The Karoonda Meteorite

Karoonda briefly shot to international fame in 1930 when a meteorite fell to earth just to the east of the town on the night of 25 November.

South Australians were startled by the appearance of a brilliant "fire ball". As a result of astronomical observations and information recieved from various localities it seemed probable that a meteorite had landed somewhere in the neighbourhood of Karoonda.

Under the leadership of Professor Kerr Grant and Mr GF Dodwell a University Party made a thorough search of the district and was rewarded on December 9 by the discovery of the meteorite.

The meteorite was estimated to have weighed as much as 41.73kg, but it fragmented on impact. The meteorite is of the stony type and of a very unusual composition. It consists mainly of silicates of iron and magnesium iron sulphites and a very small amount of iron-nickel alloy.

You can see a replica of the meteorite that was made by the South Australian Museum in 2023. Visit the District Council of Karoonda East Murray office at 11 Railway Terrace, open Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm.

Click here to read a newspaper article from the year 2000 about the meteorite.

Click here to read historical research papers on the meteorite.