Keith SA: what to see, where to stay and how to get around

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For a century travellers crossed this country as fast as they could: the Ninety Mile Desert, sand and low scrub between Adelaide and the Victorian border, where sheep wasted away and crops failed. In the 1940s scientists found what was missing, and from 1949 an insurance company turned it into farms. Keith is the town that grew from that, and its monuments tell the story. Allow an hour in town and a short drive south; add Ngarkat if you want to see the country as it was.

A short history of Keith SA

Keith is a small town in South Australia, on the main road between Adelaide and Melbourne. The land around it was once called the Ninety Mile Desert, because the sandy soil grew almost nothing. In the 1940s Australian scientists discovered that the soil lacked tiny amounts of copper and zinc, and that adding them made it possible to grow pasture. After the Second World War the insurance company AMP developed thousands of blocks in the area and set up farms on them, and the desert became a farming district.

The ten best sights in Keith SA

1
AMP Pioneers Memorial
The story of how this "desert" became farms, told on boards by the highway
2
Keith 1910 Congregational Church
The town's old church, now a small museum; ask at the information boards for hours
3
Keith Early Settler’s Cottage
A pioneer cottage on the edge of town; a ten-minute stop
4
Wiles Hut
An early settler's hut moved beside the highway memorials
5
Guido van Helten: Silo Mural
Giant portraits of local children on the silos at Coonalpyn, an hour west
6
Land Rover on a pole
The town's landmark, a Land Rover raised on a pole beside the highway
7
Mount Monster Conservation Park
A granite hill in the scrub, 15 minutes south; a short climb for the view
8
Ngarkat Conservation Park
A vast block of uncleared mallee-heath, 45 minutes north; walks from the picnic areas
9
Albino Kangaroos
White kangaroos in a small park in Bordertown, free and five minutes from the highway
10
Poocher Swamp
A wetland rest area west of Bordertown; birds in a wet winter

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What is an audio walk?

Tours in Keith SA →

A guide in your headphones: open the walk on our site, walk from stop to stop, and at each one your phone tells its story. No guide, no group, and free. This is the first walk in Keith SA:

Free walking tours in Keith SA

The desert that became farms

Keith Early Settler’s Cottage · The first settlers here ran sheep that sickened and died of what was called coast disease. In the 1930s researchers traced it to soils lacking tiny amounts of cobalt and copper, the first clue that the desert was not barren but hungry.
Land Rover on a pole · In the 1940s field trials near Keith showed that adding a few kilograms of copper and zinc per hectare, with superphosphate, made clover and pasture grow on sand that had refused everything. The Land Rover stands for the crews who then cleared and sowed the land.
AMP Pioneers Memorial · From 1949 the AMP Society, an insurance company, financed the clearing and fencing of hundreds of thousands of hectares and sold the finished farms to young settlers. Few private schemes anywhere changed so much land so quickly.
Keith 1910 Congregational Church · The church was built in 1910, when Keith was little more than a stop on the Adelaide–Melbourne railway among a few struggling farms. It now keeps the town's history, from the railway siding to the farming boom of the 1950s.
Mount Monster Conservation Park · The granite of Mount Monster is one of the few outcrops of hard rock in a landscape of sand. Its small park keeps a patch of the original scrub, and from the top you see the edge where it stops and the green paddocks begin.
Ngarkat Conservation Park · Ngarkat and its neighbouring parks, together with Victoria's Big Desert across the border, form one of the largest blocks of uncleared mallee in Australia. This is what the Ninety Mile Desert looked like before 1949.

Bordertown and the Tatiara

East of Keith the highway runs through the Tatiara, older farming country with red gums along the creeks, to Bordertown near the Victorian line. The town began as a police post on the gold road, and it is also the birthplace of a prime minister. Turn south at the end for the vineyards of Padthaway. About 150 km as a loop, all sealed; the wineries close in the late afternoon.

Poocher Swamp · The swamp is fed by Tatiara Creek, which never reaches the sea: like much of the water in this region it spreads into wetlands and sinks into the limestone below. In wet winters it fills and draws waterbirds.
Bordertown Station · Bordertown was founded in 1852 as a post for the gold escort, the armed police convoy that carried South Australian miners' gold home from the Victorian diggings. The escort was led by Inspector Alexander Tolmer, and the route ran right through here.
Bordertown Civic Centre · Bob Hawke, prime minister from 1983 to 1991, was born in Bordertown in 1929, where his father was the Congregational minister. The family left when he was a small boy, but the town claims him proudly.
Albino Kangaroos · The white kangaroos are western greys carrying a rare gene for albinism, and the park has bred them for years. In the wild such an animal rarely survives, because it cannot hide from predators.
Old Mundulla Hotel · Mundulla is a village of stone buildings a few minutes off the highway, from the years when the Tatiara was sheep-station country. Its old hotel is the centre of the village and a quieter place to eat than Bordertown.
Padthaway Estate · Vines came to Padthaway only in the 1960s, when the wine company Seppelt planted here, looking for cheap land with water close under the surface. The district now grows grapes for many of the big South Australian labels.

West to the silos

West of Keith the highway crosses more of the old desert, now farms with blocks of scrub left between them, on the way towards Adelaide. This drive goes out to the painted silos of Coonalpyn and back, stopping in two small parks and two highway towns. It is about 130 km return. Spring is the time for the parks, when the heath flowers; in summer, go early and carry water.

Tintinara · Tintinara grew on the railway like Keith, and it too was transformed when the trace-element farms spread across the desert after the war. It is the town halfway between Keith and Coonalpyn, with the pub and the fuel stop.
Tintinara Hotel · Like most South Australian country hotels it was built for travellers on the main road, and it still serves them: a counter meal at lunch and rooms upstairs. Order at the bar.
Messent Conservation Park · The park keeps heath on deep white sand, the kind of country that stayed uncleared even after copper and zinc made the rest farmable. In spring the low shrubs flower in yellow, pink and white.
Guido van Helten: Silo Mural · In 2017 the Australian artist Guido van Helten painted five children from Coonalpyn's school across the town's grain silos, the first silo mural in South Australia. The painting took him weeks on a lift, from photographs of the children.
Coonalpyn · When the AMP Society developed the desert, the scheme was named Coonalpyn Downs, after this town. The new name left the word desert behind, and the old Ninety Mile Desert slowly disappeared from the maps.
Mount Boothby Conservation Park · The park is a block of mallee and granite outcrops among the wheat, home to western grey kangaroos and the birds of the scrub. It is a stretch-your-legs stop with the scrub almost to yourself.

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Getting to Keith SA and getting around

Bordertown Station · The nearest passenger train, 45 minutes east: the Overland, only a few days a week
Makin Street bus stop · Coaches between Adelaide and the south-east stop in the town centre

Cheap eats in Keith SA

Keith eats like a highway town: bakeries for the drivers, a café or two, and takeaway. The farms around it grow lucerne, grain and lamb, and some of the best is sold in the cities rather than here. Kitchens close early, and for a pub dinner you may need to drive to Bordertown or Tintinara, so plan the evening before you arrive.

Keith Bakery and Coffee shop · Pies, pasties and coffee, about A$5-8
Morning Loaf Bakery · Bread, rolls and sweet slices, about A$4-8
Henry & Rose · Café on Heritage Street; breakfast and lunch, about A$12-22
Daline's · Takeaway burgers and chips, about A$10-18

Museums in Keith SA

Keith 1910 Congregational Church · The town's history in its old church
AMP Pioneers Memorial · Read the boards beside the Land Rover
Keith Early Settler’s Cottage · A pioneer cottage on Emu Flat Road
Wiles Hut · An old hut beside the memorials
Guido van Helten: Silo Mural · Coonalpyn, an hour west

Nature and day trips near Keith SA

Ngarkat Conservation Park · Sand dunes, mallee and heath; walks from the picnic grounds
Mount Monster Conservation Park · A short climb on granite for a view over the plain
Messent Conservation Park · Heath on white sand; best in spring
Poocher Swamp · Wetland birds after a wet winter
Mount Boothby Conservation Park · Mallee and granite on the road west

Things to do in Keith SA with kids

Albino Kangaroos · White kangaroos close up in Bordertown
Land Rover on a pole · A car on a stick — a photo stop
Bordertown Recreation Lake · Grass and water to run around
Guido van Helten: Silo Mural · Children painted taller than a house
Mount Monster Conservation Park · A rock to scramble up

Where to eat in Keith SA

Bordertown Hotel · Pub dinner in Bordertown, 45 minutes east
Tintinara Hotel · Counter meals, 35 minutes west
Woolshed Inn · Another Bordertown pub
Camca Garpu · A restaurant on Woolshed Street, Bordertown
Old Mundulla Hotel · A village pub off the highway

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Frequently asked questions about Keith SA

What is there to see in Keith SA?

The top sights in Keith SA are AMP Pioneers Memorial, Keith 1910 Congregational Church and Keith Early Settler’s Cottage. The full list on this page has 10 sights, each with a photo and a short note.

How many days do you need in Keith SA?

Three to four days are enough to see the best of Keith SA without rushing, including at least one walking tour.

Is there a free walking tour in Keith SA?

Yes. sleepntrip has 3 free audio walks in Keith SA, with no guide and no group: your phone tells the story at every stop. The first one: The desert that became farms.

How do you get to Keith SA and get around?

The main ways are Bordertown Station and Makin Street bus stop. Full details are in the transport section on this page.

Where to stay in Keith SA, and for how much?

sleepntrip shows only rooms in Keith SA that meet nine conditions: a good location, high guest scores, cleanliness, and a price of up to $80 a night for two. Pick your dates and see what is free.

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