Terowie is 20km south of Peterborough.
It became an important part of the northern railway network in the 1880s, and
a supply town for the vast grazing country to the north-east and to the Broken
Hill/Silverton mining communities of that era.
The fortunes of the town revolved around the railway systems and it became obvious
that with the demise of the railways in 1970 that Terowie was destined to be yet
another "ghost town".
However the Terowie Citizens Association had other ideas and purchased six of
its historically important buildings and have taken great care in a program to
preserve and restore the buildings and retain their authenticity. The town was
designated an historic town in 1985 (one of only 7 in South Australia) and offers
the visitor a wealth of heritage.
We recommend that you obtain a brochure entitled "A Tour of Terowie"
from the Visitor Information Centre at Peterborough or any of the businesses in
Terowie and either walk or drive yourself around the town to find out a little
bit of its history.
Terowie hit the headlines of the world in 1942 when General Douglas MacArthur
gave his first Australian press interview on the railway platform after his escape
from the Philippines. He uttered the now famous words "I came out of Baatan
and I shall return". There is a monument on the old railway station platform
to acknowledge it.
