Palmer is a town just east of the Adelaide Hills region 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 ...

along the Adelaide-Mannum Road, 70 kilometres east-north-east of the state capital,

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 15 km west-north-west of

Mannum Mannum is a historic town on the west bank of the Murray River in South Australia, east of Adelaide. At the 2016 census, the urban area of Mannum had a population of 2,398. Mannum is the seat of the Mid Murray Council, and is situated in the ...

(). It is located in the

Mid Murray Council The Mid Murray Council is a local government area in South Australia in the Murray and Mallee region of South Australia. The council spans the area from the Riverland through the Murraylands to the eastern slopes of the Mount Lofty Ranges. It in ...

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 ...

. At the

2006 census 6 (six) is the natural number following 5 and preceding 7. It is a composite number and the smallest perfect number. In mathematics Six is the smallest positive integer which is neither a square number nor a prime number; it is the second small ...

, Palmer had a population of 329. Palmer has a primary school (opened 1882), a general store, hotel and a

Lutheran Church Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...

of which Carl Heinrich Loessel was the first pastor, from 22 May 1869 before the church was built, succeeded by the long-serving Pastor Kuss. At the ABS 2001 census, Palmer had a population of 305 people living in 124 dwellings. By the , the population had dropped to only 202 people in 93 dwellings. There are some rock formations at the Granite Boulders Area Geological Site.

History

Palmer is sited on the western confines of the Indigenous Ngaralta people. The first European explorers through the Palmer district were Dr

George Imlay George Imlay (1794–1846), together with his brothers Alexander (1794-1847) and Peter (1797–1881), was a Scottish-born pioneer settler in southern New South Wales. All three reached Australia as military surgeons serving on convict ships. They ...

and

John Hill John Hill may refer to: Business * John Henry Hill (1791–1882), American businessman, educator and missionary * John Hill (planter) (1824–1910), Scottish-born American industrialist and planter * John Hill (businessman) (1847–1926), Austral ...

in January 1838. The Reedy Creek special survey was granted on 14 September 1846 to Enthoven, Capper and Masterman with

Samuel Davenport Sir Samuel Davenport (5 March 1818 – 3 September 1906) was one of the early settlers of Australia and became a landowner and parliamentarian in South Australia. Davenport was fourth son of George Davenport, a wealthy English banker, an ...

as agent. The township of Palmer was laid out in August 1873 on section 960. The town was named after Colonel George Palmer, a

South Australian Colonisation Commission 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 ...

er. It was settled as a mining and agricultural settlement. The Kitticoola mine was discovered as a copper and gold deposit in 1845. The remaining surface elements of the underground mine are heritage-listed.

Hillgrove Resources Hillgrove Resources () is an Australian mining company. Its principal activity has been the Kanmantoo copper mine which was forecast to reach the end of its economic life. Mine life has since been extended, however to a further 6-10 years. Hill ...

acquired rights for further mineral exploration in 2014.

Heritage listings

Palmer has a number of heritage-listed sites, including: * Adelaide-Mannum Road: Granite Boulders Area Geological Site * Mannum Road: Palmer Police Station and Cells * off Mine Road: Kitticoola Mine * Palmer Road: Homestead Complex * off Western Boundary Road:

Reedy Creek Railway Bridge Reedy may refer to:Roberta Reedy Artifact *Reedy Point Bridge in Delaware People * Chuck Reedy, a former American football player and coach * Edward K. Reedy, a director of the Georgia Tech Research Institute * George Reedy, White House Press Se ...

References

External links

Map of Palmer
(Mid Murray Council) Towns in South Australia {{SouthAustralia-geo-stub