Darke Peak South Australia | |||||||||||||||
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Coordinates | 33°28′06″S136°12′02″E / 33.468410°S 136.200590°E [1] | ||||||||||||||
Population | 175 (2006 census) [2] | ||||||||||||||
Established | 4 June 1914 (town) 23 December 1998 (locality) [3] [4] | ||||||||||||||
Postcode(s) | 5633 | ||||||||||||||
Elevation | 247 m (810 ft)[ citation needed ] | ||||||||||||||
Time zone | ACST (UTC+9:30) | ||||||||||||||
• Summer (DST) | ACST (UTC+10:30) | ||||||||||||||
Location |
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LGA(s) | District Council of Cleve [1] | ||||||||||||||
Region | Eyre Western [5] | ||||||||||||||
County | Jervois [1] | ||||||||||||||
State electorate(s) | Flinders [6] | ||||||||||||||
Federal division(s) | Grey [7] | ||||||||||||||
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Footnotes | Adjoining localities [1] |
Darke Peak (formerly Carappee) is a small agricultural town located in central Eyre Peninsula, South Australia. The town is the population centre for the surrounding agricultural district and has become a minor historical tourist town. It is situated on Barngarla lands. The J. C. Darke Memorial and Grave, commemorating early European explorer John Charles Darke, is located near the township and is located on the South Australian Heritage Register. [9]
The town has a number of limited facilities, including accommodation, grocery and fuel supplies. At the 2006 census, Darke Peak had a population of 175. [2]
The area was in the general vicinity of Nauo and Barngarla land.
The town takes its name from the explorer John Charles Darke, who was injured in a spear attack by Indigenous people while he was climbing nearby Waddikee Rock on 24 October 1844. Waddikee Rock is a sacred site of the Barngarla people. [10] He died the next day and was buried at the foot of the Rock. [11] Governor Grey expressed a wish that some landform in the region of the grave should be named to honour him. In 1865 surveyor Thomas Evans who was performing a trigonometrical survey of the Gawler Ranges and named the 1,564 ft (477 m) high mount, 'Darke's Peak'. [12]
In 1909, another surveyor, W.G. Evans, reported that he had found bones in a grave and was satisfied they were the remains of Darke. Darke's grave and monument are located on the western side of the range, still standing as a memorial to the first European who explored this area. The memorial was erected by the SA Government in 1910. [11]
The township of Darke Peak was originally proclaimed Carappee in 1914. The town was renamed in 1940 after the peak that bears John Charles Darke's name as further honour to the explorer. A school opened in the town in 1917. [13]
Darke Peak includes Darke Range, Caralue Bluff, Carappee Hill Conservation Park and Carappee Hill in the surrounding area, with Carappee Hill known for being the highest exposed granite rock mass on Eyre Peninsula. [14]
Darke Peak is predominantly a farming community, with surrounding areas producing cereal crops, with sheep also produced as a backup for when the region experiences poor rainfall. Local farmers have been farming the area for a number of generations, predating the establishment of the town. The farming areas are very similar to other towns across the central Eyre Peninsula, growing much the same crops under similar climate conditions. [15]
Tourism is a minor component of the towns economy, with Darke's Grave, The Darke Range and various tourist drives the main attractions. Tourist information is present at The Peak Stop shelter.
Darke Peak has a hotel which dates back to the early days of the settlement and offers accommodation and meals.
Sporting facilities in the town include tennis and netball courts, oval, playground, swimming pool and a golf course, with some sports teams competing in local leagues. [15]
Darke Peak is located in the local government area of District Council of Cleve, the State Electoral district of Flinders and the Federal Division of Grey. [7] [6] [1]
Lincoln National Park is a protected area in the Australian state of South Australia located about 249 kilometres (155 mi) west of the state capital of Adelaide and about 9.5 kilometres (5.9 mi) south of the municipal seat of Port Lincoln. It consists of a mainland area on the Jussieu Peninsula on the south eastern tip of Eyre Peninsula and a number of nearby islands. The national park contains significant sites of natural, indigenous and early European heritage.
The Eyre Peninsula is a triangular peninsula in South Australia. It is bounded by the Spencer Gulf on the east, the Great Australian Bight on the west, and the Gawler Ranges to the north.
The District Council of Lower Eyre Peninsula is a local government area located on Eyre Peninsula in South Australia. The district covers the southern tip of the peninsula, except for the small area taken up by the City of Port Lincoln.
Arno Bay is a small fishing and tourist town on the east coast of Eyre Peninsula in South Australia, located on the Lincoln Highway about halfway between Whyalla and Port Lincoln. First proclaimed under the name Bligh in 1883, the current name dates back to 1940. It is a recreational town with a number of marine and nature based attractions, including fishing, surfing and swimming.
Kimba is a rural service town on the Eyre Highway at the top of Eyre Peninsula in the Australian state of South Australia. At the 2016 census, Kimba had a population of 629 and it has an annual rainfall of 348 millimetres (13.7 in). There is an 8-metre (26 ft) tall statue of a galah beside the highway, marking halfway between the east and west coasts of Australia. The Gawler Ranges are north of the highway near the town.
Tumby Bay is a coastal town situated on the Spencer Gulf, on the eastern coast of Eyre Peninsula in South Australia, 45 kilometres (28 mi) north of Port Lincoln. The town of Tumby Bay is the major population centre of the District Council of Tumby Bay, and the centre of an agricultural district farming cereal crops and sheep, as well as having established fishing and tourism industries.
Cleve is a small agriculturally based town on Central Eyre Peninsula in South Australia. It is 226 km southwest of Port Augusta and 143 km north of Port Lincoln. At the 2006 census, Cleve had a population of 738. The town has its origins in the 1850s, with the town established some twenty years later.
The District Council of Cleve is a local government area on the eastern Eyre Peninsula in South Australia. The district is mostly agricultural in nature, but also encompasses the popular coastal tourist town of Arno Bay.
Wudinna is a town in South Australia. The area was first settled by Europeans in 1861 when Robert George Standley lodged a claim for 10 square miles (26 km2) of land surrounding Weedna Hill. It was proclaimed a town in 1916. It is on the Eyre Highway across the centre of Eyre Peninsula. It is the seat of the Wudinna District Council.
Cowell is a coastal town on Franklin Harbor on the eastern side of the Eyre Peninsula, in South Australia on the Lincoln Highway 111 km south of the major town of Whyalla. It is 493 km by road from Adelaide.
Streaky Bay is a coastal town on the western side of the Eyre Peninsula, in South Australia just off the Flinders Highway, 303 km (188 mi) north-west of Port Lincoln and 727 km (452 mi) by road from Adelaide. At the 2016 census, Streaky Bay recorded a population of 1, 378.
The Eastern Eyre Football League (EEFL) is an Australian rules football competition based in the Eyre Peninsula region of South Australia. It was formed in 1989 from the merger of the Kimba Districts Football League and the County Jervois Football League. The league's foundation clubs were Cleve, Cowell, Darke Peak-Waddikee, Kimba Districts, Ports and Rudall.
The Tumby Bay District Council is a local government area of South Australia covering an area of the North Eastern Eyre Peninsula. It was established in 1906, only six years after the town of Tumby Bay was established, when the district was severed from the former District Council of Lincoln to form the present council.
Ungarra is a small swamp town located on the Eyre Peninsula, in the Australian state of South Australia about 248 kilometres (154 mi) from the state's capital, Adelaide and around 80 kilometres (50 mi) north of Port Lincoln. At the 2021 census, Ungarra had a population of 156. This has decreased since the 2006 census, when Ungarra is recorded to have a population of 241.
Lipson is an historic farming town on the Eyre Peninsula, located only 12 km from Tumby Bay, South Australia. At the 2006 census, Lipson had a population of 209.
Smoky Bay is a town and locality located in the Australian state of South Australia on the west coast of the Eyre Peninsula. Previously used as a port, the town is now a residential settlement and popular tourist destination known for its recreational fishing, with a boat ramp and jetty located in the town.
Denial Bay is a town and an associated locality in the Australian state of South Australia located on the state's west coast about 562 kilometres (349 mi) north-west of the state capital of Adelaide and about 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) west of the municipal seat of Ceduna.The town which is located on the western side of Murat Bay has extensive European history, first built on in 1889, and now hosts a large expanse of oyster farms, one of the largest on the Eyre Peninsula.
Rudall is a town and locality in South Australia. At the 2016 census, Rudall had a population of 90. It is named for the cadastral Hundred of Rudall, which was named after politician Samuel Rudall.
Wharminda is a locality in the Australian state of South Australia located on the Eyre Peninsula about 242 kilometres west of the state capital of Adelaide.
Carappee Hill Conservation Park is a protected area in the Australian state of South Australia located on the Eyre Peninsula in the gazetted locality of Darke Peak about 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) north-east of the town centre in Darke Peak.