Lochiel is a small town in the

Mid North The Mid North is a region of South Australia, north of the Adelaide Plains and south of the Far North and the outback. It is generally accepted to extend from Spencer Gulf east to the Barrier Highway, including the coastal plain, the souther ...

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 ...

125 km (78 mi) north of

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

. The town lies beside on the western edge of

Lake Bumbunga Lake Bumbunga is a salt lake located in the Mid North of the state of South Australia, between the town of Lochiel, South Australia, Lochiel and the farming locality of Bumbunga, South Australia, Bumbunga, approximately 1.5 hours' drive from Ade ...

and at the eastern foot of the

Hummocks Range The Hummocks or Hummock Range is a range of hills in the northern Mount Lofty Ranges extending north from the eastern edge of Yorke Peninsula in South Australia. It is traversed by the Copper Coast Highway immediately west of where it passes arou ...

. The

Augusta Highway Augusta Highway is the part of Australia's ring route (Highway 1 (Australia), Highway 1) located in South Australia between Port Wakefield, South Australia, Port Wakefield and Port Augusta, South Australia, Port Augusta. Route Augusta Highway ...

, a section of Highway 1, runs on a strip between the township and the lake, which dwarfs the former.

Name

In 1869 the South Australian Governor

Sir James Fergusson James Fergusson may refer to: Politics *Sir James Fergusson, 6th Baronet (1832–1907), Governor of South Australia, New Zealand and Bombay *Sir James Fergusson, 8th Baronet (1904–1973), Lord Lieutenant of Ayrshire *Sir James Fergusson, Lord Ki ...

gave the

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

name ''Lochiel'' to the site of this planned Government Town. It is the name given to the senior line of

Chiefs of Clan Cameron The following is a list of the clan chief, Chiefs of Clan Cameron, the senior line of the ancient Cameron clan. The chief is seated at Achnacarry Castle and uniquely referred to as the Lochiel (). Traditional chiefs The first ten chiefs of Clan ...

– the town being situated in the Hundred of Cameron, named after pioneer Hugh Cameron.Related names in Clan Cameron lands in the Scottish Highlands are those of

Loch Eil Loch Eil () is a loch, sea loch in Lochaber, Scotland that opens into Loch Linnhe near the town of Fort William, Highland, Fort William. John Stewart of Ardvorlich, Ardvorlich notes that "the name of the Chief of Clan Cameron is spelt LOCHIEL, ...

ic a branch of the sea loch of Loch Linnhe; and the Frìth Loch Iall (or Locheil Forest).

History

The Government Town of Lochiel was surveyed in 1869, closely following the proclamation of the cadastral Hundred of Cameron. 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 ...

'' declared the township and the rest of the Hundred of Cameron a part of the District Council of Port Wakefield. The following year, lobbying by residents resulted in the Hundred of Cameron being moved from the control of Wakefield council into the jurisdiction of the

District Council of Snowtown The District Council of Snowtown was a local government area in South Australia from 1888 to 1987. History The District Council of Snowtown was officially proclaimed on 5 January 1888 by the '' District Councils Act 1887'' as constituting the Hu ...

, cementing a close relationship between Lochiel and

Snowtown Snowtown is a town located in the Mid North of South Australia 145 km (90 miles) north of Adelaide and lies on the main road and rail routes between Adelaide and Perth, Western Australia, Perth – the Augusta Highway and Adelaide-Port ...

rather than the more distant Port Wakefield. In 1976, a resident of a farm at Bumbunga, just east of Lochiel, declared a secessionist

micronation A micronation is a polity, political entity whose representatives claim that they belong to an independent nation or sovereign state, but which lacks legal recognition by any sovereign state. Micronations are classified separately from list o ...

, the Province of Bumbunga. By 1999 it no longer existed. In the 2011 Australian census, the population of Lochiel and adjacent farming communities was 362.

Governance

The local government agency serving the town is

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, Ba ...

following a transfer in 1997 from the

District Council of Blyth-Snowtown The District Council of Blyth-Snowtown (established as the District Council of Blyth and Snowtown) was a local government area in South Australia from 1987 until 1997. On 9 December 1987 the council was established by the amalgamation of the Di ...

. The town boundaries were formalised in 2000.An adjustment was made in 2007 to annex an eastern strip of Ninnes that had been within

, the same local council as Lochiel, instead of the council governing the rest of Ninnes (

District Council of Barunga West The Barunga West Council is a local government area in the Yorke and Mid North region of South Australia. The council seat is at Port Broughton, with a sub-office at Bute. Description The council takes its name from the Barunga Range in the eas ...

). The town lies in the state electoral district of Nurangga and in the federal electoral division of

Grey Grey (more frequent in British English) or gray (more frequent in American English) is an intermediate color between black and white. It is a neutral or achromatic color, meaning that it has no chroma. It is the color of a cloud-covered s ...

Economy

In 1868, the potential of Lake Bumbunga's shallow waters for natural

salt In common usage, salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl). When used in food, especially in granulated form, it is more formally called table salt. In the form of a natural crystalline mineral, salt is also known as r ...

mining was recognised. Salt has been harvested from the lake bed in summer months since 1881, providing employment and other economic benefits for many years. After 1913, when the Australian Salt Company was incorporated, the company and its successors, latterly trading as Cheetham Salt, have held the lake leases continuously. Profitability was improved after a 9 km branch line was built from the nearby broad-gauge railway line, enabling transport directly to Port Adelaide. Lochiel itself is said to have "developed slowly with the industry, its survival in the 20th century being almost totally dependent on the salt harvesting". In 2011, about 270 million tonnes of lignite (brown coal) were estimated to be in a deposit north of Lochiel in seven seams from 70 to 110 metres underground. The seams' thickness varied from 0.3 to 3.0 metres, for a total of 9.4 metres. The site was considered to be favourable because it lies only 6 km (4 mi) from the railway line to Adelaide, Darwin and Perth. The deposit was not subsequently developed.

Attraction

In 1972 a local man, Gary Taylor, and his friends created a sculpture of rubber tyres and plastic in the shallows of Lake Bumbunga 2.4 km north of the town (), to be visible from the main highway. They named it "Loch Eel" – a

tongue-in-cheek Tongue-in-cheek is an idiom that describes a humorous or sarcastic statement expressed in a serious manner. History The phrase originally expressed contempt, but by 1842 had acquired its modern meaning. Early users of the phrase include Sir Walte ...

allusion to the supposed appearance of the

Loch Ness Monster The Loch Ness Monster (), known affectionately as Nessie, is a mythical creature in Scottish folklore that is said to inhabit Loch Ness in the Scottish Highlands. It is often described as large, long-necked, and with one or more humps protrud ...

. There is speculation that by early-mid 2022 Lochiel will have another tourist drawcard added to the list of things to appreciate, and to help break up long drives on highway one.

Notes

References

External links

Wakefield Regional Council
{{authority control Towns in South Australia