Copley is a town in the

Australian state The states and territories are the national subdivisions and second level of government of Australia. The states are partially sovereignty, sovereign, administrative divisions that are autonomous administrative division, self-governing polity, ...

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

. The township adjacent to Leigh Creek Railway Station was officially dedicated as the Town of Copley by a proclamation published on 27 August 1891. The name honours William Copley, who at the time the town was proclaimed was a member of the Legislative Council for the Northern District. According to

Rodney Cockburn Rodney Cockburn (21 October 1877 – 28 September 1932) was a South Australian journalist, author of a popular reference book on South Australian place names. History Cockburn was born in Kent Town, South Australia, a son of George (c. 1835 � ...

(in his

Nomenclature Nomenclature (, ) is a system of names or terms, or the rules for forming these terms in a particular field of arts or sciences. (The theoretical field studying nomenclature is sometimes referred to as ''onymology'' or ''taxonymy'' ). The principl ...

) the name Leigh Creek for the railway station and post office "was officially abandoned in 1916 on the advice of the Nomenclature Committee, who acted upon the suggestion of Lachlan McTaggart of Wooltana Station The Committee pointed out that it was most undesirable to have a town of one designation and a railway station and post office of another. The name Leigh Creek had no legal status by way of dedication, while the town of Copley was proclaimed under the Crown Lands Act and there were many sound reasons why the latter appellative should be adopted for all Government purposes. It seemed absurd to have a name wholly foreign to the title deeds used for the post office and railway station. At a public meeting the residents protested vigorously against the change. Copley is located within the federal

division of Grey The Division of Grey is an Divisions of the Australian House of Representatives, Australian electoral division in South Australia. The division was one of the seven established when the former Division of South Australia was redistributed on 2 ...

, the state

electoral district of Stuart Stuart is a single-member Electoral districts of South Australia, electoral district for the South Australian House of Assembly. At 323,131 km², it is a vast country district extending from the Spencer Gulf as far as the Northern Territo ...

and the

Pastoral Unincorporated Area The pastoral genre of literature, art, or music depicts an idealised form of the shepherd's lifestyle – herding livestock around open areas of land according to the seasons and the changing availability of water and pasture. The target aud ...

of South Australia. As of 2016, the community within Copley received

municipal services Municipal services or city services refer to basic services that residents of a city expect the local government to provide in exchange for the taxes which citizens pay. Basic city services may include sanitation (both sewer and refuse), wa ...

from a South Australian government agency, the

Outback Communities Authority The Outback Communities Authority (OCA) is a statutory authority in South Australia (SA) created under the ''Outback Communities (Administration and Management) Act 2009''. It has been established to "manage the provision of public services and f ...

Notes and references

Sources

Extract entitled "Copley, A Potted History" Commemorating Copley's Centenary 1891–1991. On one side is a map, Portion D.BP.10, Roads Book {{authority control Towns in South Australia Far North (South Australia) Places in the unincorporated areas of South Australia