The Hundred of Alma is a

cadastral A cadastre or cadaster is a comprehensive recording of the real estate or real property's metes-and-bounds of a country.Jo Henssen, ''Basic Principles of the Main Cadastral Systems in the World,'/ref> Often it is represented graphically in a cad ...

unit of

hundred 100 or one hundred (Roman numeral: C) is the natural number following 99 and preceding 101. In medieval contexts, it may be described as the short hundred or five score in order to differentiate the English and Germanic use of "hundred" to des ...

located on the northern Adelaide Plains of South Australia spanning the township of

Alma Alma or ALMA may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Alma'' (film), a 2009 Spanish short animated film * ''Alma'' (Oswald de Andrade novel), 1922 * ''Alma'' (Le Clézio novel), 2017 * ''Alma'' (play), a 1996 drama by Joshua Sobol about Alma ...

and the Alma Plains. The hundred was proclaimed in 1856 in the

County of Gawler The County of Gawler is one of the 49 cadastral counties of South Australia. It was proclaimed in 1842 by Governor George Grey and named for the former Governor George Gawler. It is bounded by the Wakefield River in the north, Gulf St Vincent i ...

and named by Governor

Richard Graves MacDonnell Sir Richard Graves MacDonnell (; 3 September 1814 – 5 February 1881) was an Anglo-Irish lawyer, judge and colonial governor. His posts as governor included Governor of the British Settlements in West Africa, Governor of Saint Vincent, Go ...

for the River Alma on the Crimean Peninsula, the location of the

Battle of the Alma The Battle of the Alma (short for Battle of the Alma River) was a battle in the Crimean War between an allied expeditionary force (made up of French, British, and Ottoman forces) and Russian forces defending the Crimean Peninsula on 20Septemb ...

, the first Allied victory in the Crimean War. The hundred is bounded on the north by the

Wakefield River The Wakefield River is an ephemeral river that flows to an estuary in the Australian state of South Australia. Course and features The river rises above , flowing southward, passing the towns of Watervale and Auburn, where it is fed by seve ...

and on the south by the Light River The Hundred of Alma includes all of the localities of

, Salter Springs, Woolshed Flat and parts of the localities of

Hamley Bridge Hamley Bridge is a community in South Australia located at the junction of the Gilbert River (South Australia), Gilbert and Light River (South Australia), Light rivers, as well as the site of a former railway junction. Named by the government of ...

, Stockyard Creek, Undalya, Rhynie, Riverton, Giles Corner, Stockport. The largest town is now

near the southern boundary.

Local government

The

District Council of Rhynie A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

was the first local government body established within the hundred. It was proclaimed in October 1865 and included approximately the northern half of the hundred. Its establishment was closely followed by that of the

District Council of Stockport The District Council of Stockport was a local government area in South Australia seated at Stockport from 1865 to 1932. History The council was proclaimed on 23 November 1865 and included land either side of the Gilbert River across the Hundred ...

just a month later. Stockport council covered approximately the southern half of the hundred as well as small parts of the

Hundred of Gilbert The Hundred of Gilbert is a cadastral unit of hundred in the northern Mount Lofty Ranges including the town of Riverton. It is one of the nine hundreds of the County of Light. It was proclaimed in 1851 by Governor Henry Young and named after th ...

and

Hundred of Light 100 or one hundred (Roman numeral: C) is the natural number following 99 and preceding 101. In medieval contexts, it may be described as the short hundred or five score in order to differentiate the English and Germanic use of "hundred" to de ...

easterly adjacent. The council area lay either side of the Gilbert River from Giles Corner in the north to the Gilbert's confluence with the

River Light The Light River (Kaurna: ''Yarralinka''), commonly called the River Light, is a seasonal and significant river in the Mid North region of the Australian state of South Australia named for early surveyor William Light. The River Light has give ...

in the south. Fifteen years on, in 1870, the

District Council of Alma Plains The District Council of Alma Plains was a local government area in South Australia seated at Alma from 1870 to 1932. History The District Council of Alma Plains was proclaimed on 8 December 1870 in spite of opposition from Stockport and Rhyni ...

was established by severing the western halves of Rhynie and Stockport councils. This meant that the hundred was roughly split in half, vertically, by the Gilbert River, with Alma Plains council administering the west and Rhynie and Stockport continuing to administer the east. In 1932 Alma Plains council was amalgamated with the westerly adjacent

District Council of Dalkey The District Council of Dalkey was a local government area seated at Owen in South Australia from 1875 to 1932. History The District Council of Dalkey was officially proclaimed as incorporating the entire Hundred of Dalkey on 25 March 1875. T ...

to create the new

District Council of Owen A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

. In the same year the Stockport and Rhynie councils amalgamated with the District Council of Gilbert to their east to create the new

District Council of Riverton A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

. From this time local governance of the hundred was thus split between Owen in the west and Riverton in the east. In 1983, Owen council became a part of the

District Council of Wakefield Plains The District Council of Wakefield Plains was a local government area in South Australia from 1983 to 1997, seated at Balaklava. History The District Council of Wakefield Plains was established on 1 July 1983 as a result of the amalgamation of t ...

. Then in 1997, Wakefield Plains council itself became a part of the much larger

Wakefield Regional Council Wakefield Regional Council is a local government area in the Yorke and Mid North region of South Australia. The council seat is at Balaklava. Geography The Wakefield Regional Council includes the towns and localities of Avon, Balaklava, Bar ...

. On the same day in 1997, Riverton council became a part of the much larger

District Council of Clare and Gilbert Valleys The Clare and Gilbert Valleys Council is a local government area located in the Yorke and Mid North region of South Australia. The council was founded on 1 July 1997 with the amalgamation of the District Council of Clare, the District Council of ...

, leaving local governance of the hundred still split down the middle with Wakefield in the west and Clare and Gilbert Valleys in the east.

References

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1856 establishments in Australia