105&pinx=135.447710&piny=-27.545880&pinTitle=Location&pinText=Oodnadatta+Railway+Station,+Rsta |website=Location SA Map Viewer |publisher=Government of South Australian Government |access-date=13 May 2018}}</ref> | area = | area_footnotes = | timezone = ACST | utc = +9:30 | timezone-dst = ACST | utc-dst = +10:30 | dist1 = 873 | dir1 = N | location1 = Adelaide | dist2 = 544 | dir2 = N | location2 = Port Augusta | dist3 = 181 | dir3 = NW | location3 = Coober Pedy | lga = Pastoral Unincorporated Area<ref name=LMV/> | region = Far North<ref name=LMV/> | county = | stategov = Giles<ref name= ECSA >{{cite web|title=District of Giles Background Profile|url= https://www.ecsa.sa.gov.au/electoral-districts/electoral-district-profiles?view=article&id=831:giles |publisher=Electoral Commission SA|access-date=12 February 2018}}</ref> | fedgov = Grey<ref name=AEC>{{cite web|title=Federal electoral division of Grey |url=http://www.aec.gov.au/profiles/sa/files/2011/2011-aec-a4-map-sa-grey.pdf |publisher=Australian Electoral Commission|access-date=12 February 2018}}</ref> | maxtemp = 29.2 | maxtemp_footnotes = <ref name=climate>{{cite web |url = http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/averages/tables/cw_017043_All.shtml |title = Oodnadatta Airport Climate Statistics (1939-2024) |publisher = Bureau of Meteorology |access-date = August 18, 2024}} </ref> | mintemp = 14.7 | mintemp_footnotes = <ref name=climate/> | rainfall = 171.8 | rainfall_footnotes = <ref name=climate/> | near-n = Todmorden | near-ne = Allandale Station | near-e = Allandale Station | near-se = Allandale Station | near-s = Allandale Station | near-sw = Allandale Station | near-w = Todmorden | near-nw = Todmorden | near = Oodnadatta | footnotes = Locations<ref name=LMV/><ref name=postcode/><br/>Adjoining localities<ref name=LMV/> }} thumb|Oodnadatta railway station during World War II '''Oodnadatta''' is a small, remote outback town and locality in the Australian state of South Australia, located {{convert|1043|km|mi|abbr=off|comma=off}} north-north-west of the state capital of Adelaide by road or {{convert|873|km|mi|abbr=on}} direct, at an altitude of {{convert|112|m|ft|abbr=off}}. The unsealed Oodnadatta Track, an outback road popular with tourists, runs through the town.
Town facilities include a hotel, caravan park, post office, general stores, police station, hospital, fuel and minor mechanical repairs. The old railway station now serves as a museum. From the 1880s to the 1930s, Oodnadatta was a base for camel drivers and their animals, which provided cartage when the railway was under construction and along outback tracks before roads were established.<ref name = NRMA/>
After the railway line was lifted, Oodnadatta's role changed from that of a government service centre and supply depot for surrounding pastoral properties to a residential freehold town for Aboriginal families who, moving from cattle work, bought empty houses as their railway employee occupants left.<ref name = NRMA/>
==Origin of name== Two meanings of the name are recorded. One derives from the Aboriginal word ''utnadata'', meaning "yellow blossom of the mulga".<ref>{{cite web|title=A compendium of the place names of South Australia |url=https://published.collections.slsa.sa.gov.au/placenamesofsouthaustralia/ |last=Manning |first=Geoffrey H. |date=2012 |website=The State Library of South Australia |access-date=21 August 2022 }}</ref> However, mulga trees do not grow anywhere near the town. The alternative meaning is ''coodnadatta'' or ''kudnadatta'', meaning "dead man's poo": the first two syllables encompass "rotten" or "excreta" and the second two refer to "there".<ref>{{cite book|title=Horrie Simpson's Oodnadatta |first=Horrie |last=Simpson |date=1990 |location=Oodnadatta |publisher=Oodnadatta Progress Association |isbn=0731692047}}</ref>{{rp|2}}{{spaces|thin}}<ref name=Wilson>{{cite book|last= Wilson |first= John |editor-last= Dallwitz|editor-first=John |date= 2021 |title= The train to Oodna-Woop-Woop: a social history of the Afghan Express |location= Banksia Park, South Australia |publisher= Sarlines Railway Books |isbn= 9780646842844 }}</ref>{{rp|154}}
== History == {{see also|Oodnadatta Track}} For tens of thousands of years, Aboriginal tribes visited the place where Oodnadatta is located as a reliable source of water on their trade route; there was no settlement at Oodnadatta itself.<ref name=AGiles80>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article58566067 |title=Alfred Giles – enjoying life at 80 |newspaper=The Mail |location=Adelaide |date=22 September 1928 |access-date=30 January 2013 |page=3 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> John McDouall Stuart explored the region in 1859. His route was generally followed by the surveyors of the Overland Telegraph Line, completed in 1872. Alfred Giles referred to a place called the Yellow Waterhole, or Angle Pole, later known as Hookey's Waterhole and The Peake, near Oodnadatta.<ref name=AGiles80/> The course chosen for the Central Australia Railway likewise followed the route because a water supply was essential for steam locomotives. From 1891, Oodnadatta was an important station on the railway until the line closed in 1981, to be replaced in 2004 by the Adelaide–Darwin rail corridor about {{convert|160|km|mi|-1|abbr=on}} to the west.<ref name=SMH>{{cite web|url=https://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/oodnadatta-20040208-gdkqki.html|work=The Sydney Morning Herald|title=Oodnadatta|date=8 February 2004|access-date=29 May 2019}}</ref>
===Telegraphs, camels and railways=== Angle Pole ({{coord|27.50363071|S|135.41585261|E|format=dms|display=inline}}) is the point near Oodnadatta where the direction of the telegraph line changed to a more northerly direction.<ref>[http://www.exploroz.com/Places/77748/SA/The_Angle_Pole_Memorial.aspx The Angle Pole Memorial SA<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> It is near the Peake cattle station,<ref name=WA>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article13714154 |title=Railway construction in Western Australia |newspaper=The Sydney Morning Herald |date=14 February 1889 |access-date=28 December 2012 |page=7 |publisher=National Library of Australia}}</ref><ref name=PropertyBrowser>{{cite web |title=Search result for "Angle Pole" (Record No. SA0001492) |url=http://maps.sa.gov.au/plb/ |publisher=Department of Planning Transport and infrastructure |access-date=29 October 2015 |date=1 July 2004 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161012010923/http://maps.sa.gov.au/plb/ |archive-date=12 October 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref> also known as "The Peake", or Freeling Springs.<ref name=AGiles80/> The ruins of Peake telegraph station exist on the station today.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.friendsofmoundsprings.org.au/featured-mound/freeling-springs-the-peake/|website=Friends of Mound Springs|title=Freeling Springs (The Peake)|access-date=28 May 2019}}</ref> Alfred Giles refers to his only meeting with the explorer Ernest Giles (no relation) at "the Peake" in the 1870s.<ref name=AGiles80/>
By the 1880s the telegraph route was being used by camel trains, many led by "Afghan" cameleers (actually from many different places in the Indian subcontinent), or''{{'}}Ghans'', as they became known, who were brought to Australia for the task of hauling goods into Central Australia for pioneer settlers.<ref name=SAHAfghan>{{cite web|website=South Australian History|url=https://www.southaustralianhistory.com.au/afghans.htm|title=The Afghan Camelmen|access-date=29 May 2019}}</ref> Many of the cameleers settled in Oodnadatta and Marree, some with families and some marrying, mainly Aboriginal women.<ref name=monument>{{cite web|url=https://monumentaustralia.org.au/themes/landscape/settlement/display/111068-pioneer-memorial|title=Pioneer Memorial|website=Monuments Australia|access-date=29 May 2019}}</ref>
In the 1880s, Angle Pole was identified as the proposed terminus for the extension of the Great Northern Railway. When the railway was built, a town was established here, and in October 1890 was proclaimed a government township and renamed Oodnadatta.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article91275396 |title=Public works and railways.|newspaper=South Australian Chronicle |volume=XXXII |issue=1,637 |location=South Australia |date=4 January 1890 |access-date=22 March 2017 |page=9 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref><ref>''Great Northern to Government Gums – A Mineral Railway'' Callaghan, W.H. Australian Railway History, September;October, 2008 pp283-301;323-336</ref>
In 1889, Angle Pole was also proposed as the south-eastern terminus of a land grant railway from Roebuck Bay in Western Australia. This railway was proposed by a London syndicate and would have been about 1000 miles (1600 km) long, with the wider {{RailGauge|1600mm}} gauge. However this was never built.<ref name=WA/><ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article47054302 |title=Another railway syndicate|newspaper=South Australian Register |location=Adelaide |date=14 February 1889 |access-date=29 May 2019|page=6 |publisher=National Library of Australia}}</ref>
The town remained the terminus of the Great Northern Railway until the line was extended to Alice Springs in 1929 and the railway's name was changed to the Central Australia Railway. The railway was built with narrow gauge ({{RailGauge|1067mm}}) tracks, and train traffic was frequently disrupted by washouts and other damage to the trackbed, leading to a slow and unreliable service. The railway through Oodnadatta was closed and a new standard gauge line was built to the west, bypassing Oodnadatta, and opening in October 1980.<ref name=Tregaskis>{{cite news|first=Moana |last=Tregaskis|title=On the 2 pm from Adelaide to Alice |date=16 September 1990|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0CE2DE1F3CF935A2575AC0A966958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=print|work=The New York Times|access-date=27 January 2008}}</ref>
===World War II=== Oodnadatta's busiest era was World War II when the Australian Army and the Royal Australian Air Force set up local facilities to service troop trains and aircraft en route to Darwin.{{citation needed|date=May 2019}}
===21st century=== Tourist traffic along the Oodnadatta Track and the mining industry keep the village alive. The Aboriginal school is the biggest employer.<ref name = NRMA/>
In 2018, the federal government announced a major upgrade to the Track, to better serve both the tourists and truck drivers on this major freight and cattle transport route.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://minister.infrastructure.gov.au/joyce/releases/2018/january/bj003_2018.aspx|website=Australian Government. Dept of Infrastructure|title=Upgrades for critical road links in outback South Australia|access-date=29 May 2019}}</ref>
In 2023, a reverse osmosis water desalination plant was installed in the town, giving it access to treated drinking tap water for the first time. The town's drinking water supply was previously untreated groundwater from the Great Artesian Basin, which the state government warned residents to avoid as early as the 1980s due to the risk of the rare life-threatening brain infection primary amoebic meningoencephalitis.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-08-20/sa-something-in-the-water/102683128|title=Something in the Water|first=Stephanie|last=Richards|publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation|date=20 August 2023|access-date=20 August 2023}}</ref>
== Access, facilities, attractions == thumb|Oodnadatta Track sign thumb|Canoe hire
Oodnadatta can be reached by an unsealed road from Coober Pedy or via the unsealed Oodnadatta Track from Marree to Marla or from the north via Finke/Aputula, NT (on the "Old Ghan Heritage Trail").<ref name=NRMA>{{cite web|url = http://www.mynrma.com.au/cps/rde/xchg/mynrma/hs.xsl/oodnadatta_track.htm|title = Outback: the Oodnadatta Track|publisher = National Roads and Motorists' Association (NRMA)|access-date = 2008-06-24|url-status = dead|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080806034533/http://www.mynrma.com.au/cps/rde/xchg/mynrma/hs.xsl/oodnadatta_track.htm|archive-date = 6 August 2008}}</ref>
The Pink Roadhouse (so-called because it is painted bright pink) provides petrol, a general store, meals, a variety of accommodation, and post office facilities.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.pinkroadhouse.com.au/|website=The Pink Roadhouse|title=Are you up for it?|access-date=29 May 2019}}</ref> The Transcontinental Hotel, built in the 1890s, is on the same side of the road, as is the caravan park.<ref name=SMH/><ref name=SAHOodnatown>{{cite web|website=South Australian History|url=https://www.southaustralianhistory.com.au/oodnadattatown.htm|title=Oodnadatta|access-date=29 April 2019}}</ref>
Oodnadatta is serviced twice weekly by the Coober Pedy Oodnadatta One Day Mail Run. The OKA mail truck also carries some general freight and passengers.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.desertdiversity.com/mail.htm | title=Coober Pedy Oodnadatta One Day Mail Run | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060503153324/http://www.desertdiversity.com/mail.htm | archive-date=3 May 2006 }}</ref>
The {{convert|1290|m|yd|abbr=off|comma=off}} air strip adjacent to the town, originally built during World War II,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ozatwar.com/airfields.htm|website=Oz at war|title=Military airfields in Australia and the Western Pacific area during World War 2|access-date=29 May 2019}}</ref> has a sealed surface.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.infrastructure.gov.au/infrastructure-transport-vehicles/aviation/regional-remote-aviation/remote-airstrip-upgrade/round-6|website=Australian Government Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts|title=Remote Airstrip Upgrade Program Round 6 – Approved Projects|access-date=21 August 2022}}</ref>
===Historic buildings=== The historic Oodnadatta railway station, now a museum, is listed on the South Australian Heritage Register.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://apps.planning.sa.gov.au/HeritageSearch/HeritageItem.aspx?p_heritageno=11 | title=Museum (former Oodnadatta Railway Complex, including Station/Residence, Goods Shed and Crane) | publisher=Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources | work=South Australian Heritage Register | access-date=12 February 2016}}</ref>
==Oodnadatta Aboriginal School== The Oodnadatta Aboriginal School, located in Kutaya Terrace, is a school operated by the Government of South Australia offering education from Reception to Year 12. In 2018, the school had a total enrolment of 14 students, of whom 86% were indigenous, and a teaching staff of three.<ref name=acara-oodnadatta>{{Citation | title= Oodnadatta Aboriginal School, Oodnadatta, SA| website=My School | publisher= Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) | url= https://www.myschool.edu.au/school/49265 |access-date=11 August 2019 }}</ref><ref name=oas>{{Citation | title= Contact |website=Oodnadatta Aboriginal School | publisher= Government of South Australia |url= http://www.oodnadattaab.sa.edu.au/contact/ |access-date=11 August 2019 }}</ref>
== Climate == Oodnadatta has a hot desert climate (Köppen: BWh), with extremely hot summers and mild winters.<ref name=Peel>{{cite journal | author=Peel, M. C. and Finlayson, B. L. and McMahon, T. A. | year=2007 | title= Updated world map of the Köppen–Geiger climate classification | journal=Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. | volume=11 | issue=5 | pages=1636 & 1642 |doi=10.5194/hess-11-1633-2007 | bibcode=2007HESS...11.1633P | url=https://www.hydrol-earth-syst-sci.net/11/1633/2007/hess-11-1633-2007.pdf | issn = 1027-5606| doi-access=free }}</ref> The town's position in the Outback causes large seasonal variation. Average maxima vary from {{convert|38.0|C}} in January to {{convert|19.8|C}} in July while average minima fluctuate between {{convert|23.2|C}} in January and {{convert|5.9|C}} in July.<ref>{{cite web |url = https://www.farmonlineweather.com.au/climate/station.jsp?lt=site&lc=17043 |title = Oodnadatta Airport Climate (1939-2024) |website = FarmOnline Weather |access-date = August 18, 2024}}</ref> Mean average annual precipitation is very low: {{convert|171.8|mm|in|abbr=on}}, spread between 34.4 precipitation days. The town is very sunny, with 182.5 clear days and only 59.1 cloudy days per annum. There is a large sign in Oodnadatta claiming the town is "The driest town, the driest state of the driest Continent".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/national/too-hot-to-refuel-as-town-bakes/story-fncz7kyc-1226549873359|title=Too Hot to Refuel as Town Bakes|publisher=Adelaide Now |date=9 January 2013|access-date=9 January 2013}}</ref>
Extreme temperatures have ranged from {{convert|-4.0|C}} on 16 July 1979 to {{convert| 50.7|C}} on 2 January 1960, the highest reliably measured maximum temperature in Australia.<ref name="NCDC">[http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/climate/globalextremes.html Global Measured Extremes of Temperature and Precipitation.] {{Webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20120525195312/http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/climate/globalextremes.html |date=25 May 2012 }} National Climatic Data Center. Retrieved 21 June 2007.</ref><ref name="BoMExtremes">{{cite web | title = Australian Temperature Extremes | publisher = Bureau of Meteorology | date = 1 April 2009 | url = http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/extreme/records/national.pdf | access-date = 16 December 2009 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20101110130846/http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/extreme/records/national.pdf | archive-date = 10 November 2010 | url-status = live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://reg.bom.gov.au/announcements/media_releases/highesttemp.shtml |title=50.5 °C – W.A.'s Highest Ever Temperature |publisher=Bureau of Meteorology |date=20 February 1998 |access-date=12 July 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110706121643/http://reg.bom.gov.au/announcements/media_releases/highesttemp.shtml |archive-date=6 July 2011 |url-status=live }}</ref> The {{convert| 50.7|C}} temperature on 2 January 1960 was also the highest temperature ever recorded in the Southern Hemisphere.<ref>https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-01-17/is-climate-change-behind-record-breaking/13708420</ref> These records stood unequalled until 13 January 2022, when a temperature of 50.7 °C (123.3 °F) was measured in Onslow, Western Australia, thus equalling Oodnadatta's record.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2022-01-13|title=Australia matches its hottest day on record as Western Australia town goes above 50C|url=https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/jan/13/hottest-day-on-record-in-parts-of-western-australia-as-temperature-reaches-50c|access-date=2022-01-13|website=The Guardian|language=en}}</ref><ref name="ABC">{{cite web |last1=Birch |first1=Laura |title=Onslow in the Pilbara reaches 50.7C, equalling Australia's hottest day on record |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-01-13/onslow-in-the-pilbara-equals-australias-hottest-day-on-record/100754082 |website=ABC News |access-date=13 January 2022 |date=13 January 2022}}</ref><ref name="Ignatius">{{cite news |title=Australia equals hottest day on record at 50.7C |work=BBC News |date=13 January 2022 |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-59977193 |access-date=13 January 2022}}</ref> A higher temperature was recorded at Cloncurry in 1889; however, this has since been shown to have been recorded in a non-standard enclosure and likely to have been considerably cooler than first believed.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.abc.net.au/am/content/2003/s1015670.htm|title=Queensland to bake on Christmas Day|publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation|work=AM|date=24 December 2003|access-date=17 November 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091104034004/http://www.abc.net.au/am/content/2003/s1015670.htm|archive-date=4 November 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last=Trewin|first=Blair|date=December 1997|title=Another look at Australia's record high temperature|journal=Australian Meteorological Magazine|volume=46|issue=4|pages=251–256|url=http://www.bom.gov.au/jshess/docs/1997/trewin.pdf}}</ref>
{{Weather box |location = Oodnadatta (27º39'36"S, 135º27'00"E, 117 m AMSL) (1939-2024 normals and extremes) |metric first = Yes |single line = Yes |Jan record high C = 50.7 |Feb record high C = 48.7 |Mar record high C = 46.1 |Apr record high C = 42.1 |May record high C = 35.0 |Jun record high C = 32.8 |Jul record high C = 32.2 |Aug record high C = 39.4 |Sep record high C = 40.7 |Oct record high C = 45.4 |Nov record high C = 47.4 |Dec record high C = 48.4 |Jan high C = 38.0 |Feb high C = 36.7 |Mar high C = 33.9 |Apr high C = 28.6 |May high C = 23.3 |Jun high C = 19.9 |Jul high C = 19.8 |Aug high C = 22.3 |Sep high C = 26.8 |Oct high C = 30.5 |Nov high C = 33.8 |Dec high C = 36.5 |Jan low C = 23.2 |Feb low C = 22.4 |Mar low C = 19.4 |Apr low C = 14.5 |May low C = 9.8 |Jun low C = 6.5 |Jul low C = 5.9 |Aug low C = 7.5 |Sep low C = 11.6 |Oct low C = 15.2 |Nov low C = 18.7 |Dec low C = 21.4 |Jan record low C = 11.7 |Feb record low C = 12.8 |Mar record low C = 9.5 |Apr record low C = 3.8 |May record low C = 0.9 |Jun record low C = -2.6 |Jul record low C = -2.2 |Aug record low C = -0.3 |Sep record low C = 2.2 |Oct record low C = 5.1 |Nov record low C = 9.6 |Dec record low C = 11.3 |Jan precipitation mm = 24.1 |Feb precipitation mm = 29.4 |Mar precipitation mm = 13.8 |Apr precipitation mm = 11.1 |May precipitation mm = 11.8 |Jun precipitation mm = 11.7 |Jul precipitation mm = 8.9 |Aug precipitation mm = 8.0 |Sep precipitation mm = 10.0 |Oct precipitation mm = 13.4 |Nov precipitation mm = 12.8 |Dec precipitation mm = 16.9 |year precipitation mm = 171.8 |unit precipitation days = 0.2 mm |Jan precipitation days = 3.1 |Feb precipitation days = 2.6 |Mar precipitation days = 2.4 |Apr precipitation days = 2.3 |May precipitation days = 2.6 |Jun precipitation days = 3.2 |Jul precipitation days = 2.4 |Aug precipitation days = 2.4 |Sep precipitation days = 2.6 |Oct precipitation days = 3.6 |Nov precipitation days = 3.7 |Dec precipitation days = 3.5 |Jan afthumidity = 20 |Feb afthumidity = 23 |Mar afthumidity = 22 |Apr afthumidity = 25 |May afthumidity = 32 |Jun afthumidity = 37 |Jul afthumidity = 34 |Aug afthumidity = 28 |Sep afthumidity = 23 |Oct afthumidity = 19 |Nov afthumidity = 18 |Dec afthumidity = 18 |Jan dew point C = 7.0 |Feb dew point C = 8.2 |Mar dew point C = 6.4 |Apr dew point C = 4.9 |May dew point C = 4.3 |Jun dew point C = 3.5 |Jul dew point C = 2.0 |Aug dew point C = 0.9 |Sep dew point C = 1.1 |Oct dew point C = 1.2 |Nov dew point C = 2.9 |Dec dew point C = 4.7 |Jan sun = 337.9 |Feb sun = 296.6 |Mar sun = 313.1 |Apr sun = 273.0 |May sun = 244.9 |Jun sun = 231.0 |Jul sun = 254.2 |Aug sun = 275.9 |Sep sun = 291.0 |Oct sun = 316.2 |Nov sun = 321.0 |Dec sun = 341.0 |Jan percentsun = 80 |Feb percentsun = 81 |Mar percentsun = 83 |Apr percentsun = 80 |May percentsun = 73 |Jun percentsun = 74 |Jul percentsun = 77 |Aug percentsun = 80 |Sep percentsun = 81 |Oct percentsun = 80 |Nov percentsun = 79 |Dec percentsun = 79 |source 1 = Bureau of Meteorology (1939-2024 normals and extremes)<ref name=climate/> }}
==Governance== Oodnadatta is located within the federal Division of Grey, the state electoral district of Stuart, the Pastoral Unincorporated Area of South Australia and the state's Far North region.<ref>{{cite web|title=Electoral district profiles - Stuart |url=https://www.ecsa.sa.gov.au/electoral-districts/electoral-district-profiles?view=article&id=855:stuart |publisher=Electoral Commission SA|accessdate=18 July 2019 }}</ref><ref name=AEC/><ref>{{cite web|title=Far North SA government region|url=http://www.sa.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0020/6905/Far_North_SA_Government_region.pdf|publisher=The Government of South Australia|access-date=16 August 2015}}</ref><ref name="LMV"/> In the absence of a local government authority, the community in Oodnadatta receives municipal services from a state government agency, the Outback Communities Authority.<ref name=OCA>{{cite web|title=Communities (serviced by the Outback Communities Authority) |url=http://www.oca.sa.gov.au/?q=communitieshome |publisher=Outback Communities Authority |accessdate=23 September 2016 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160302074648/http://www.oca.sa.gov.au/?q=communitieshome |archivedate=2 March 2016 }}</ref>
==Oodnadatta on Mars== The name Oodnadatta has been used as a name for a crater on the planet Mars.<ref>[https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Page/Categories Categories for Naming Features on Planets and Satellites], Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature, USGS Astrogeology Science Center, NASA</ref>
==People== *John Tackaberry, a writer on the top-rated Jack Benny Show for over a decade, and also the co-writer of the 1946 hit single "Pickle In The Middle", spent his childhood in Oodnadatta.
==See also== * List of extreme temperatures in Australia
==References== ===Notes=== {{notelist}}
===Citations=== {{reflist}}
==Further reading== *[https://www.southaustralianhistory.com.au/oodnadattatown.htm Oodnadatta] (on Flinders Ranges Research) * [http://www.aussietowns.com.au/town/oodnadatta-sa Oodnadatta] (Aussie Towns) * [http://travography.com/oodnatrack/index.html Tracking History to Oodnadatta] by Roderick Eime * [http://www.chapelhill.homeip.net/FamilyHistory/Photos/Oodnadatta_pioneer-SA/ Oodnadatta Pioneer Cemetery] with photos of headstones
==External links== {{Wikivoyage}}
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Category:Towns in South Australia Category:Aboriginal communities in South Australia Category:Far North (South Australia) Category:Places in the unincorporated areas of South Australia