The District Council of Yankalilla is a local government area centred on the town of Yankalilla on the

Fleurieu Peninsula The Fleurieu Peninsula () is a peninsula in the Australian state of South Australia located south of the state capital of Adelaide. History Before British colonisation of South Australia, the western side of the peninsula was occupied by the ...

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 ...

. It was created on 23 October 1856, when the District Council of Yankalilla and Myponga was divided into two. It later absorbed two other councils: the District Council of Myponga on 5 January 1888, one of a number of amalgamations mandated 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 ...

'', and later the District Council of Rapid Bay on 12 May 1932. The district has a rich history, as one of the earliest South Australian coastal settlements, and a wide range of agricultural activities having taken place. Today the district remains agricultural in nature, supplemented by tourism and

forestry Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests, woodlands, and associated resources for human and environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and natural stands. ...

History

Pre-European

The Fleurieu Peninsula was originally inhabited by the

Indigenous Indigenous may refer to: *Indigenous peoples *Indigenous (ecology), presence in a region as the result of only natural processes, with no human intervention *Indigenous (band), an American blues-rock band *Indigenous (horse), a Hong Kong racehorse ...

Kaurna The Kaurna people (, ; also Coorna, Kaura, Gaurna and other variations) are a group of Aboriginal people whose traditional lands include the Adelaide Plains of South Australia. They were known as the Adelaide tribe by the early settlers. Kaurn ...

people, who openly met with the

Ramindjeri The Ramindjeri or Raminjeri people were an Aboriginal Australian people forming part of the ''Kukabrak'' grouping now otherwise known as the Ngarrindjeri people. They were the most westerly Ngarrindjeri, living in the area around Encounter Bay an ...

and other peoples for trade and exchanges. Aboriginal myth credits the formation of the land forms of the Fleurieu Peninsula to the travels of

Tjilbruke Tjilbruke (also Tjirbruki, Tjilbruki, Tjirbruke, Tjirbuk or Tjirbuki,) is an important creation ancestor for the Kaurna of the Adelaide plains in the Australian state of South Australia. Tjilbruke was a Kaurna man, who appeared in Kaurna Drea ...

as he grieved carrying the body of his nephew from the Sturt River to Cape Jervis. Evidence of Megafauna, including bones attributed to

Diprotodon ''Diprotodon'' (Ancient Greek: "two protruding front teeth") is an extinct genus of marsupial from the Pleistocene of Australia, containing one species, ''D. optatum''. The earliest finds date to 1.77 million to 780,000 years ago, but most speci ...

, Maesopus – the giant

kangaroo Kangaroos are four marsupials from the family Macropodidae (macropods, meaning "large foot"). In common use the term is used to describe the largest species from this family, the red kangaroo, as well as the antilopine kangaroo, eastern ...

and

Thylacoleo ''Thylacoleo'' ("pouch lion") is an extinct genus of carnivorous marsupials that lived in Australia from the late Pliocene to the late Pleistocene (2 million to 46 thousand years ago). Some of these marsupial lions were the largest mammalian pred ...

– a marsupial lion, was discovered in the 1890s. A Diprotodon leg bone was found in a swamp in the 1890s and conjecture surrounds the possibility that the animals were hunted by local aboriginal groups.

European history

The

was first mapped by Europeans in 1802 with both the French Nicholas Baudin and the English Matthew Flinders travelling the

coastline The coast, also known as the coastline or seashore, is defined as the area where land meets the ocean, or as a line that forms the boundary between the land and the coastline. The Earth has around of coastline. Coasts are important zones in ...

, with Baudin giving

its name.

William Light William Light (27 April 1786 – 6 October 1839), also known as Colonel Light, was a British- Malayan naval and army officer. He was the first Surveyor-General of the new British Province of South Australia, known for choosing the site of ...

was the first to land on the mainland, at

Rapid Bay Rapid Bay is a locality that includes a small seaside town and bay on the west coast of the Fleurieu Peninsula, South Australia. It lies within the District Council of Yankalilla and its township is approximately 100 km south of the stat ...

in 1836, and declared the area "rich beyond expectation". His report resulted in the early intensive settlement of the area and the district was considered for the site of the new settlement of South Australia, before further surveying showed the site of

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

to be superior.

Governor Hindmarsh Rear-Admiral Sir John Hindmarsh KH (baptised 22 May 1785 – 29 July 1860) was a naval officer and the first Governor of South Australia, from 28 December 1836 to 16 July 1838. Family His grandfather William Hindmarsh was a gardener in Con ...

recorded the aboriginal pronunciation of "Yoongalilla", as applied to the district and noted this in dispatches of 1837. Other legends as to the origin of the name exist, with some claims that the area was named after an American "Yankie" whaler, whose kind frequented the area at the time. There is little evidence for most of these theories however. In 1911, the town was officially proclaimed Yankalilla, which was to later become the name of the district. Whalers and

sealers Sealer may refer either to a person or ship engaged in seal hunting, or to a sealant; associated terms include: Seal hunting * Sealer Hill, South Shetland Islands, Antarctica * Sealers' Oven, bread oven of mud and stone built by sealers around 18 ...

became the first Europeans to establish semi-permanently in the district in the early 19th century, with a whaling station established at Fisheries Beach, but a combination of shipwrecks, decreasing whale numbers and the

petroleum industry The petroleum industry, also known as the oil industry or the oil patch, includes the global processes of exploration, extraction, refining, transportation (often by oil tankers and pipelines), and marketing of petroleum products. The large ...

forced its closure in 1855. Farming land in the district was also surveyed for purchase in 1838, with land released in 1840 and communities established at Myponga, Second Valley,

and later at Yankalilla. Sheep, potatoes and wheat were the first produce, with a variety of other crops grown later, including milling and the extraction of

tannins Tannins (or tannoids) are a class of astringent, polyphenolic biomolecules that bind to and precipitate proteins and various other organic compounds including amino acids and alkaloids. The term ''tannin'' (from Anglo-Norman ''tanner'', f ...

from wattle bark prevalent in the district. Second Valley, Normanville and Yankalilla all had jetties constructed to serve the increasing demand for export. In 1852 the

South Australian 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 ...

Government proclaimed an Act of Parliament appointing District Councils to administer local affairs. The District Council of Yankalilla was constituted on 5 April 1854. The district has remained an important one to the State, transforming from the early days of European settlement as a vital connection for resources, to an integral part of South Australia's tourism interests and links between the mainland and Kangaroo Island.

Economy

A number of industries has come and gone in the district, including whaling and sealing, but agriculture now remains the staple source of the areas economy. In the past, a number of products was farmed, including sheep, potatoes, wheat, beans, flax, tobacco,

oat The oat (''Avena sativa''), sometimes called the common oat, is a species of cereal grain grown for its seed, which is known by the same name (usually in the plural, unlike other cereals and pseudocereals). While oats are suitable for human con ...

s, maize and

barley Barley (''Hordeum vulgare''), a member of the grass family, is a major cereal grain grown in temperate climates globally. It was one of the first cultivated grains, particularly in Eurasia as early as 10,000 years ago. Globally 70% of barley p ...

, as well as the aforementioned flour milling, timber milling and mining. Dairy farming has become a major part of the districts economy, and along with

cereal crops A cereal is any Poaceae, grass cultivated for the edible components of its grain (botanically, a type of fruit called a caryopsis), composed of the endosperm, Cereal germ, germ, and bran. Cereal Grain, grain crops are grown in greater quantit ...

and sheep, is the district's main source of economy. More recent developments include the trials of

vineyard A vineyard (; also ) is a plantation of grape-bearing vines, grown mainly for winemaking, but also raisins, table grapes and non-alcoholic grape juice. The science, practice and study of vineyard production is known as viticulture. Vineya ...

s in the district, as well as land based aquaculture and sustainable

. Tourism also plays a major role in the area, with its close proximity to Adelaide drawing large crowds to the seaside towns, especially during summer.

Localities

The District Council includes the following localities - Back Valley (part), Bald Hills, Cape Jervis,

Carrickalinga Carrickalinga (from Kaurna Karrakardlangga / Karragarlangga) is a small coastal town in South Australia about south of Adelaide on the Fleurieu Peninsula overlooking Gulf St Vincent. The town has no shops, with the nearest being in Normanville ...

, Deep Creek, Delamere, Hay Flat, Inman Valley, Mount Compass, Myponga, Myponga Beach, Normanville, Pages Flat (part), Parawa,

, Second Valley, Sellicks Hill, Silverton, Torrens Vale, Tunkalilla, Waitpinga, Wattle Flat, Willow Creek, Wirrina Cove and Yankalilla.

Geographical features

Mount Hayfield is in Hay Flat. Mount Hayfield is a significant Aboriginal site, known as ''Wateira nengal'', due to its connection with the Kaurna Dreaming story of the hero

. Tjilbruke, the creator being of the

Kaurna people The Kaurna people (, ; also Coorna, Kaura, Gaurna and other variations) are a group of Aboriginal people whose traditional lands include the Adelaide Plains of South Australia. They were known as the Adelaide tribe by the early settlers. Kaurna ...

, is said to have created

yellow ochre Ochre ( ; , ), or ocher in American English, is a natural clay earth pigment, a mixture of ferric oxide and varying amounts of clay and sand. It ranges in colour from yellow to deep orange or brown. It is also the name of the colours produced ...

at this site. There is a strenuous bush walk starting at the Ingalalla Waterfall and tracking through parts of the Second Valley Forest.

Elected Members

Mayor: Glen Rowlands CEO: Nigel Morris

Councillors A councillor is an elected representative for a local government council in some countries. Canada Due to the control that the provinces have over their municipal governments, terms that councillors serve vary from province to province. Unl ...

: Janet Jones Simon Rothwell Peter O'Neil David Olsson Rachel Preston Bruce Spilsbury Leonie Fitzgerald Rick Williams Council currently meets once a month on the third Tuesday of the month, commencing at 4.00pm

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:District Council of Yankalilla Yankalilla 1854 establishments in Australia