Maitland (/ˈmeɪtlənd/) is a town on the Yorke Peninsula in South Australia. By road, it is 168 km (104 mi) west of Adelaide, 164 km (102 mi) south of Port Pirie and 46 km (29 mi) north of Minlaton. The town lies in the traditional lands of the Narungga, whose name for the district is Maggiwarda.

Quick Facts Maitland South Australia, Coordinates ...

Maitland South Australia
Robert St in Maitland
Maitland
Coordinates	34°22′0″S 137°40′0″E
Population	1,079 (UCL 2021)[1]
Established	1872[2]
Postcode(s)	5573
Elevation	160 m (525 ft)
Location	168 km (104 mi) west of Adelaide 164 km (102 mi) south of Port Pirie 50 km (31 mi) south of Kadina 46 km (29 mi) north of Minlaton
LGA(s)	Yorke Peninsula Council
Region	Yorke and Mid North[3]
County	Fergusson[2]
State electorate(s)	Narungga[4]
Federal division(s)	Grey
Mean max temp Mean min temp Annual rainfall 22.5 °C 73 °F 11.7 °C 53 °F 482.5 mm 19 in
Localities around Maitland: Balgowan Weetulta Arthurton Arthurton Winulta Balgowan Maitland Winulta Petersville Point Pearce South Kilkerran Yorke Valley Cunningham Cunningham
Footnotes	Adjoining localities[2]

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The town was established on the Yorke Peninsula, the traditional lands of the Narungga, an Aboriginal Australian people, who had lived there for thousands of years. Their name for the peninsula is Guuranda, and the Maitland district was Maggiwarda.^[5][6]

The town was named in 1872 after Lady Jean Maitland^[7] (died 1766), the wife of the 2nd Lord of Kilkerran, Sir James Fergusson (1688-1759) and great-great grandmother of the governor of South Australia at that time, Sir James Fergusson (1832–1907).^[8]

In October 1884 the Adelaide Observer noted:

Maitland in situated about twenty-three miles from Moonta, on Yorke's Peninsula, and is about equidistant between the two Gulfs. The town stands about 490 feet above the sea, and is surrounded by some of the richest soil on the Peninsula. The township is only about nine years old, and has made steady progress, and bids fair to be the next largest town to Moonta on the Peninsula.^[9]

Agriculture was developed on lands formerly used as hunting grounds for the Narungga people, and they were employed in agricultural work from where they were moved to at Point Pearce (Burgiyana) mission.^[5]

Maitland is within a short driving distance of coastal towns on either side, with Port Victoria to the west and Ardrossan to the east, each within 25 km.^{[citation needed]} It has a grain receiving depot operated by AWB Limited, serviced only by road.^[10]

Maitland experiences a hot-summer mediterranean climate (Köppen climate classification: Csa), Trewartha: Csal); with hot, dry summers; mild to warm, relatively dry springs and autumns; and mild, winters with moderate precipitation.

Maitland was home to a newspaper called the Maitland Watch (22 December 1911 – 26 June 1969). In 1969, the newspaper merged with Yorketown's the Pioneer (1898–1969) to become the short-lived Yorke Peninsula News Pictorial (3 July 1969 – 28 May 1970), which was then incorporated into the Yorke Peninsula Country Times from June 1970.^[13]

• List of cities and towns in South Australia
• John Shannon (Australian politician)