Edward John Eyre was the first European to come to this area in 1839 and discovered the Iron Stone hills he named . In 1854, James Patten, a stock breeder, settled 7 kilometers northeast of Iron Knob on Corunna Hill. A German from Minden , Ernst Siekmann, who first worked in the Broken Hill mines , recognized the high quality of the iron deposit in 1880 and settled in Iron Knob with his family. The mining of iron ore began in 1899 and the iron was smelted in Iron Knob . But iron production and smelting ended in 1998, the population left the place and Iron Knob became a ghost town. Before that, the iron was transported to Whyalla by train with the so-called Tram Iron Knob . In 2008 there were considerations to operate iron smelting again due to the high steel prices and new depots were opened in Iron Prince and Iron Duke.
In the village, the Iron Knob Community Tourist Center , which provides information about the history of mining and mineral deposits for travelers, tries to liven up the place. In Iron Knob there is the Iron Knob Motel Roadhouse and between Iron Knob and Port Augusta is the Pandurra Station with a motel and camping site for tourists. Not far from Iron Knob you can reach the wilderness of the Gawler Ranges .
