County of Taunton is a cadastral unit located in the Australian state of

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 ...

on land on the east coast of

Lake Torrens Lake Torrens ( Kuyani: ''Ngarndamukia'') is a large ephemeral, normally endorheic salt lake in central South Australia. After sufficiently extreme rainfall events, the lake flows out through the Pirie-Torrens corridor to the Spencer Gulf. Is ...

about from the city of Port Augusta. It was proclaimed in 1877 and named after Lord Taunton who was the Secretary for the Colonies from 1855 to 1858. It has been partially divided in the following sub-units of hundreds – Bunyeroo, Carr, Edeowie,

Nilpena Nilpena Station is a pastoral lease that operates as a sheep station in South Australia. It is situated approximately west of Blinman and north of Hawker in the Flinders Ranges and bounded by Lake Torrens. It occupies an area of . Hist ...

, Oratunga and Parachilna.

Description

The County of Taunton covers the part of South Australia extending from the east coast of

for about and extending a distance of north of its boundary in the south with the counties of Blachford,

Hanson Hanson or Hansson may refer to: People * Hanson (surname) * Hansson (surname) * Hanson (wrestler), ringname of an American professional wrestler Musical groups * Hanson (band), an American pop rock band * Hanson (UK band), an English rock ...

and

Derby Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby g ...

from west to east. It is the most northerly county in South Australia. The county has a physical landscape consisting of a portion of the

Flinders Ranges The Flinders Ranges are the largest mountain range in South Australia, which starts about north of Adelaide. The ranges stretch for over from Port Pirie to Lake Callabonna. The Adnyamathanha people are the Aboriginal group who have inhabit ...

in its east and the floodplains draining from the ranges to Lake Torrens in its west. The principal towns in the county are

Blinman Blinman is a locality incorporating two towns located in the Australian state of South Australia within the Flinders Ranges about north of the state capital of Adelaide. It is very small but has the claim of being the highest surveyed town in S ...

and Parachilna. The county is served by one principal road,

The Outback Highway The Outback Highway (possibly also known as Barndioota Road) is the road from Hawker along the western side of the Flinders Ranges through Leigh Creek to Marree. It is designated as part of route B83 from Hawker to Lyndhurst. Route B83 contin ...

, which passes through the county in a north-south direction from

Hawker Hawker or Hawkers may refer to: Places * Hawker, Australian Capital Territory, a suburb of Canberra * Hawker, South Australia, a town * Division of Hawker, an Electoral Division in South Australia * Hawker Island, Princess Elizabeth Land, Antarct ...

in the south through the hundreds of Edeowie, Bunyeroo, Nipena and Parachilna to Leigh Creek in the north via Parachilna. The

Marree railway line The Marree railway line is located in the Australian state of South Australia. History As a result of the opening up of the Leigh Creek Coalfield in the late 1940s and capacity restrictions on the existing narrow gauge Central Australia Railwa ...

passes through the county in a north-south direction generally in parallel with The Outback Highway. Statutory land use within the county is limited to four main zones. Firstly, land between Lake Torrens and The Outback Highway which is zoned as ‘pastoral’ is intended to be predominantly used for “the grazing of livestock” while ensuring that these activities do not affect the “preservation of the natural environment and character of the zone.” Land which is located east of The Outback Highway and in the main body of the Flinders Ranges is placed in two zones – ‘environment class A’ and ‘environmental class B’ where built development, agriculture and mining are more highly controlled or even prohibited in some situations to conserve and protect “the natural character and environment of the area.” Fourthly, land in the east of the county and in parts of its north that are outside of the alignment of the ranges is zoned ‘pastoral landscape’ to control development, agriculture and mining to preserve “the environmental and scenic qualities of the foreground of the most prominent ranges.” The county includes the following protected areas within its extent – the northern end of the Ikara-Flinders Ranges National Park and the Bunkers Conservation Reserve. The county is located within 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 the state where municipal services are provided by the Government of South Australia via agencies such as 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 ...

(OCA). Within the county, the OCA provides services to communities living in Blinman and Parachilna.

History

The County of Taunton was proclaimed on 18 January 1877. It was named after Lord Taunton who was the Secretary for the Colonies from 1855 to 1858. The following hundreds have been proclaimed within the county - Carr in 1877, Bunyeroo, Edeowie, Nilpena and Parachilna in 1881, and Oratunga in 1895.

Constituent hundreds

Location of constituent hundreds

The hundreds are laid out from west to east in three columns as follows: *Nilpena, Parachilna, Bunyeroo and Edeowie (from north to south) *Oratunga and, *Carr. The total area of the hundreds accounts for out of the county’s total area of or of the county's area.

Hundred of Bunyeroo

The Hundred of Bunyeroo () was proclaimed on 1 December 1881. It covers an area of and its name was derived from the botanical name for “a rank variety of saltbush” which may be of Aboriginal origin which had been used previously for a nearby hill and for a nearby pastoral property. It is entirely located within the boundaries of the locality of

Hundred of Carr

The Hundred of Carr () was proclaimed on 3 May 1877. It covers an area of and was named after John Carr, a member of the

South Australian Parliament The Parliament of South Australia is the bicameral legislature of the Australian state of South Australia. It consists of the 47-seat House of Assembly ( lower house) and the 22-seat Legislative Council (upper house). General elections are h ...

from 1868 to 1884. Its northern end is within the locality of

, its southern end is in Gum Creek Station and part of its east side in Angorigina.

Hundred of Edeowie

The Hundred of Edeowie () was proclaimed on 1 December 1881. It covers an area of . Its name was derived from the Edeowie Homestead and ultimately from “an Aboriginal word meaning diamond sparrow water, from "ethie" meaning diamond sparrow and "owie" meaning water.” It is located entirely within the locality of

Hundred of Nilpena

The Hundred of Nilpena () was proclaimed on 1 December 1881. It covers an area of . Its name was derived from the Nilpena Homestead and ultimately from a “native name applied to W J Brown's sheep station” whose meaning is not known. Its western side is in the locality of Motpena while its eastern side contains parts of

Alpana or alpona ( bn, আলপনা ) is a South Asian folk art style, traditionally practiced by women, and consisting of colored motifs, patterns, and symbols that are painted on floors and walls with paints made from rice flour, on religious occasi ...

Moolooloo Moolooloo Station (also known as Moolooloo and Moorillah Stations) is a pastoral lease that operates as a sheep station in South Australia. It is situated approximately north west of Blinman and south of Leigh Creek. The property was est ...

and Mount Falkland, while its centre includes the entirety of Parachilna.

Hundred of Oratunga

The Hundred of Oratunga () was proclaimed on 7 March 1895. It covers an area of and its name was derived from an aboriginal word which means ‘tea tree creek’. Its centre is within the locality of

while part of its north side is in Oratunga Station, part of its west side is in Mount Falkland and part of its south side is in Gum Creek Station.

Hundred of Parachilna

The Hundred of Parachilna () was proclaimed on 1 December 1881. It covers an area of and it was derived from an Aboriginal word meaning “a creek with steep banks and stones and ochre in the bed.” Its southern end is within the locality of

while its north-western corner is in the locality of Motpena and its north-eastern corner in Mount Falkland.

References

{{Counties of South Australia

Taunton Taunton () is the county town of Somerset, England, with a 2011 population of 69,570. Its thousand-year history includes a 10th-century monastic foundation, Taunton Castle, which later became a priory. The Normans built a castle owned by the ...