Welcome to Coonalpyn, a small country town with a population of 815 (2011). It is located approximately 170km (2 hours) south-east of Adelaide, along the Dukes Highway. It is situated along what used to be known as the Ninety Mile Desert. Although it was not a desert in a true sense, it consisted of mallee scrub, yaccas and honeysuckle scattered throughout lagoons, swamp flats, low fossil limestone hills and sand ridges. Now a major farming region within the district, wheat, barley, canola, beans and peas are the main crops grown in this area, along with sheep and cattle farming.

From 1852 Government wells and signs were constructed to assist passing travellers through the desert country. Later on in 1887, the Adelaide – Melbourne rail link was established, with the Coonalpyn Post Office and School built in 1889. The Primary School was located 3 kilometres south of town on the Dukes Highway. There is a small monument on the original site where the Primary School was built.

On 25 November 1909 the township of Coonalpyn was proclaimed. Following this in 1927 was construction of the Coonalpyn Congregational Church on Poyntz Terrace. This was later changed to the Coonalpyn Uniting Church. In 1953 a new Lutheran Church was built which followed with the expansion of an adjoining hall in 1960 and a Sunday school and kitchen facilities in 1978. Currently there are two churches in Coonalpyn; the Coonalpyn Lutheran Church and the Coonalpyn Uniting Church.

Prior to the 1950’s only some of the land between Coonalpyn and Tintinara was being used for cropping, with most pastoralists only running scrub sheep. Within the 1950’s this land reached its full potential after superphosphates and trace elements were brought to the area. With a change in the land came a large amount of development, which sparked a movement to build a more acceptable road network through the region. Following this, E.T.S.A power was brought to Coonalpyn in 1962 as prior to this private operators were supplying electricity. To further boost the community, in 1968 a water pipeline was built from Tailem Bend to Keith for stock and domestic uses.

In 1997 the District Council of Coonalpyn, the District Council of Peake and the District Council of Meningie were amalgamated to form the Coorong District Council.

The Coonalpyn Show began in the early 1940’s with assistance from a group of enthusiastic locals. It was recognised that the district had excellent soil and rainfall and therefore there was a great opportunity to showcase local produce and pastures. In 2014, the Coonalpyn Show recognised their 70^th anniversary with over 1,000 people through the gates. It was a fun filled day of rides, food, art, craft and animals.

If you are looking at spending some time in Coonalpyn, the train line underpass to the dog exercise park is well worth a look and contains the artwork "Tunnel Vision". The series of murals depicting the town history were painted by students and community groups.

If you like ‘treasure hunting’ there are also plenty of geocaches around the area that would keep you amused, so go and find them!

On a hot summer day you must stop by the Coonalpyn Swimming Pool, which is just next door to the Coonalpyn Soldiers Memorial Caravan Park on Malcolm Terrace.

When it’s time for a nice and friendly meal you can always rely on the Coonalpyn Hotel across the road. If you’re lucky you might even get to try the famous Coonalpyn Waffles.

Coonalpyn offers a number of community activities including:

• Border-Downs Tennis Association
• Border-Downs Tintinara Football Club
• Border-Downs Tintinara Netball Club
• Coonalpyn Golf Club
• Coonalpyn Lions Club
• Sew and Sews Quilting and Sewing Club
• Coonalpyn and Districts Agricultural and Horticultural Show Society; and
• Coonalpyn Women in Agriculture and Business.

Coonalpyn town and district icons and places of interest:

• Border-Downs Tintinara Football and Netball Club
• Coonalpyn Institute
• Original site of the Coonalpyn Primary School
• Coonalpyn Soldiers Memorial Park Gates
• Gold Escort Route Monuments
• Kangaroo Flat Rocks
• Coonalpyn RSL Hall
• Sanctuary Walking Trails
• Tauragat Hill
• Tauragat Well
• BMX Track
• Parking Bay – public toilets, “tunnel vision”, dog exercise park
• Coonalpyn Swimming Pool
• Playground