Copley is a town in the

Australian state The states and territories are federated administrative divisions in Australia, ruled by regional governments that constitute the second level of governance between the federal government and local governments. States are self-governing ...

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

. At the

2006 census 6 (six) is the natural number following 5 and preceding 7. It is a composite number and the smallest perfect number. In mathematics Six is the smallest positive integer which is neither a square number nor a prime number; it is the second small ...

, Copley had a population of 104. The township adjacent to Leigh Creek Railway Station was officially dedicated as the Town of Copley by a proclamation published on 27 August 1891. The name honours William Copley, who at the time the town was proclaimed was a member of the Legislative Council for the Northern District. According to

Rodney Cockburn Rodney Cockburn (21 October 1877 – 28 September 1932) was a South Australian journalist, author of a popular reference book on South Australian place names. History Cockburn was born in Kent Town, South Australia, a son of George (c. 1835 � ...

(in his

Nomenclature Nomenclature (, ) is a system of names or terms, or the rules for forming these terms in a particular field of arts or sciences. The principles of naming vary from the relatively informal naming conventions, conventions of everyday speech to the i ...

) the name Leigh Creek for the railway station and post office "was officially abandoned in 1916 on the advice of the Nomenclature Committee, who acted upon the suggestion of Lachlan McTaggart of

Wooltana Station Wooltana Station most commonly known as Wooltana is a pastoral lease that operates as a sheep station in outback South Australia. It lies on what were formerly the lands of the Pilatapa. It is situated about north east of Blinman and north w ...

The Committee pointed out that it was most undesirable to have a town of one designation and a railway station and post office of another. The name Leigh Creek had no legal status by way of dedication, while the town of Copley was proclaimed under the

Crown Lands Crown land (sometimes spelled crownland), also known as royal domain, is a territorial area belonging to the monarch, who personifies the Crown. It is the equivalent of an entailed estate and passes with the monarchy, being inseparable from it. ...

Act and there were many sound reasons why the latter appellative should be adopted for all Government purposes. It seemed absurd to have a name wholly foreign to the title deeds used for the post office and railway station. At a public meeting the residents protested vigorously against the change. Copley is located within the federal division of Grey, the state

electoral district of Stuart Stuart is a single-member electoral district for the South Australian House of Assembly. At 323,131 km², it is a vast country district extending from the Spencer Gulf as far as the Northern Territory border in the north and the Queensl ...

and the

Pastoral Unincorporated Area A pastoral lifestyle is that of shepherds herding livestock around open areas of land according to seasons and the changing availability of water and pasture. It lends its name to a genre of literature, art, and music ( pastorale) that depic ...

of South Australia. As of 2016, the community within Copley received municipal services from a South Australian government agency, the

Outback Communities Authority The Outback Communities Authority (OCA) is a statutory authority in South Australia (SA) created under the ''Outback Communities (Administration and Management) Act 2009''. It has been established to "manage the provision of public services and ...

Notes and references

Sources

Extract entitled "Copley, A Potted History" Commemorating Copley's Centenary 1891 - 1991. On one side is a map, Portion D.BP.10, Roads Book {{authority control Towns in South Australia Far North (South Australia) Places in the unincorporated areas of South Australia