[4] The constant availability of freshwater along an otherwise dry river (the Rocks upstream of Balaklava is the next closest and permanent waterhole) meant that Whitwarta was a suitable place to establish a village.

Geographically, Whitwarta is situated on the plains, almost halfway between the Clare Valley and Skilly Hills to the East and the Southern Hummocks Ranges to the West.

[citation needed] A number of Eucalyptus camaldulensis sprouted on the flood plains and riparian zone shortly afterwards, some of which have been fenced-off by local farmers to avoid stock damage.

The National Trust of South Australia has listed a stand of Eucalyptus largiflorens (River Box) at Whitwarta on the significant tree registrar.

[citation needed] According to the Manning Index of South Australian History the "Nantuwwara [sic] tribe of some 25 to 30 once occupied the country from the River Wakefield, north to Whitwarta and west to Hummock Range", an area which would encompass the modern localities of Bowmans, Whitwarta, Goyder, Beaufort, Nantawarra and Mount Templeton.

[8] Stone implements thought to have been used by the Nantuwara people were discovered at sites adjoining the banks of the lower reaches of the River Wakefield and added to a South Australian Museum collection curated by Harold Cooper in the 1960s.

[13] These included Driver Eric R. Lange, who died from gunshot wounds in action in France less than two years after he enlisted with the 9th Light Horse Regiment.

Apart from a number of private dwellings it had: Names of some of the pioneers who made a valuable contribution in Whitwarta were The cemetery is 1.5 km (0.93 mi) to the east the township and surrounded by Aleppo Pine trees.

[18] A new bridge was opened on 14 August 1914 by the Commissioner of Crown Lands, F. W. Young, accompanied by the other members of parliament for Wooroora, Oscar Duhst and David James and the chairman of the district council,[clarification needed] Mr. F.

The first Europeans to discover Diamond Lake, which they described as a 'dry lagoon', were the explorers John Hill and Thomas Burr, when passing through the Whitwarta district on 29 April 1840.