Riverton is a small town in South Australia's Mid North, in the Gilbert Valley, named after the Gilbert River and valley honouring pioneer Thomas Gilbert. Established in 1856 along the bullock track from Burra to Adelaide, it was laid out by James Masters, who also founded Saddleworth, with street names reflecting local and state history.

In 1897, a promising amount of copper and silver-lead was found 8 km east but never developed beyond fossicking. Rail reached Riverton in 1869, bringing workshops that boosted the population until their closure in 1878. A branch line to Clare opened in 1918, later extending to Spalding, and supported 25 railway employees and their families in 1965. The grand station served major routes, offering meals to long-distance passengers; today it houses tea rooms, a gallery, and bed-and-breakfast accommodation in renovated railcars.

The railway was central to Riverton's growth. The former line to Auburn is now the Rattler Trail, linking with the Riesling Trail for a 43 km cycling and walking route through the Clare Valley. The Spalding branch closed in 1984, passenger services on the Peterborough line ended in 1986, and the line through Riverton closed on 31 October 2005.

Population:

795 ¹

Postcode:

5142

Location:

87 km north of Adelaide

Main Roads:

Barrier Hwy (A32)

Radio Stations:

FM:
5AU (97.9 MHz), ABC Classic (103.9 MHz), Flow FM (99.5 MHz), Magic 105.9 (105.9 MHz), RadioTAB (95.5 MHz), Triple J (105.5 MHz) and Vision Christian Radio (88.0 MHz)

AM:
5CS (1044 kHz), ABC News Radio (972 kHz), ABC North and West SA (639 kHz), ABC Radio Adelaide (891 kHz) and ABC Radio National (729 kHz)

Town Centre:

Looking southbound on Barrier Hwy (Torrens Rd) (A32), Riverton, January 2008.

Image © Michael Greenslade

Town Centre:

Looking northbound on Barrier Hwy (Torrens Rd) (A32), Riverton, January 2008.

Image © Michael Greenslade