Cummins
Postcode: 5631
Cummins is a town on Eyre Peninsula in South Australia, 67 km north of Port Lincoln and 68 m above sea level. Cummins was named after William Patrick Cummins, a member of the South Australian House of Assembly from 1896 to 1907. Cummins was surveyed in 1902 a few years after the first settlers in the area arrived. The railway to Port Lincoln arrived in 1907.
The major industries are sheep and grain growing. There is a narrow gauge railway line to the deep-water port at Port Lincoln for exporting grain. Cummins is the headquarters of the District Council of Lower Eyre Peninsula. It is in the state electoral district of Flinders and the federal Division of Grey. Its postcode is 5631.
The features which characterise every Australian wheatbelt town – the bulk grain silos, the railhead, the solitary pub – inevitably define the town however, unlike most wheatbelt towns, Cummins has some beautiful stone houses as well as a modern flour mill. In fact the Cummins Flour Mill is the only flour mill still operating on the Eyre Peninsula. It can be inspected and visitors are welcome.
Cummins is a relatively modern town. Although farmers were in the area by the late nineteenth century the township was not surveyed until 1902 and it wasn’t until 1907 that a railway line connected Cummins to Port Lincoln. The town was named after William Patrick Cummins who was a member of the South Australian Legislative Council from 1896-1907.
The arrival of the railway ensured the continuing survival of Cummins which has become the headquarters for the District Council of Lincoln (the council controls the southern half of the Eyre Peninsula apart from Port Lincoln) as well as the major service centre for the surrounding wheat, sheep, cattle and barley growing area.