The District Council of Crystal Brook was a

local government area A local government area (LGA) is an administrative division of a country that a local government is responsible for. The size of an LGA varies by country but it is generally a subdivision of a State (administrative division), state, province, divi ...

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 ...

from 1882 until 1988, seated at Crystal Brook.

History

The Hundred of Crystal Brook was released for settlement under the Strangways Land Act with the first land sale on 3 March 1873. A Local Board of Main Roads for the North Midland District was established at

Gladstone William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British statesman and Liberal politician. In a career lasting over 60 years, he served for 12 years as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, spread over four non-conse ...

in 1874. This ceased to function in 1887. The District Council of Crystal Brook was proclaimed on 11 November 1882, and comprised only the township of Crystal Brook and the suburban sections of the hundred, after a proposed broader council covering the entire hundred met with resistance from rural residents. The council expanded significantly under the ''

District Councils Act 1887 The District Councils Act 1887 was an act of the Parliament of South Australia. It received assent on 9 December 1887, and its provisions came into effect when proclaimed by Governor William C. F. Robinson on 5 January 1888. The legislation intro ...

'', adding the remainder of the Hundred of Crystal Brook, the sections of the Hundred of Pirie not included in the Corporate Town of Port Pirie, the entirety of the Hundreds of Napperby and Wandearah, and the as yet ungazetted Hundred of Howe (section of the Wirrabara Forest Reserve within the

County of Victoria The County of Victoria is one of the 49 cadastral counties of South Australia. It was proclaimed by Governor Richard MacDonnell in 1857 and probably named for Queen Victoria. It covers an area of the Spencer Gulf coast and hinterland in the Mi ...

). It was divided into four wards on 7 June 1888. The larger boundaries were short-lived, as on 16 June 1892, the section within the Hundred of Pirie, the Hundred of Wandearah and the northern portions of the hundreds of Nappery and Howe were severed to create the District Council of Pirie. The left the Crystal Brooke council constituted by just the Hundred of Crystal Brook, the Warnertown section of the Hundred of Napperby, and the south half of the Hundred of Howe. By the 1920s, the council offices were leased from the Crystal Brook Institute. In 1936, the district was estimated to have a population of 1,475 people, with 452 of them being ratepayers. In the early 1970s, it constructed a new caravan park in the town with the assistance of the state government. It published a local history, ''Changing with Crystal Brook, 1873-1973'' by J. Poore, in 1973. The council ceased to exist on 1 July 1988 when it amalgamated with the

District Council of Redhill The District Council of Redhill was a local government area in South Australia from 1888 to 1988. It was proclaimed on 5 January 1888 as one of the new councils created under the ''District Councils Act 1887'' under the name of the District Coun ...

to form the

District Council of Crystal Brook-Redhill The District Council of Crystal Brook-Redhill was a local government area in South Australia. It came into existence on 1 July 1988 as a result of the merger of the District Council of Crystal Brook and District Council of Redhill at the instigat ...

, at the instigation of the two councils. They had previously proposed for the

District Council of Georgetown The District Council of Georgetown was a local government area in South Australia, centred on the town of Georgetown. History It was proclaimed on 2 March 1876 as the District Council of George Town, encompassing the cadastral Hundred of Bundale ...

to join the merger, but this had not been successful.

Neighbouring local government

The following adjacent local government bodies co-existed with the Crystal Brook council: * Corporate Town of Port Pirie lay north west until the District Council of Pirie was established between it and Crystal Brook council in 1892. The District Council of Pirie then lay west, north west and north of Crystal Brook council. *

District Council of Port Germein The District Council of Port Germein was a local government area in South Australia, centred on the town of Port Germein. It was gazetted on 5 January 1888 under the provisions of the ''District Councils Act 1887'' and encompassed the hundreds of ...

lay north and north east from its establishment in 1888 until the District Council of Pirie was established between it and Crystal Brook council in 1892. *

District Council of Gladstone The District Council of Gladstone was a local government area in South Australia. It was proclaimed on 10 August 1876 as the District Council of Yangya, named for the cadastral Hundred of Yangya, but was renamed Gladstone after its main town on 1 ...

(established 1876) lay immediately east until large portions of Crystal Brook council were severed to form the District Council of Pirie, after which time Gladstone council lay north east. *

District Council of Narridy The District Council of Narridy was a local government area in South Australia, centred on the town of Narridy and the surrounding cadastral hundred of the same name. It was proclaimed on 2 March 1876 with responsibility for the Hundred of Narrid ...

(established 1876) lay immediately east until it was amalgamgated into the

in 1888 after which time the latter lay to the east. *

lay south and south east from its establishment in 1888 until it merged with Crystal Brook council in 1988. *

District Council of Mundoora Mundoora is a settlement in South Australia, 16 km inland from Port Broughton, to which it was connected by the horse-drawn Port Broughton tramway around 1876. Its tram, dubbed "The Pie Cart", which was described as a "kind of second-hand ...

(later called District Council of Port Broughton) lay south west from its establishment in 1892.

Chairmen

* E. Prescott (1882-1885) * P. H. Claridge (1885-1886) * C. F. Mole (1886-1887) * P. H. Claridge (1887-1889) * E. H. Eagle (1889-1892) * M. J. B. Wake (1892-1898) * W. H. Binney (1898-1906) * G. Davidson (1906-1921) * R. M. Dennis (1922-1923) * G. Davidson (1923-1924) * A. McDonald (1924-1929) *

William Walsh Robinson William Walsh Robinson (23 June 1888 – 19 April 1972) was a farmer and politician in South Australia. History He was born the eldest son of Edwin Robinson ( – 31 January 1932) and Mary Ann Robinson ( – 1 May 1947), née Horne, of Crystal B ...

(1929-1942) * Peter O'Shaughnessy (1942-1947) * Cecil Graham Davidson (1947-1953) * Reginald Keith Hosking (1953-1954) * Patrick Curtin (1954-1958) * Michael John Slattery (1958-1966) * Edward Tait Sinclair (1966-1968) * Michael John Slattery (1968-1969) * Edwin Latta Robinson (1969-1972) * Roland Franklin Nicholls (1972-1979) * Colin Leslie Matheson (1979-1983) * John William Millard (1983-?)

References

{{Former local government areas in South Australia Crystal Brook 1882 establishments in Australia 1988 disestablishments in Australia