In 1882 a police camp was set up and a small settlement followed. From 7 April 1889, a Royal Mail coach ran fortnightly from Farina, operated by merchants Davey and Pilkington. The town was first named Hopetoun after the Governor of Victoria, the Earl of Hopetoun but it was never popular with locals. The town was never very large, but had a hotel, a store and a police station. Until 1901 the police station was also the customs post for collecting duties on cattle brought overland from Queensland into South Australia. In 1928 the Australian Inland Mission built a hospital here, the Elizabeth Symon Nursing Home. Severe drought and poor access to the settlement resulted in the hotel and hospital closing. In 1951 the police post closed and the town was abandoned.