Echunga is a small town in the Adelaide Hills located 34 kilometres south-east of Adelaide in South Australia. The area was settled by Europeans during the period of British colonisation of South Australia in 1839, with the town laid out in 1849. The name of the town was derived from a name takes its name from the Kaurna word Ityangga, meaning "over there" or "close by".Gold was discovered in 1852 and Echunga became the first proclaimed goldfield in South Australia.