Yankalilla, South Australia
Encyclopedia
Yankalilla is an agriculturally-based town situated on the southern Fleurieu Peninsula
in South Australia
, located 72 km south of the state's capital of Adelaide
. The town is nestled in the Bungala River
valley, overlooked by the southern Mount Lofty Ranges
and acts as a service centre for the surrounding agricultural district.
In the early stages of the colonisation of the state, Yankalilla was a highly important location, but its close proximity to Adelaide and the advent of fast transport has greatly diminished this position.
Ramindjeri
people, who occupied an area of land stretching from Cape Jervis
to the top of Gulf St. Vincent. The Kaurna occasionally met with the Ramindjeri people from the Encounter Bay and Fleurieu Peninsula region for trade and exchange. Aboriginal myth credits the formation of the land forms of the Southern Fleurieu Peninsula to the travels of Tjilbruke
as he grieved carrying the body of his nephew from the Sturt River
to Cape Jervis
.
Evidence of Megafauna
, including bones attributed to Diprotodon
, Maesopus (a giant kangaroo
) and Thylacoleo (a marsupial lion) were discovered in the 1890s in a swamp near Yankalilla and conjecture surrounds the possibility that the animals were hunted by the Ramindjerl people.
activities, but the current location of the town came into being four years later.
The origin of the town's name is unclear, but it is known that Governor Hindmarsh
recorded the aboriginal
pronunciation of "Yoongalilla", as applied to the District and noted this in dispatches of 1837. Colonel Light
, however wrote about it as Yanky-lilly and Yanky Point, giving rise to the unsubstantiated idea that it was named after an American whaler
or an American ship named 'Lilly' which was wrecked off the coast.
More recently, a Kaurna scholar, Georgina Yambo Williams (co-authoring a paper with Rob Amery) has accounted for the origin of the town's name. Drawing from her own knowledge and various literary sources from the period of colonisation, she relates that Yankalilla comes from the words yerkandi, meaning to fall to, to join onto, much in the way a disease does, and lya and illa, which means 'place'. Thus, we get Yankalilla, literally, the 'place of the fallen bits'. This, of course, is in reference to the Dreaming story of Tjibruki related above; who carried his dead nephew's disintegrating body from (what is now called) the Sturt River to Yankalilla, where he collapsed.
The actual town of Yankalilla was established in 1839 when The Reverend Father Henry Kemmis, came to live on land allocated to him be his cousin Governor George Grey. His wife died shortly after they landed in Adelaide, his children were left with servants, who built their home, the Reverend remarried and later travelled throughout Australia, establishing schools. Shortly afterward in 1842 Septimane Herbert and George Worthington took up land and built houses in the town. The farmers planted wheat
and barley
in the land they had cleared, paving the way for future agricultural developments.
The town grew rapidly between 1850 and 1870 and during this time Yankalilla became one of the five major towns in the colony of South Australia
. A jetty
was constructed on the coast to export the wheat grown in the district. The district council
was officially proclaimed in 1854 and by the late 1860s the Yankalilla and Normanville
had three flour mills, five stores, two breweries, four blacksmith
s, three hotels and five churches.
Ther town's Anglican church, 'Christ Church', has a marble
font
which has its origins in the Middle Ages
, once gracing Salisbury Cathedral
in England. It was given to a former Christ Church rector
during a visit to England. The former owners subsequently regretted their generosity and requested its return, but this was denied.
Another point of interest is the Shrine of Our Lady of Yankalilla
in the Anglican church. In August 1994 an image was thought to have become visible on a wall behind the altar of the 137 year old stone
church. It was interpreted as an image of the Virgin Mary, depicting her face and body and appearing to be holding the crucified
Christ
in the manner of a pietà
. Two years after the image appeared on the wall the local press covered the story in the Adelaide Advertiser, bringing international tourists to the town.
A number of buildings in the town are heritage listed, including the Anglican church, Manor Farm and The Olives. A number of previously listed buildings are no longer standing.
. It is situated in the valley carved by the Bungala River, which meets the sea at the coast not far from the town, at nearby Normanville
. The natural vegetation is dominated by Eucalypt
s and other southern natives, although grasses and weeds have taken their toll on many species.
, with sandstone
, mudstone
and limestone
deposited on an ancient sea floor between 1000 million and 600 million years ago during the Proterozoic
. The youngest rocks in the region are in deposits laid down during the Cambrian
period (600 to 500 million years ago) when fossil
s first appeared in the record. Fossils in the Normanville Group of rocks, which outcrop on the coast from Myponga Beach to Carrickalinga
, were the first proof of Cambrian-age rocks in the Mount Lofty Ranges.
The area was impacted during the Delamerian Orogeny
around 500 Million Years ago, forming mountain ranges, which have long since eroded
away. During the Permian
ice age
s, many of the areas rocks were left with striation
pavements, showing the direction of glacial movement, with Glacier Rock at Inman Valley, South Australia
a well studied example. During the Triassic
, Laterite
, an iron-rich formation was deposited, and is now of economic value in road metals.
The landscape came to its present form only around two million years ago, after a period of subsidence
, followed by uplift from intraplate movements, the same disturbance that formed the Flinders Ranges
.
, like the rest of the Peninsula; with warm to hot, dry summers and cold, wet winters.
With a maximum annual average of 17.1oC and a minimum of 10.0oC, the area is cooler on average than Adelaide, and the West Coast of South Australia. The area receives 825.5 mm of rainfall annually. The climate
data actually comes from Parawa, a small settlement very close to Yankalilla, as no station is present in the town.
Since its establishment, Yankalilla has had cereal crops such as wheat
and barley
as a major agricultural component, and today this still remains the case. Dairy farming
and livestock grazing, including sheep and cattle have also become important to the economy, with dairy products one of the towns biggest exports. Forestry has been attempted in the area and is still occurring in the district.
Tourism has been a rapidly increasing facet of the town economy, with a little over 12,500 tourists visiting the Yankalilla Tourist Information Centre in 2006, a figure increasing at around 12% each year. The Shrine and the country atmosphere draw tourists to the area, with others passing through the town on drives.
The Southern Fleurieu Health Service covers the town, with no hospital in Yankalilla. The Yankalilla Area school
supplies the town's educational needs, with R-12 level teaching. A public library
is also located in the town, with membership and borrowing free of charge.
There are many sporting clubs in the town, with Yankalilla having facilities for, and active teams in the local bowls
, football
, netball
, cricket
, hockey
and tennis
leagues. There is also a golf
club, gym
and skate park located within the town.
There are a large number of environmental groups in the district, with some based in Yankalilla. Most aim to restore the land to the original conditions, with animal conservation, river and soil
monitoring groups well established.
A number of events occur annually, including the Yankalilla Agricultural show
, the Easter
Art Show and the Christmas pageant notable.
The local news service, The Yankalilla News is a free monthly magazine focusing on the Southern Fleurieu Peninsula, and is available throughout the region in shops and directly to post boxes, reaching more than 4500 household
s in the district.
, it was found that the population of the Yankalilla was 440, with there being nearly exactly the same number of males and females (221 males: 219 females).
The majority of people (343) in the town were born in Australia, with 85 people immigrating form overseas. 75% of those immigrants were from the United Kingdom, with minor amounts coming from other European and South East Asian countries.
The census found Christianity to be the prevalent religion, with 59% subscribing to the religion. Of the Christian faith, Anglican, Lutheran and Catholic were the major denominations
. 25% had no religious affiliations, and few people were Buddhists or Muslims.
local government area. Yankalilla is included in the State Electoral District of Finniss
and the Federal Division of Barker
. The current mayor of the District Council of Yankalilla is Peter Whitford.
Sealink buses run to Yankalilla.
Fleurieu Peninsula
The Fleurieu Peninsula is a peninsula located south of Adelaide in South Australia, Australia. It was named after the French explorer and hydrographer Charles Pierre Claret de Fleurieu by the French explorer Nicolas Baudin as he mapped the south coast of Australia in 1802.Towns of interest in the...
in South Australia
South Australia
South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...
, located 72 km south of the state's capital of Adelaide
Adelaide
Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
. The town is nestled in the Bungala River
Bungala River (South Australia)
The Bungala River is a small river that runs north west through the lower Fleurieu Peninsula, in South Australia through primarily agricultural surroundings. The Bungala runs past the town of Yankalilla, and enters the sea near Normanville...
valley, overlooked by the southern Mount Lofty Ranges
Mount Lofty Ranges
The Mount Lofty Ranges are the range of mountains just to the east of Adelaide in South Australia.-Location and description:The Mount Lofty Ranges stretch from the southernmost point of the Fleurieu Peninsula at Cape Jervis northwards for over before petering out north of Peterborough...
and acts as a service centre for the surrounding agricultural district.
In the early stages of the colonisation of the state, Yankalilla was a highly important location, but its close proximity to Adelaide and the advent of fast transport has greatly diminished this position.
Aboriginal history
The Yankalilla area was originally inhabited by the indigenousIndigenous Australians
Indigenous Australians are the original inhabitants of the Australian continent and nearby islands. The Aboriginal Indigenous Australians migrated from the Indian continent around 75,000 to 100,000 years ago....
Ramindjeri
Ramindjeri
Ramindjeri are a clan of Australian Aboriginal people forming part of the Ngarrindjeri people. Ramindjeri land is the most westerly of the Ngarrindjeri, covering the area around Encounter Bay in southern South Australia, including Victor Harbor and Port Elliot, however an ongoing native title...
people, who occupied an area of land stretching from Cape Jervis
Cape Jervis, South Australia
Cape Jervis is a town at the southwestern tip of Fleurieu Peninsula in South Australia, approximately 108 km south of Adelaide. The population is approximately 300 people and growing rapidly, with a new estate situated behind the main town...
to the top of Gulf St. Vincent. The Kaurna occasionally met with the Ramindjeri people from the Encounter Bay and Fleurieu Peninsula region for trade and exchange. Aboriginal myth credits the formation of the land forms of the Southern Fleurieu Peninsula to the travels of Tjilbruke
Tjilbruke
Tjilbruke is an important Creation Ancestor folklore / law of the Kaurna people of the now known since 1836, Adelaide Plains Aboriginal creation story. The lore tells of a time when all the people lived in accord with peaceful trading Laws which governed all the peoples lives...
as he grieved carrying the body of his nephew from the Sturt River
Sturt River, Adelaide
The Sturt River is a river located in Adelaide, South Australia. Beginning in Upper Sturt in the Adelaide Hills, it flows through Coromandel Valley, the Sturt Gorge Recreation Park, Marion and Morphettville, before meeting the Patawalonga in Glenelg North. Along with Brown Hill Creek, it is one of...
to Cape Jervis
Cape Jervis, South Australia
Cape Jervis is a town at the southwestern tip of Fleurieu Peninsula in South Australia, approximately 108 km south of Adelaide. The population is approximately 300 people and growing rapidly, with a new estate situated behind the main town...
.
Evidence of Megafauna
Megafauna
In terrestrial zoology, megafauna are "giant", "very large" or "large" animals. The most common thresholds used are or...
, including bones attributed to Diprotodon
Diprotodon
Diprotodon, meaning "two forward teeth", sometimes known as the Giant Wombat or the Rhinoceros Wombat, was the largest known marsupial that ever lived...
, Maesopus (a giant kangaroo
Kangaroo
A kangaroo is a marsupial from the family Macropodidae . In common use the term is used to describe the largest species from this family, especially those of the genus Macropus, Red Kangaroo, Antilopine Kangaroo, Eastern Grey Kangaroo and Western Grey Kangaroo. Kangaroos are endemic to the country...
) and Thylacoleo (a marsupial lion) were discovered in the 1890s in a swamp near Yankalilla and conjecture surrounds the possibility that the animals were hunted by the Ramindjerl people.
European history
The Yankalilla district has European history dating back to the first settlement in South Australia, with coastal areas colonised in the late 1830s. In 1938 over 5400 acres (21.9 km²) of land around Yankalilla was surveyed for sheep and dairyDairy
A dairy is a business enterprise established for the harvesting of animal milk—mostly from cows or goats, but also from buffalo, sheep, horses or camels —for human consumption. A dairy is typically located on a dedicated dairy farm or section of a multi-purpose farm that is concerned...
activities, but the current location of the town came into being four years later.
The origin of the town's name is unclear, but it is known that Governor Hindmarsh
John Hindmarsh
Rear-Admiral Sir John Hindmarsh KH RN was a naval officer and the first Governor of South Australia, from 28 December 1836 to 16 July 1838.-Early life:...
recorded the aboriginal
Indigenous Australians
Indigenous Australians are the original inhabitants of the Australian continent and nearby islands. The Aboriginal Indigenous Australians migrated from the Indian continent around 75,000 to 100,000 years ago....
pronunciation of "Yoongalilla", as applied to the District and noted this in dispatches of 1837. Colonel Light
William Light
Colonel William Light was a British military officer and the first Surveyor-General of the Colony of South Australia...
, however wrote about it as Yanky-lilly and Yanky Point, giving rise to the unsubstantiated idea that it was named after an American whaler
Whaling
Whaling is the hunting of whales mainly for meat and oil. Its earliest forms date to at least 3000 BC. Various coastal communities have long histories of sustenance whaling and harvesting beached whales...
or an American ship named 'Lilly' which was wrecked off the coast.
More recently, a Kaurna scholar, Georgina Yambo Williams (co-authoring a paper with Rob Amery) has accounted for the origin of the town's name. Drawing from her own knowledge and various literary sources from the period of colonisation, she relates that Yankalilla comes from the words yerkandi, meaning to fall to, to join onto, much in the way a disease does, and lya and illa, which means 'place'. Thus, we get Yankalilla, literally, the 'place of the fallen bits'. This, of course, is in reference to the Dreaming story of Tjibruki related above; who carried his dead nephew's disintegrating body from (what is now called) the Sturt River to Yankalilla, where he collapsed.
The actual town of Yankalilla was established in 1839 when The Reverend Father Henry Kemmis, came to live on land allocated to him be his cousin Governor George Grey. His wife died shortly after they landed in Adelaide, his children were left with servants, who built their home, the Reverend remarried and later travelled throughout Australia, establishing schools. Shortly afterward in 1842 Septimane Herbert and George Worthington took up land and built houses in the town. The farmers planted wheat
Wheat
Wheat is a cereal grain, originally from the Levant region of the Near East, but now cultivated worldwide. In 2007 world production of wheat was 607 million tons, making it the third most-produced cereal after maize and rice...
and barley
Barley
Barley is a major cereal grain, a member of the grass family. It serves as a major animal fodder, as a base malt for beer and certain distilled beverages, and as a component of various health foods...
in the land they had cleared, paving the way for future agricultural developments.
The town grew rapidly between 1850 and 1870 and during this time Yankalilla became one of the five major towns in the colony of South Australia
History of South Australia
The history of South Australia refers to the history of the Australian State of South Australia and its preceding Indigenous and British colonial societies. Aboriginal Australians have lived in South Australia for tens of thousands of years, while British colonists arrived in the 19th century to...
. A jetty
Jetty
A jetty is any of a variety of structures used in river, dock, and maritime works that are generally carried out in pairs from river banks, or in continuation of river channels at their outlets into deep water; or out into docks, and outside their entrances; or for forming basins along the...
was constructed on the coast to export the wheat grown in the district. The district council
District Council of Yankalilla
The District Council of Yankalilla is a Local Government Area centred on the town of Yankalilla on South Australia's Fleurieu Peninsula. The council was established in 1854, two years after legislation was passed allowing the formation of District Councils in South Australia.The district has a rich...
was officially proclaimed in 1854 and by the late 1860s the Yankalilla and Normanville
Normanville, South Australia
Normanville is a small rural town near the coast on the Fleurieu Peninsula, South Australia. It is situated next to the mouth of the Bungala River.-Location and geography:...
had three flour mills, five stores, two breweries, four blacksmith
Blacksmith
A blacksmith is a person who creates objects from wrought iron or steel by forging the metal; that is, by using tools to hammer, bend, and cut...
s, three hotels and five churches.
Ther town's Anglican church, 'Christ Church', has a marble
Marble
Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite.Geologists use the term "marble" to refer to metamorphosed limestone; however stonemasons use the term more broadly to encompass unmetamorphosed limestone.Marble is commonly used for...
font
Baptismal font
A baptismal font is an article of church furniture or a fixture used for the baptism of children and adults.-Aspersion and affusion fonts:...
which has its origins in the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
, once gracing Salisbury Cathedral
Salisbury Cathedral
Salisbury Cathedral, formally known as the Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary, is an Anglican cathedral in Salisbury, England, considered one of the leading examples of Early English architecture....
in England. It was given to a former Christ Church rector
Rector
The word rector has a number of different meanings; it is widely used to refer to an academic, religious or political administrator...
during a visit to England. The former owners subsequently regretted their generosity and requested its return, but this was denied.
Another point of interest is the Shrine of Our Lady of Yankalilla
Shrine of Our Lady of Yankalilla
The Shrine of Our Lady of Yankalilla is an Australian site venerating the Virgin Mary, the mother of Jesus. The shrine is inside the Anglican parish church in Yankalilla, a town one hour's drive southeast of Adelaide, South Australia. In August 1994 an image was said to have become visible on a...
in the Anglican church. In August 1994 an image was thought to have become visible on a wall behind the altar of the 137 year old stone
Masonry
Masonry is the building of structures from individual units laid in and bound together by mortar; the term masonry can also refer to the units themselves. The common materials of masonry construction are brick, stone, marble, granite, travertine, limestone; concrete block, glass block, stucco, and...
church. It was interpreted as an image of the Virgin Mary, depicting her face and body and appearing to be holding the crucified
Crucifixion
Crucifixion is an ancient method of painful execution in which the condemned person is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross and left to hang until dead...
Christ
Christ
Christ is the English term for the Greek meaning "the anointed one". It is a translation of the Hebrew , usually transliterated into English as Messiah or Mashiach...
in the manner of a pietà
Pietà
The Pietà is a subject in Christian art depicting the Virgin Mary cradling the dead body of Jesus, most often found in sculpture. As such, it is a particular form of the Lamentation of Christ, a scene from the Passion of Christ found in cycles of the Life of Christ...
. Two years after the image appeared on the wall the local press covered the story in the Adelaide Advertiser, bringing international tourists to the town.
A number of buildings in the town are heritage listed, including the Anglican church, Manor Farm and The Olives. A number of previously listed buildings are no longer standing.
Geography
Yankalilla lies inland on the Southern Fleurieu Peninsula, a small protruding stretch of land south of the Adelaide PlainsAdelaide Plains
The Adelaide Plains is the area in South Australia between the Mount Lofty Ranges on the east and Gulf St Vincent on the west. The plains are generally fertile with annual rainfall of about per year....
. It is situated in the valley carved by the Bungala River, which meets the sea at the coast not far from the town, at nearby Normanville
Normanville, South Australia
Normanville is a small rural town near the coast on the Fleurieu Peninsula, South Australia. It is situated next to the mouth of the Bungala River.-Location and geography:...
. The natural vegetation is dominated by Eucalypt
Eucalypt
Eucalypts are woody plants belonging to three closely related genera:Eucalyptus, Corymbia and Angophora.In 1995 new evidence, largely genetic, indicated that some prominent Eucalyptus species were actually more closely related to Angophora than to the other eucalypts; they were split off into the...
s and other southern natives, although grasses and weeds have taken their toll on many species.
Geology
Most of the region lies on sedimentary rockSedimentary rock
Sedimentary rock are types of rock that are formed by the deposition of material at the Earth's surface and within bodies of water. Sedimentation is the collective name for processes that cause mineral and/or organic particles to settle and accumulate or minerals to precipitate from a solution....
, with sandstone
Sandstone
Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...
, mudstone
Mudstone
Mudstone is a fine grained sedimentary rock whose original constituents were clays or muds. Grain size is up to 0.0625 mm with individual grains too small to be distinguished without a microscope. With increased pressure over time the platey clay minerals may become aligned, with the...
and limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
deposited on an ancient sea floor between 1000 million and 600 million years ago during the Proterozoic
Proterozoic
The Proterozoic is a geological eon representing a period before the first abundant complex life on Earth. The name Proterozoic comes from the Greek "earlier life"...
. The youngest rocks in the region are in deposits laid down during the Cambrian
Cambrian
The Cambrian is the first geological period of the Paleozoic Era, lasting from Mya ; it is succeeded by the Ordovician. Its subdivisions, and indeed its base, are somewhat in flux. The period was established by Adam Sedgwick, who named it after Cambria, the Latin name for Wales, where Britain's...
period (600 to 500 million years ago) when fossil
Fossil
Fossils are the preserved remains or traces of animals , plants, and other organisms from the remote past...
s first appeared in the record. Fossils in the Normanville Group of rocks, which outcrop on the coast from Myponga Beach to Carrickalinga
Carrickalinga, South Australia
Carrickalinga is a small coastal town about 60 km south of Adelaide on the Fleurieu Peninsula overlooking Gulf St Vincent. The town has no shops, with the nearest being in Normanville, one kilometre away.- Location :...
, were the first proof of Cambrian-age rocks in the Mount Lofty Ranges.
The area was impacted during the Delamerian Orogeny
Adelaide Geosyncline
The Adelaide Geosyncline is a major geological province in central South Australia. It stretches from the northernmost parts of the Flinders Ranges, narrowing at the Fleurieu Peninsula and extending into Kangaroo Island, and composes the two major mountain ranges of the State: the Flinders Ranges...
around 500 Million Years ago, forming mountain ranges, which have long since eroded
Erosion
Erosion is when materials are removed from the surface and changed into something else. It only works by hydraulic actions and transport of solids in the natural environment, and leads to the deposition of these materials elsewhere...
away. During the Permian
Permian
The PermianThe term "Permian" was introduced into geology in 1841 by Sir Sir R. I. Murchison, president of the Geological Society of London, who identified typical strata in extensive Russian explorations undertaken with Edouard de Verneuil; Murchison asserted in 1841 that he named his "Permian...
ice age
Ice age
An ice age or, more precisely, glacial age, is a generic geological period of long-term reduction in the temperature of the Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental ice sheets, polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers...
s, many of the areas rocks were left with striation
Striation
Striations means a series of ridges, furrows or linear marks, and are used in several ways* Glacial striation* Striation , a striation as a result of a geological fault* In medicine, striated muscle...
pavements, showing the direction of glacial movement, with Glacier Rock at Inman Valley, South Australia
Inman Valley, South Australia
Inman Valley , is a valley, locality, and township on the Fleurieu Peninsula, around 86 km south of Adelaide. The valley is about 380 square kilometres in area...
a well studied example. During the Triassic
Triassic
The Triassic is a geologic period and system that extends from about 250 to 200 Mya . As the first period of the Mesozoic Era, the Triassic follows the Permian and is followed by the Jurassic. Both the start and end of the Triassic are marked by major extinction events...
, Laterite
Laterite
Laterites are soil types rich in iron and aluminium, formed in hot and wet tropical areas. Nearly all laterites are rusty-red because of iron oxides. They develop by intensive and long-lasting weathering of the underlying parent rock...
, an iron-rich formation was deposited, and is now of economic value in road metals.
The landscape came to its present form only around two million years ago, after a period of subsidence
Subsidence
Subsidence is the motion of a surface as it shifts downward relative to a datum such as sea-level. The opposite of subsidence is uplift, which results in an increase in elevation...
, followed by uplift from intraplate movements, the same disturbance that formed the Flinders Ranges
Flinders Ranges
Flinders Ranges is the largest mountain range in South Australia, which starts approximately north west of Adelaide. The discontinuous ranges stretch for over from Port Pirie to Lake Callabonna...
.
Climate
The town experiences a Mediterranean climateMediterranean climate
A Mediterranean climate is the climate typical of most of the lands in the Mediterranean Basin, and is a particular variety of subtropical climate...
, like the rest of the Peninsula; with warm to hot, dry summers and cold, wet winters.
With a maximum annual average of 17.1oC and a minimum of 10.0oC, the area is cooler on average than Adelaide, and the West Coast of South Australia. The area receives 825.5 mm of rainfall annually. The climate
Climate
Climate encompasses the statistics of temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, wind, rainfall, atmospheric particle count and other meteorological elemental measurements in a given region over long periods...
data actually comes from Parawa, a small settlement very close to Yankalilla, as no station is present in the town.
Economy
The economy of the town is based mostly on the surrounding agricultural lands, with industry and tourism also supplementing the town's economy.Since its establishment, Yankalilla has had cereal crops such as wheat
Wheat
Wheat is a cereal grain, originally from the Levant region of the Near East, but now cultivated worldwide. In 2007 world production of wheat was 607 million tons, making it the third most-produced cereal after maize and rice...
and barley
Barley
Barley is a major cereal grain, a member of the grass family. It serves as a major animal fodder, as a base malt for beer and certain distilled beverages, and as a component of various health foods...
as a major agricultural component, and today this still remains the case. Dairy farming
Dairy farming
Dairy farming is a class of agricultural, or an animal husbandry, enterprise, for long-term production of milk, usually from dairy cows but also from goats and sheep, which may be either processed on-site or transported to a dairy factory for processing and eventual retail sale.Most dairy farms...
and livestock grazing, including sheep and cattle have also become important to the economy, with dairy products one of the towns biggest exports. Forestry has been attempted in the area and is still occurring in the district.
Tourism has been a rapidly increasing facet of the town economy, with a little over 12,500 tourists visiting the Yankalilla Tourist Information Centre in 2006, a figure increasing at around 12% each year. The Shrine and the country atmosphere draw tourists to the area, with others passing through the town on drives.
Community
Yankalilla has a number of community-based facilities and organisations, including health, education and sporting facilities. There are a number of festivals throughout the year also.The Southern Fleurieu Health Service covers the town, with no hospital in Yankalilla. The Yankalilla Area school
Area school
In New Zealand and Australia, an area school is a school that takes children from kindergarten age all the way through to tertiary entrance exams . They tend to be built in small towns where the cost of separate primary and secondary schools cannot be justified....
supplies the town's educational needs, with R-12 level teaching. A public library
Public library
A public library is a library that is accessible by the public and is generally funded from public sources and operated by civil servants. There are five fundamental characteristics shared by public libraries...
is also located in the town, with membership and borrowing free of charge.
There are many sporting clubs in the town, with Yankalilla having facilities for, and active teams in the local bowls
Bowls
Bowls is a sport in which the objective is to roll slightly asymmetric balls so that they stop close to a smaller "jack" or "kitty". It is played on a pitch which may be flat or convex or uneven...
, football
Australian rules football
Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...
, netball
Netball
Netball is a ball sport played between two teams of seven players. Its development, derived from early versions of basketball, began in England in the 1890s. By 1960 international playing rules had been standardised for the game, and the International Federation of Netball and Women's Basketball ...
, cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
, hockey
Hockey
Hockey is a family of sports in which two teams play against each other by trying to maneuver a ball or a puck into the opponent's goal using a hockey stick.-Etymology:...
and tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
leagues. There is also a golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
club, gym
Gym
The word γυμνάσιον was used in Ancient Greece, that mean a locality for both physical and intellectual education of young men...
and skate park located within the town.
There are a large number of environmental groups in the district, with some based in Yankalilla. Most aim to restore the land to the original conditions, with animal conservation, river and soil
Soil
Soil is a natural body consisting of layers of mineral constituents of variable thicknesses, which differ from the parent materials in their morphological, physical, chemical, and mineralogical characteristics...
monitoring groups well established.
A number of events occur annually, including the Yankalilla Agricultural show
Agricultural show
An agricultural show is a public event showcasing the equipment, animals, sports and recreation associated with agriculture and animal husbandry. The largest comprise a livestock show , a trade fair, competitions, and entertainment...
, the Easter
Easter
Easter is the central feast in the Christian liturgical year. According to the Canonical gospels, Jesus rose from the dead on the third day after his crucifixion. His resurrection is celebrated on Easter Day or Easter Sunday...
Art Show and the Christmas pageant notable.
The local news service, The Yankalilla News is a free monthly magazine focusing on the Southern Fleurieu Peninsula, and is available throughout the region in shops and directly to post boxes, reaching more than 4500 household
Household
The household is "the basic residential unit in which economic production, consumption, inheritance, child rearing, and shelter are organized and carried out"; [the household] "may or may not be synonymous with family"....
s in the district.
Demographics
In the 2001 census by the Australian Bureau of StatisticsAustralian Bureau of Statistics
The Australian Bureau of Statistics is Australia's national statistical agency. It was created as the Commonwealth Bureau of Census and Statistics on 8 December 1905, when the Census and Statistics Act 1905 was given Royal assent. It had its beginnings in section 51 of the Constitution of Australia...
, it was found that the population of the Yankalilla was 440, with there being nearly exactly the same number of males and females (221 males: 219 females).
The majority of people (343) in the town were born in Australia, with 85 people immigrating form overseas. 75% of those immigrants were from the United Kingdom, with minor amounts coming from other European and South East Asian countries.
The census found Christianity to be the prevalent religion, with 59% subscribing to the religion. Of the Christian faith, Anglican, Lutheran and Catholic were the major denominations
Christian denomination
A Christian denomination is an identifiable religious body under a common name, structure, and doctrine within Christianity. In the Orthodox tradition, Churches are divided often along ethnic and linguistic lines, into separate churches and traditions. Technically, divisions between one group and...
. 25% had no religious affiliations, and few people were Buddhists or Muslims.
Government
Yankalilla and its districts, comprise the District Council of YankalillaDistrict Council of Yankalilla
The District Council of Yankalilla is a Local Government Area centred on the town of Yankalilla on South Australia's Fleurieu Peninsula. The council was established in 1854, two years after legislation was passed allowing the formation of District Councils in South Australia.The district has a rich...
local government area. Yankalilla is included in the State Electoral District of Finniss
Electoral district of Finniss
Finniss is an electoral district of the House of Assembly in the Australian state of South Australia. It is named after Boyle Finniss, the first Premier of South Australia...
and the Federal Division of Barker
Division of Barker
The Division of Barker is an Australian Electoral Division in the south-east of South Australia.The division was created in 1903 and is named for Collet Barker, an early explorer of the region at the mouth of the Murray River...
. The current mayor of the District Council of Yankalilla is Peter Whitford.
Transport
Yankalilla and its districts can be reached by driving south from Adelaide along Main South Road, or alternatively by taking the Victor Harbor Road, which increases travelling time.Sealink buses run to Yankalilla.
Surrounding towns
| North: Carrickalinga Carrickalinga, South Australia Carrickalinga is a small coastal town about 60 km south of Adelaide on the Fleurieu Peninsula overlooking Gulf St Vincent. The town has no shops, with the nearest being in Normanville, one kilometre away.- Location :... & Myponga Myponga, South Australia Myponga is a settlement in South Australia. At the 2006 census, Myponga had a population of 540.-References:One of the first Pioneer Families to Settle the area, was the Family of CON POLDEN & MARY WINDSOR along with their children from Wiltshire SOUTH/WEST ENGLAND.-See also:*Myponga Reservoir... |
||
| West: Normanville Normanville, South Australia Normanville is a small rural town near the coast on the Fleurieu Peninsula, South Australia. It is situated next to the mouth of the Bungala River.-Location and geography:... |
Yankalilla | East: Wattle Flat & Inman Valley Inman Valley, South Australia Inman Valley , is a valley, locality, and township on the Fleurieu Peninsula, around 86 km south of Adelaide. The valley is about 380 square kilometres in area... |
| South: Hay Flat, Wirrina Cove, Parawa, Second Valley Second Valley, South Australia Second Valley is a coastal town on the Fleurieu Peninsula in South Australia. At the 2006 census, Second Valley had a population of 171.The name is derived from being the next valley north of Rapid Bay, the initial camp on South Australian mainland of Colonel William Light.... & Rapid Bay Rapid Bay, South Australia Rapid Bay is a small seaside town in the southwest of the Fleurieu Peninsula, South Australia. It is approximately 100 km south of the state capital, Adelaide... |