The County of Fergusson covers the part of Yorke Peninsula "lying to the south of the south boundary of the County of Daly, including Wauraltee Island", the county boundary approximately aligning with Price town centre.[1][4]
History
The County of Fergusson was proclaimed by Sir James Fergusson, the eighth Governor of South Australia on 18 February 1869 along with three of its constituent hundreds, Melville, Moorowie and Para Wurlie.[1][5] The county was named after Governor Fergusson, who held office from 1869 to 1873.[2]
Sixteen hundreds were proclaimed within the county from 1869 to 1878: Carribie and Coonarie in 1878, Cunningham in 1873, Curramulka in 1874, Dalrymple and Kilkerran in 1872, Koolywurtie in 1874, Maitland in 1872, Melville in 1869, Minlacowie in 1874, Moorowie in 1869, Muloowurtie in 1874, Para Wurlie in 1869, Ramsay in 1872, Warrenben in 1878 and Wauraltee in 1874.[6]
The earliest local government bodies established within the county were the District Council of Melville, formed in 1875 and comprising the Hundred of Melville and part of the Hundred of Moorowie, the Corporate Town of Yorketown which seceded from Melville in 1879, the Corporate Town of Edithburgh which seceded from the same in 1882, the Corporate Town of Maitland, formed in 1883 within the Hundred of Maitland, and the District Council of Dalrymple, formed in 1877 and comprising the Hundred of Dalrymple.
Until 1888 the remaining residents of Yorke Peninsula, scattered across 14 hundred divisions, strongly resisted the establishment of local government. This allowed them to escape being subject to the expense of council rates until 1888 when the promulgation of the District Councils Act 1887 forced the incorporation of the entire peninsula into district councils.[7] Thus, from January 1888:
The hundreds of Carribie, Coonarie, Para Wurlie and Warrenben were incorporated into the District Council of Melville along with a previously unincorporated portion of the Hundred of Moorowie.
List of constituent hundreds
Description of layout of the hundreds
The hundreds located within the County of Fergusson are laid out as follows:[4]
West coast of the peninsula overlooking Spencer Gulf (from south to north) - Warrenben, Carribie, Para Wurlie, northern end of Moorowie, Minlacowie, Koolywurtie, Wauraltee and Kilkerran.
South coast of the peninsula overlooking Investigator Strait (from west to east) - Warrenben, Coonarie, Moorowie and Melville.
East coast overlooking Gulf St Vincent (from south to north) - Melville, Dalrymple, Ramsay, Curramulka, Muloowurtie and Cunningham.
Boundary with the County of Daly (from west to east) - Kilkerran, Maitland and Cunningham.
The Hundred of Para Wurlie (34°59′12″S137°16′36″E / 34.986790°S 137.276570°E / -34.986790; 137.276570 (Hundred of Para Wurlie)) was proclaimed on 18 February 1869. It covers an area of 330 square kilometres (126 sq mi) and its name is reported as being derived from the aboriginal words “Para” which means ‘water’ and “Wurlie” which means ‘hut’.[23] The first local government body within the hundred was the District Council of Melville.
Hundred of Moorowie
The Hundred of Moorowie (35°00′01″S137°28′15″E / 35.000160°S 137.47076°E / -35.000160; 137.47076 (Hundred of Moorowie)) was proclaimed on 18 February 1869. It covers an area of 280 square kilometres (110 sq mi) and its name is reported as being derived from an aboriginal word meaning “a sandy or dusty water.”[24] The first local government body within the hundred was the District Council of Melville.
Proclaimed in 1869 at the south-eastern corner of Yorke Peninsula and first governed at the local level by the District Council of Melville, the Corporate Town of Yorketown and the Corporate Town of Edithburgh.
^ ab"HUNDRED MAP Series Index Map"(PDF). Department of Environment and Heritage, Government of South Australia. December 2008. Retrieved 16 November 2015.
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