View source for Freeling, South Australia

{{pp-pc1}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2021}}
{{Use Australian English|date=March 2013}}
{{Infobox Australian place
| type                     = town
| name                     = Freeling
| state                    = sa
| image                    = Gungellan hotel.jpg
| caption                  = The hotel in Freeling, used as a set in ''[[McLeod's Daughters]]''
| image_alt                = 
| relief                   = 
| coordinates              = {{coord|34|27|0|S|138|48|0|E|display=inline,title}}
| pushpin_map_caption      = 
| pushpin_label_position   = 
| map_alt                  = 
| pop                      = 2,214
| pop_year                 = {{CensusAU|2016}}
| pop_footnotes            = <ref name=pop>{{Census 2016 AUS|id=SSC40460 |name=Freeling |accessdate=2 January 2018 |quick=on}}</ref>
| poprank                  = 
| density                  = 
| density_footnotes        = 
| established              = 1860
| established_footnotes    = 
| abolished                = 
| gazetted                 = 
| postcode                 = 5372
| elevation                = 197
| elevation_footnotes      = 
| area                     = 
| area_footnotes           = 
| timezone                 = 
| utc                      = 
| timezone-dst             = 
| utc-dst                  = 
| dist1                    = 60
| dir1                     = 
| location1                = [[Adelaide]], South Australia
| lga                      = Light Regional Council
| seat                     = 
| region                   = 
| county                   = 
| division                 = 
| stategov                 = [[Electoral district of Light|Light]]
| fedgov = [[Division of Barker|Barker]]
| visitation_num           = 
| visitation_year          = 
| visitation_footnotes     = 
| managing_authorities     = 
| url                      = 
| maxtemp                  = 48.6
| maxtemp_footnotes        = 
| mintemp                  = -3.4
| mintemp_footnotes        = 
| rainfall                 = 449
| rainfall_footnotes       = 
| near-n                   = [[Linwood, South Australia|Linwood]]
| near-ne                  = [[Fords, South Australia|Fords]]
| near-e                   = [[Nain, South Australia|Nain]]
| near-se                  = [[Daveyston, South Australia|Daveyston]]
| near-s                   = [[Shea-Oak Log, South Australia|Shea-Oak Log]]
| near-sw                  = [[Roseworthy, South Australia|Roseworthy]]
| near-w                   = [[Templers, South Australia|Templers]]
| near-nw                  = [[Morn Hill, South Australia|Morn Hill]]
| near                     = 
| footnotes                = 
}}
'''Freeling''' is a small town in [[South Australia]], about 60&nbsp;km north of [[Adelaide]]. It neighbours the [[Barossa Valley wine region]]. At the 2021 census, Freeling had a population of 2,688.<ref>{{Cite web |title=2021 5372, SA, Census All persons QuickStats {{!}} Australian Bureau of Statistics |url=https://www.abs.gov.au/census/find-census-data/quickstats/2021/POA5372 |access-date=2023-07-21 |website=www.abs.gov.au}}</ref>

==Description==
Freeling is in the [[Light Regional Council]], the [[South Australian House of Assembly|state]] [[electoral district of Schubert]] and the [[Australian House of Representatives|federal]] [[Division of Barker]].

== History ==
The township of Freeling was surveyed in March 1860 by Robert Stephenson.  It was named after [[Arthur Freeling|Major-General Sir Arthur Henry Freeling]], Surveyor-General of South Australia from 1849 to 1861.<ref>[http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A040242b.htm Biography of Arthur Freeling in ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'' online], accessed 5 October 2007.</ref> Freeling was a stopping place on the [[Morgan railway line|Gawler to Kapunda railway]], which opened in 1860 but is no longer used. The Freeling Hotel was founded in 1863, the Railway Hotel in 1867 and the St Petri Lutheran Church (now a private home) in 1871.  By 1866, Freeling's population numbered approximately 60.

==Local economy==
The main source of income for the town is its extensive farming land, where mainly [[cereal]] crops are grown. It is regarded as some of the best farming land in Australia, with the [[University of Adelaide]]'s Roseworthy Campus, ([[Roseworthy, South Australia]]) situated nearby. The long-term rainfall average for Freeling is 475mm/Yr, this enables wheat crops of up to 5-6T/Ha to be grown as well as large tonnages of cereal hay, with thousands of acres of hay being harvested each year. A factory making farming implement blades and parts, has also been situated at Freeling for many years.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.agpoint.com.au/about_us.html |title=About Us: AgPoint |publisher=AgPoint Australia |access-date=29 June 2015}}</ref>

A major tourist attraction for the town and surrounding area is a popular Australian Drama television series, ''[[McLeod's Daughters]]''. The town had many sets used on the show, including the Gungellan Hotel (previously the Railway Hotel), truckstop and showgrounds.

==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:FreelingInstitute.JPG|Institute
File:FreelingPostOffice.JPG|Post office
File:FreelingPublicLibrary.JPG|Public library
File:FreelingUnitingChurch.JPG|Uniting Church
File:FreelingWarMemorial.JPG|War Memorial
</gallery>

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
{{commons category}}
* [http://www.light.sa.gov.au/freeling/ Light Regional Council page on Freeling]

== Further reading ==
* Kuhlmann, Thelma & Bockmann, Owen. ''Horses, Harrows and Haystacks: Freeling Through the Years 1860-1980''. Adelaide: Freeling Women's Agricultural Bureau, 1981. {{ISBN|0-9595629-4-X}}

{{Light Regional Council localities}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Towns in South Australia]]