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.

***PLEASE NOTE a replica of the meteorite is currently being made by the South Australian Museum and will be delivered to the District Council of Karoonda East Murray office at 11 Railway Terrace – where you can come and visit in on display. Arrival expected late March 2023***

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

Click here to read historical research papers on the meteorite.