Myponga is a

settlement Settlement may refer to: *Human settlement, a community where people live *Settlement (structural), the distortion or disruption of parts of a building * Closing (real estate), the final step in executing a real estate transaction *Settlement (fin ...

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 ...

. At the 2016 census, the locality had a population of 744, of whom 393 lived in its town centre. Myponga is located within the federal

division of Mayo The Division of Mayo is an Australian electoral division located to the east and south of Adelaide, South Australia. Created in the state redistribution of 3 September 1984, the division is named after Helen Mayo, a social activist and the fir ...

, the state

electoral district of Mawson Mawson is a single-member electoral district for the South Australian House of Assembly. It covers the entirety of Kangaroo Island, and parts of the local government areas of Alexandrina Council, the City of Onkaparinga, and the District Counci ...

, and the local government area of the

District Council of Yankalilla The District Council of Yankalilla is a local government area centred on the town of Yankalilla on the Fleurieu Peninsula in South Australia. It was created on 23 October 1856, when the District Council of Yankalilla and Myponga was divided i ...

History

Before

British colonisation of South Australia British colonisation of South Australia describes the planning and establishment of the colony of South Australia by the British government, covering the period from 1829, when the idea was raised by the then-imprisoned Edward Gibbon Wakefield ...

, 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. Kaurn ...

occupied the land from the

Adelaide plains The Adelaide Plains (Kaurna name Tarndanya) is a plain in South Australia lying between the coast (Gulf St Vincent) on the west and the Mount Lofty Ranges on the east. The southernmost tip of the plain is in the southern seaside suburbs of Ade ...

and southwards down western side of 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 K ...

, including Myponga. The

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 ...

name for the area was Maitpungga.

Geoff Manning Geoffrey Haydon Manning (1926–2018) was an Australian author and historian, commonly known as Geoff Manning and cited as an author as Geoffrey H. Manning. He is known particularly for his books on South Australian placenames; ''Manning's Place ...

reports that "according to H.C. Talbot it is derived from the Aboriginal word ''miappunga'' – 'divorced wife'", and

Norman Tindale Norman Barnett Tindale AO (12 October 1900 – 19 November 1993) was an Australian anthropologist, archaeologist, entomologist and ethnologist. Life Tindale was born in Perth, Western Australia in 1900. His family moved to Tokyo and lived ther ...

concluded that it probably meant "vegetable food place, from aiand angkara a term applied to swamps & lagoons". However linguist

Rob Amery Rob or ROB may refer to: Places * Rob, Velike Lašče, a settlement in Slovenia * Roberts International Airport (IATA code ROB), in Monrovia, Liberia People * Rob (given name), a given name or nickname, e.g., for Robert(o), Robin/Robyn * Rob ...

of the

University of Adelaide The University of Adelaide (informally Adelaide University) is a public research university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. The university's main campus is located on N ...

and Kaurna educator Jack Buckskin concluded that it was just a name and does not have a literal translation. One of the first pioneer families to settle the area, was the family of Con Polden and Mary Windsor (c.1840) along with their children from

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...

in South West England. Myponga began as a settlement as a series of land purchases on section 521 of the cadastral unit of the

Hundred of Myponga The County of Hindmarsh is one of the 49 cadastral counties of South Australia. It was proclaimed by Governor George Grey in 1842 and named for Governor John Hindmarsh. Description It extends from the Fleurieu Peninsula in the southwest t ...

in 1858. In 1939, a sub-division was laid out on part of Section 521. Boundaries for the locality were created on 5 August 1999 for the "long established name." On 31 January 1971, Myponga was home to the Myponga Open Air Festival, where Daddy Cool and

Black Sabbath Black Sabbath were an English rock music, rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward (musician), Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. They are often cited as pioneers of heavy met ...

played. It was Black Sabbath's first live performance in Australia. The reported attendance was 15,000 people.

Weather station

Myponga has been the site of an official weather station since 1914.

References

Towns in South Australia Fleurieu Peninsula {{SouthAustralia-geo-stub

History

Weather station

See also

References