Donovans is a locality 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 ...

located in the state's south-east on the Glenelg River adjoining the border with the state of

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

. It is about south-east of the state capital 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 ...

and south-east of the centre of the city of

Mount Gambier Mount Gambier is the second most populated city in South Australia, with an estimated urban population of 33,233 . The city is located on the slopes of Mount Gambier, a volcano in the south east of the state, about south-east of the capital Ad ...

. The name was approved in 1942 by the Nomenclature Committee for a private sub-division in the cadastral unit of the Hundred of Caroline. The sub-division was approved at some time during the 1940s with one source stating that it occurred in 1943 while another states the year of approval was 1947. Prior to the subdivision it was known as 'Donovan's Landing'. Boundaries were created on 31 October 1996 for the "long established name" which was derived from the name of the sub-division rather from the name 'Donovan's Landing'. Donovans consists of land adjoining the border with the state of Victoria which includes a loop of the Glenelg River. A settlement is located on the west side of the river while the land on the east side of the river has been declared as the protected area known as the

Lower Glenelg River Conservation Park Lower may refer to: *Lower (surname) *Lower Township, New Jersey *Lower Receiver (firearms) *Lower Wick Gloucestershire, England See also *Nizhny Nizhny (russian: Ни́жний; masculine), Nizhnyaya (; feminine), or Nizhneye (russian: Ни́� ...

. It was described in 1926 by the newspaper, ''

The Register ''The Register'' is a British technology news website co-founded in 1994 by Mike Magee, John Lettice and Ross Alderson. The online newspaper's masthead sublogo is "''Biting the hand that feeds IT''." Their primary focus is information te ...

'', as follows:

With his customary zeal our guide secured a number of motor vehicles to convey us to a point on the Glenelg River called Donovan's... The scenery in the vicinity of this river is very fine. The cliffs in many places rise sheer out of the water to a considerable height and at other spots the trees and foliage complete a charming spectacle. The owner of the property has a motor launch ndthe stuffed carcass of the original '
Tantanoola Tiger Tantanoola is a town in regional South Australia. The name is derived from the aboriginal word ''tentunola'', which means ''boxwood / brushwood hill or camp''. ''Tantanoola'' was originally named 'Lucieton' by Governor Jervois after his daughte ...
', which caused a great stir in these parts some years ago and was shot by Mr. Tom Donovan, was on show and was an object of much curiosity...

The majority land use within the locality is

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people t ...

which includes the above-mentioned conservation park while the settlement is zoned for residential use. The 2016 Australian census which was conducted in August 2016 reports that Donovans had a population of 83 people. Donovans is located within the federal

Division of Barker The Division of Barker is an Australian Electoral Division in the south-east of South Australia. The division was established on 2 October 1903, when South Australia's original single multi-member division was split into seven single-member div ...

, the state

electoral district of Mount Gambier Mount Gambier is a single-member electoral district for the South Australian House of Assembly. It covers the far south-east corner of the state containing the City of Mount Gambier and District Council of Grant local government areas. It is ce ...

and the local government area of the

District Council of Grant The District Council of Grant is a local government area located in the Limestone Coast region of South Australia, and is the southernmost council in the state. The council was formed on 1 July 1996 after the amalgamation of the District Cou ...

References

{{authority control Towns in South Australia Limestone Coast