The District Council of Kingscote was a local government area located on the western part of Kangaroo Island in the Australian state of South Australia and which existed from 1888 to 1996.
The District Council of Kingscote was a local government area located on the western part of Kangaroo Island in the Australian state of South Australia and which existed from 1888 to 1996.
It was one of the local government areas that came into existence upon the proclamation of the District Councils Act 1887 on 5 January 1888, and initially comprised the entirety of Kangaroo Island. [1] [2]
The decision of the Government of South Australia to proclaim a single district council for the entire island, rather than the preferred option of two district councils, consisting of one for the cadastral units of the Hundreds of Dudley and Haines in the east and one for the Hundreds of Cassini and Menzies in the west, was unpopular, particularly with the residents of the Hundred of Dudley, who were concerned that they would be disfranchised due to the relatively long travel distance to the district’s likely seat in Kingscote.
A petition signed by 61 ratepayers in the Hundreds of Dudley and Haines requesting a separate district council in the east end of the island was presented to Thomas Playford, the Treasurer of South Australia, on 7 September 1887 who advised in reply: [3]
the Hundred of Haines was in his opinion more identified with Kingscote than with Hog Bay, and that he could not recommend the request being granted. After the Bill became law if inconvenience resulted the ratepayers could petition him. The Government would give due consideration to any such request.
A subsequent petition signed by 51 ratepayers from the Hundred of Dudley which requested the severing of the Hundred of Dudley and the eastern part of the Hundred of Haines from the district council was received by the Government and was published in its gazette on 29 March 1888. [4] On 7 June 1888, the petitioners’ request was granted by a proclamation under the District Councils Act 1887 with the creation of a new local government area, the District Council of Dudley. [5]
The District Council of Kingscote’s seat was located in the town of Kingscote where two council chambers were constructed during its lifetime with the first in 1910 and the second in 1955. [6] [7]
In 1936, the district council was reported as covering an area of 3,017 square kilometres (745,600 acres) with 137 kilometres (85 mi) of “main roads” and 9,900 kilometres (6,150 mi) of “district roads”, and a population of 851 people all accommodated in 1083 dwellings. The industries included the production of eucalyptus oil from the leaves of the Kangaroo Island narrow-leaf mallee and the harvesting of gum from naturally-cultivated yacca plants known as “yacca-gumming.” [6]
In 1986, the district council was reported as having an area of 3,935 square kilometres (1,519 sq mi) and a population of about 3450 (as of 1984-85) with about 1500 people living in Kingscote and about 100 living in the smaller centre of Parndana located about 40 kilometres (25 mi) to the west of Kingscote. The principal industries were agriculture and tourism. Agriculture was concerned with the production of wool and meat, while tourism was changing from a traditional focus on recreational fishing to one where people visited the island to see its landscape, flora and fauna. [7]
In 1996, it was amalgamated with the District Council of Dudley to create the Kangaroo Island Council. [8]
The following persons were elected as chairman of the district council up until 1974 when the title was changed to mayor for the following terms:
Flinders Chase National Park is a protected area in the Australian state of South Australia located at the west end of Kangaroo Island about 177 kilometres west-south west of the state capital of Adelaide and 110 kilometres west of the municipal seat of Kingscote. It is a sanctuary for endangered species and home to a few geological phenomena. It was the second national park to be declared in South Australia.
The Kangaroo Island Council is a local government area in South Australia that covers the entirety of Kangaroo Island, 13 km off the coast of the mainland. The council was formed on the 28 November 1996 by the amalgamation of the District Council of Kingscote and the District Council of Dudley. Its first meeting held on 11 December 1996.
Beyeria Conservation Park is a protected area in the Australian state of South Australia located on Kangaroo Island in the gazetted locality of Haines, about 16 kilometres south of Kingscote on the northern edge of the MacGillivray Plain.
Nepean Bay is a locality in the Australian state of South Australia located on the southern shore of Western Cove in Nepean Bay on the north coast of Kangaroo Island and about 128 kilometres south-west of the state capital of Adelaide and about 10 kilometres south-south-west of the municipal seat of Kingscote.
The District Council of Wilmington was a local government area in South Australia, centred on the town of Wilmington from 1888 to 1980.
Dudley Peninsula is the peninsula forming the eastern end of Kangaroo Island in the Australian state of South Australia. It was occupied by Aboriginal Australians as recently as 3,100 years BP but was found to be unoccupied by the first European explorers to visit it in the early 19th century. It was first settled by Europeans as early as the 1830s. As of 2011, it had a population of 595 people.
The Hundred of Cameron is a cadastral unit of hundred located in the Mid North of South Australia centred on Lake Bumbunga. The northern Hummock Range occupies much of the western half of the area and the Adelaide-Port Augusta railway line runs near and parallel to the eastern boundary. It is one of the 16 hundreds of the County of Daly. It was named in 1869 by Governor James Fergusson for early pioneer Hugh Cameron.
The District Council of Crystal Brook was a local government area in South Australia from 1882 until 1988, seated at Crystal Brook.
The District Council of Redhill was a local government area in South Australia from 1888 to 1988.
The District Council of Dudley was a local government area on Kangaroo Island in South Australia from 1888 to 1996. It was proclaimed on 7 June 1888 under the District Councils Act 1887 after being "severed" from the District Council of Kingscote.
The Hundred of Dudley is a cadastral unit of hundred located in the Australian state of South Australia on Kangaroo Island and which covers an area of 300 square kilometres (117 sq mi) including the full extent of the Dudley Peninsula and some land to the west of the peninsula.
Sapphiretown is a locality in the Australian state of South Australia located on the north coast of Dudley Peninsula on Kangaroo Island overlooking Eastern Cove about 121 kilometres south of the state capital of Adelaide and about 16 kilometres south-west of Penneshaw.
The District Council of Hallett was a local government area in South Australia from 1877 to 1997.
County of Carnarvon is a cadastral unit located in the Australian state of South Australia which covers the full extent of Kangaroo Island. It was proclaimed in 1874 by Governor Musgrave in response to the demand for agriculture land on Kangaroo Island.
Seddon is a locality in the Australian state of South Australia located on Kangaroo Island about 151 kilometres (94 mi) south-west of the state capital of Adelaide and about 37 kilometres (23 mi) south-west of the municipal seat of Kingscote.
Kohinoor is a locality in the Australian state of South Australia located on Kangaroo Island about 137 kilometres south-west of the state capital of Adelaide and about 20 kilometres south-east of the municipal seat of Kingscote.
Menzies is a locality in the Australian state of South Australia located on Kangaroo Island about 136 kilometres south-west of the state capital of Adelaide and about 19 kilometres west of the municipal seat of Kingscote.
Haines is a locality in the Australian state of South Australia located on the south coast of Kangaroo Island overlooking the body of water known in Australia as the Southern Ocean and by international authorities as the Great Australian Bight. It is located about 129 kilometres south-west of the state capital of Adelaide and about 17 kilometres south of the municipal seat of Kingscote.
The District Council of Snowtown was a local government area in South Australia from 1888 to 1987.
The District Council of Meningie was a local government area in the colony and then the Australian state of South Australia that existed from 1888 to 1997 on land in the state’s south-east.
Coordinates: 35°39′22″S137°38′19″E / 35.656110°S 137.638520°E