District Council of Mount Remarkable and predecessors (MRG70)

This group comprises records of the various predecessors of the present Council: Davenport, Wilmington [1] and [11], Port Germein, Woolundunga and Hammond.

Mount Remarkable, like most District Councils in South Australia, is the result of a series of amalgamations. The District Councils Act, 1887, created the District Councils of Port Germein, Wilmington and Davenport which came into being on 5 January 1888. On 25 May 1893 the District Council of Wilmington changed its name to Hammond (2). Davenport became Woolundunga (3) on 8 June teh same year.

On 16 February Hammond and Wooldunga were amalgamated to form the District Council of Wilmington (4). At the same time the boundaries of the two councils (and of the DC of Port Germein) were in turn amalgamated on 1 July 1980.

Hammond, a farming and grazing area named after the elder son of Governor Jervois, was centred on the town of Hammond. Woolundunga, based on the town of Stirling North, was a wheat growing area before World War 1, but subsequently became predominantly pastoral. The District Council of Port Germein, despite its name, was centred on the town of Melrose. The town of Port Germein was the shipping terminus for the agricultural produce of a district stretching across the Flinders Ranges onto the plains beyond. The most recent amalgamation has seen Melrose become the centre of a much larger district.

Same agencies as GA1276, GA2405, GA2406, GA2407, GA2408 - different archival control system.

References:

1. Act No. 419 of 1887, proclaimed in the SAGG of 5 January 1888, page 2. The Second Schedule of the Act sets out the boundaries of the new councils.
2. SAGG of that date, page 1128
3. SAGG of that date, page 1229. The notice sets out the boundaries of the four awards.
4. 4 SAGG of that date, page 240
5. SAGG 24 1980, page 10-62. The boundaries of the new District Council are set out in the Tenth Schedule of the proclamation (pp.1064-5)