Keith is a town and a locality in the Australian state of South Australia located in the state's south-east about from the state capital of Adelaide at the junction of the Dukes Highway and the Riddoch Highway.

In 1905 the general store was opened, and in 1907 the education department rented rooms out of the local institute to use as the school. 1910 saw the opening of Keith Hotel and the town's provisional school became a public school in 1912.

thumb|Water feature in Keith

During the 1940s, the CSIRO found prosperity in the area. With the addition of trace elements, the area became very productive. The AMP Society funded the clearing of land to set up farming establishments. A Land Rover sits atop a pole in a historical landmark in the town. In 1957, the local school was made into an area school to accommodate the influx of students.

On 16 March 2000, boundaries were created for the locality of Keith. These align with those of the cadastral unit of the Hundred of Stirling and include the town of Keith.

Governance

Keith is in the Tatiara District Council, the state electoral district of MacKillop and the federal division of Barker.

Notable residents

  • Chris Bailey – Rock musician
  • Andy Caldecott – Professional motorcycle rider who won four Australian Safari races, and competed in the Paris Dakar Rally in 2004 (DNF) and was placed 6th in the 2005 race. He died from a severe neck injury during the ninth stage of the Paris Dakar Rally in 2006.
  • Simon Cox – Professional Australian rules footballer, who played AFL for the Hawthorn Hawks and Western Bulldogs.
  • James Darling – Artist
  • Jack Redden – Professional AFL player for the West Coast Eagles
  • Les Densley (14 Sep 1894 – 14 Nov 1974) – Pioneering farmer of the Keith district and Member of the Legislative Council of South Australia from 1944 to 1967

Climate

Keith has a Mediterranean climate with cool, damp winters and warm to hot, dry summers. In the months of January and February 2014, Keith broke its record high temperature on two occasions, recording 46.0 °C on 14 January and 46.5 °C on 2 February, breaking the previous record by 0.5 °C and 1 °C respectively. On 20 December 2019 a maximum temperature of 49.2 °C was recorded.

References

  • Tatiara District Council – Keith
  • FairfaxDigital travel – Keith