Way back on 23 September 1878 when the railway line from Kapunda to Eudunda (and Morgan) was first opened there were dreams of what social, business and economic benefits it would mean to the local community.
Indeed the rail bought much prosperity to the region and all the towns along the line. The districts freight was moved almost entirely by rail with a train leaving daily and returning next day. Outbound it carried sawn mallee and stumps, charcoal, grain, milk, cream, eggs, flour (first bagged then bulk) from the Laucke Mill and fuel tanks from the foundry. Incoming freight delivered to Eudunda were water (during droughts), machinery, fertiliser, groceries, hardware, newspapers and library books. Livestock travelled both in and out of the station. It should be noted that Hampden was a very busy station too.
Of significance to us all and Australia in general is that local children’s author Colin Thiele AC would cycle daily from his farm over the bumpy, pot-hole roads to the Hampden Station to attend the High School at Kapunda and return in the dark.
Passenger services closed in 1968, with the Morgan line closing late 1969 and freight ceased in 1993 with the line dismantled shortly afterwards. The rail line was almost forgotten.
That was until the intrepid South Australian Recreation Trails Inc (SARTI) trail developers of the still being developed Lavender Federation Trail made it to Eudunda circa 2011. SARTI were developing a walking trail from Murray Bridge to Clare on the drier Eastern side of the Mt Lofty ranges, following an idea by Terry Lavender who was the architect of the Heysen Trail.
How things change over the years as, moving on 147 years later than the original opening and 32 years since the line closed the Eudunda community again dream of similar benefits with a completely different focus on how those benefits will be achieved, albeit on a smaller scale.
The new Rail Trail will be opened on April 11th 2026, with funding provided by the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts ‘Building Australia’ fund and additional funding and works by the Regional Council of Goyder.
This five kilometre rail trail now forms an important part of the Lavender Federation Walking Trail and the Lavender Cycling Trail which extend from Murray Bridge to Clare at distances of 325km and 300km respectively, by creating safe and easy access to the Northern end of Eudunda for walkers and cyclists. The Rail Trail is well placed to be accessible to locals wishing to get out and enjoy the country in peace and quiet, and is ideal for linking communities, creating access between Hampden and Eudunda and the New Sub-development on the North side of Eudunda all the way across town to the Eudunda Area School. The community are already talking about future uses of the trail such as park runs.
To celebrate the new trail the Eudunda Community, Business and Tourism Committee (ECBAT) has sourced funding from the Regional Council of Goyder Events Funds and along with the trail developers South Australian Recreation Trails Inc (SARTI) are putting on a ‘Grand Opening’ on Saturday the 11th April 2026 and wish to invite anyone interested to attend. Part of the funding is for a 6 seater Golf Car to provide free rides, preferring those who would like the experience but are no longer fit enough to walk or ride the trail. Bookings are essential for the Golf Car and longer cycling rides. There are shorter rides and walks that can be done without being in a group.
As well we plan to involve the young and have two short trails of appropriately 1km and 2km and we encourage the children to dress their bikes up for the event (prize for the best one).
More information can be found at sarti.au/eudunda-railtrail