Glencoe is a town in

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 ...

, Australia, located north-west of

Mount Gambier Mount Gambier is the second most populated city in South Australia, with a population of 25,591 as of the 2021 census. The city is located on the slopes of Mount Gambier (volcano), Mount Gambier, a volcano in the south east of the state, about ...

History

Establishment

On 6 March 1844,

Tasmania Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...

pastoralists Pastoralism is a form of animal husbandry where domesticated animals (known as "livestock") are released onto large vegetated outdoor lands (pastures) for grazing, historically by nomadic people who moved around with their herds. The anima ...

Edward Leake and

Robert Leake Robert Leake (1824 – 1 May 1901) was a British Liberal politician. Leake was the eldest son of Robert Leake of Manchester and Mary Lockett of Salford, Lancashire. After a private education he became head of Lockett, Leake and Company, engrav ...

established Glencoe as a

sheep station A sheep station is a large property ( station, the equivalent of a ranch) in Australia or New Zealand, whose main activity is the raising of sheep for their wool and/or meat. In Australia, sheep stations are usually in the south-east or sout ...

covering . They brought with them

Saxon Merino The Saxons, sometimes called the Old Saxons or Continental Saxons, were a Germanic people of early medieval "Old" Saxony () which became a Carolingian "stem duchy" in 804, in what is now northern Germany. Many of their neighbours were, like them ...

sheep, cattle, and broke horses nearby at Lake Leake establishing the Inverary run with

Adam Lindsay Gordon Adam Lindsay Gordon (19 October 1833 – 24 June 1870) was a British-Australian poet, horseman, police officer and politician. He was the first Australian poet to gain considerable recognition overseas, and according to his contemporary, write ...

. In acquiring the land, the Leake brothers soon came into conflict with the local Aboriginal people, killing one or two in a skirmish in late 1844. In 1845, Leake with six other armed horsemen gave battle to a group of around 200 Aboriginal people who had taken a large number of sheep, and dispersed them after a couple of shots. The Chief Protector of Aborigines reported in 1845 that thirty employees at Glencoe had public copulation in the presence of each other with two native females, while an Aboriginal man was shot there. On the death of Robert in 1860, his brother Edward inherited Glencoe Station, and continued to build the Glencoe Woolshed in 1863. Edward died in 1867. Letitia Leake sold the station to John Riddoch and

George Riddoch George Riddoch (10 August 1842 – 23 April 1919) was an Australian pastoralist and politician. He was a member of the South Australian House of Assembly from 1893 to 1896, representing Electoral district of Victoria (South Australia), Victoria, ...

, who later divided the property between themselves. When the Riddoch brothers dissolved their partnership in 1898, George took the northern half, which he named "Koorine". John broke up his portion for closer settlement.

Governance

In 1846, the cadastral unit

County of Grey The County of Grey is one of the 49 cadastral counties of South Australia. It was proclaimed in 1846 by Governor Frederick Robe and named for former Governor George Grey. It covers the extreme south-east of the state from Penola and Lake Geor ...

, and subsequent Hundred of Young was proclaimed by the then Governor

Frederick Robe Major-General Frederick Holt Robe CB (1801 – 4 April 1871) was the fourth Governor of South Australia, from 25 October 1845 to 2 August 1848. Early career Frederick Holt Robe entered the Royal Staff Corps as an ensign in 1817, following his ...

. Glencoe was annexed by the since amalgamated District Council of Mount Gambier West in 1888 by the enactment of the

District Councils Act 1887 The District Councils Act 1887 was an act of the Parliament of South Australia. It received assent on 9 December 1887, and its provisions came into effect when proclaimed by Governor William C. F. Robinson on 5 January 1888. The legislation intr ...

, a statewide legislative push to ensure all settled areas of the state be under local governance. The former District Council of Tantanoola annexed the settlement from Mount Gambier West by virtue of the

Local Government Areas (Re-arrangement) Acts 1929 and 1931 The Local Government Areas (Re-arrangement) Acts 1929 and 1931 were acts of the Parliament of South Australia. The application of the acts, via recommendations of the commission of the same name, led to the statewide re-arrangement of local govern ...

, effective from 23 May 1932. The council was subsequently subdivided into Wards named Glencoe East Ward, Glencoe West Ward, Central Ward, and Bridge's Flat Ward. Glencoe has been a part of the

Wattle Range Council Wattle Range Council is a local government area in the Limestone Coast region of South Australia. It stretches from the coast at Beachport east to the Victorian border. It had a population of over 11,000 as at the 2016 Census. The council is d ...

local government area since 1997 following an amalgamation between the former District Councils of Beachport, Millicent and Penola.

Glencoe Woolshed

The Glencoe Woolshed is a heritage listed, 36 stand, sheep sheering shed built in 1863 by brothers Edward and Robert Leake. Constructed from local limestone and hand-hewn hardwood timber, it has been maintained in its original condition and now serves as a museum. The shed was not converted to mechanical shears, and remains operational as a

blade shearing Blade shearing or hand shearing is the style of sheep shearing, shearing sheep and other animals with fibrous coats (alpaca, llama, goats etc.) with a set of specialized scissors. It is practiced in many parts of the world as both an occupation an ...

shed, now hosting shearing exhibitions and guided tours. It is located in the centre of the town, and forms a part of the larger Glencoe Station settlement, including the former homestead, Frontier House, and the Glencoe Station stables and coach-house. The historic Glencoe Woolshed and Glencoe Station Stables and coach-house are listed on the

South Australian Heritage Register The South Australian Heritage Register, also known as the SA Heritage Register, is a statutory register of historic places in South Australia. It extends legal protection regarding demolition and development under the ''Heritage Places Act 1993'' ...

Wandilo-Glencoe Railway

On 22 August 1904, the ,

narrow-gauge A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge (distance between the rails) narrower than . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curv ...

Wandilo-Glencoe Railway officially began operation. It branched from the Mount Gambier-Naracoorte siding at Wandilo — north-west of Mount Gambier. The branch was built to service the local agriculture and horticulture industry. The branch was decommissioned in June 1957 when the main line was converted to

broad-gauge A broad-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge (the distance between the rails) broader than the used by standard-gauge railways. Broad gauge of , more known as Russian gauge, is the dominant track gauge in former Soviet Union countries ...

Etymology

The settlement was named in honour of John McIntyre's birthplace,

Glen Coe Glen Coe ( ) is a glen of glacial origins, that cuts though volcanic rocks in the Scottish Highlands, Highlands of Scotland. It lies in the north of the shires of Scotland, county of Argyll, close to the border with the history of local governm ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. The Aboriginal name for the district was kilap, "deep water".

Economy

Surrounding Glencoe are pine tree plantations used in the production of

paper pulp Pulp is a fibrous lignocellulosic material prepared by chemically, semi-chemically, or mechanically isolating the cellulosic fibers of wood, fiber crops, waste paper, or rags. Mixed with water and other chemicals or plant-based additives, pul ...

and for the supply to

sawmill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logging, logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes ...

s in the area. Sheep and cattle farming is also a strong part of the economy.

Education

The town has one R-7 primary school and one pre-school, Glencoe Central Primary School and Glencoe & District Kindergarten.

Sport

The single main sporting complex in Glencoe caters for multiple sporting leagues and activities including

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an Australian rules football playing field, oval field, often a modified ...

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

netball Netball is a ball sport played on a rectangular court by two teams of seven players. The primary objective is to shoot a ball through the defender's goal ring while preventing the opposing team from shooting through their own. It is one of a ...

and

tennis Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...

. The facilities include: an oval, shared cricket and football clubrooms, football change rooms, shared tennis and netball clubrooms and change rooms. The Glencoe Football Club which is a part of the

Mid South Eastern Football League The Mid South Eastern Football League is an Australian rules football competition based in the Limestone Coast region of South Australia. It is an affiliated member of the South Australian National Football League. Clubs Current Previous ...

has 4 teams; A-Grade, B-Grade, Senior Colts and Junior Colts. Glencoe was also a founding member of the league when it was established in 1936.

Lake Leake

Lake Leake, an extinct volcanic crater associated with the

Newer Volcanics Province The Newer Volcanics Province is a geological area which is a volcanic field, formed by the East Australia hotspot across south-eastern Australia. It covers an area of , with over 400 small shield volcanoes and volcanic vents. The area contains ...

, formed when rising red-hot molten rock encountered water in the limestone plain. Massive steam-driven explosions blew rock and lava high into the air. Powdered rock (ash)and rocks fell back to form a low rim around a wide flat crater – a part of which remains today. Lake Leake and the nearby Lake Edward, are unique in the Mount Burr Range. They perch above the regions water table and are filled by rainwater and run-off only. Pollen spores collected from lake sediment indicate that the volcanic activity occurred here much earlier than 20,000 years ago.

References

External links

Wattle Range Council web site
{{Authority control Towns in South Australia Limestone Coast