Tarpeena is a town on the Riddoch Highway between Penola and Mount Gambier in the Limestone Coast region of South Australia. At the 2006 census, Tarpeena had a population of 406.
The town was named by Governor MacDonnell, after the aboriginal words tart pena which means red gum tree. The town was surveyed in October 1860.
Industry
Pastoralists entered the area in the 1840s and soon established sheep stations for wool. With the improvement in transport and the road system Tarpeena has become largely a dormitory suburb of the provincial centre of Mount Gambier but the timber mill is still a valuable part of the infrastructure and helps the post office remain viable with the trade generated from over 700 employees.
Governance
Tarpeena is in the District Council of Grant local government area, the state electoral district of Mount Gambier and at the federal level, the Division of Barker.
Education
After 106 years, the primary school in Tarpeena closed in 2011 due to diminished enrolment.