07/08/2025
ORROROO, SOUTH AUSTRALIA
1880s–1890s
Orroroo is a lovely town in South Australia’s mid north, 270 km north of Adelaide, with a wealth of stories—some famous, others tucked away in old newspaper clippings.
I especially enjoy uncovering the people stories—like Mr William Pasco, who is the subject of this photograph, a local saddler, whose bush outing in the 1890s took an unexpected turn. Read on…
But first, I love learning the reasons for a town's name, and I can tell you that according to the District Council of Orroroo Carrieton”
“...The name Orroroo was proposed by the first permanent European settler, Charlie Easther, after a small creek close by named Oorrooroo by the Traditional Owners. The true meaning of ‘Orroroo’ has never been confirmed, ranging from ‘name of a creek with a rapid current’, ‘wind in the trees’, ‘the name of a young native girl who lived on Pekina Station who was a swift runner’ and ‘the rendezvous of the magpie’.”
As for Mr Pasco, this incredible (and slightly alarming) snippet appeared in the ‘Petersburg Times’ on 9 May 1890:
“An accident, attended by rather serious results, occurred on Tuesday afternoon when a party of three gentlemen left the township for the purpose of turkey shooting, each carrying a gun. About 12 miles out, they spotted a turkey. While driving over rough ground to get a shot, a Snider rifle accidentally discharged, the bullet passing through the back of Mr W. Pasco, saddler, of Orroroo.
The party rushed him back to town, where Dr Richardson examined the wound and found that the bullet had entered below the left shoulder and exited at the side of the neck. Thankfully, no serious damage was caused, and with care, Mr Pasco was expected to make a full recovery.”
— Petersburg Times, 9 May 1890
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/110267169
A lucky escape—and a glimpse into the adventurous (and sometimes dangerous!) life of rural South Australia in the late 19th century.
The photo here is an edited and colourised c. 1880s–1890s image titled "Scenes of South Australia" (B 71545/50), from the State Library of South Australia. View the original black-and-white version here:
https://collections.slsa.sa.gov.au/resource/B+71545/50
Acknowledgements:
* Historical image: State Library of South Australia
* Newspaper source: Trove
* Name origin: District Council of Orroroo Carrieton
* Colourised by: A Colourful History
Copyright © Kelly Bonato 2025. All image editing, enhancement, and colourisation is subject to copyright. You can share this post, but the image alone cannot be copied or shared without my permission.
