Lochiel is a small town in the Mid North of South Australia 125 km north of Adelaide. The town lies beside on the western edge of Lake Bumbunga and at the eastern foot of the Hummocks Range. The Augusta Highway, a section of Highway 1, runs on a strip between the town and the Bumbunga salt lake.
The town administration now falls under the control of the Wakefield Regional Council for local governance. This body came into effect on 1 July 1997 as a result of the amalgamation of the former District Council of Blyth-Snowtown and the former District Council of Wakefield Plains. It covers a geographical area of 3,469 square kilometres with a population of 6,588 (estimated as at 30 June 2002 by the Australian Bureau of Statistics). Lochiel lies in the state electoral district of Frome and in the federal electoral division of Grey.
History
The secessionist micronation, the Province of Bumbunga, was located on a farm at Bumbunga, near Lochiel, during the 1970s and 1980s.
Economy
Salt has been mined at the nearby Lake Bumbunga salt extraction works since 1912.
The Lochiel Coal Mine was operational a few kilometres east of the lake in the 1980s and 1990s.
Attractions
The town is host to the 'Loch Eel', an artistic creation of rubber tyres and plastic which was created by local Gary Taylor and friends in 1972. The "eel" is located in the Bumbunga lake beside the main highway.