Cleve

History

The first European settlers in the area were the three McKechnie brothers; James, Peter and Donald who arrived in 1853. The first European woman arrived in 1862; a wife of one of the brothers. They established a sheep run 43 km from the current day site of Cleve and continued living there until 1869, when Peter and Donald died, leaving James to return to his homeland of Scotland. The run was sold to George Melrose in 1873, and he had great initial success, shearing 30 000 sheep in his first year. This was not to last though, as dingos decimated his flock in the following years. Melrose was also the first to report rabbits on the Eyre Peninsula, an indicator of the troubles they would cause in the future. In 1878, the current site of the town was inspected and surveyed, in anticipation of creating a new town to serve the growing wool and crop industries which were rapidly expanding. The Cleve school was opened seven years later in 1886, and would go on to become a recognised instructor in dryland farming. Cleve has maintained its position as a leading producer of both grain and wool since the establishment, with other ventures such as copper mining in the area having little success. Cleve has a number of heritage-listed sites, including: * Cleve-Cowell Road: Sims Farm Homstead * off Cleve Road: Yeldulknie Cottage * off Cleve Road: Yeldulknie Weir

Geography

Cleve is located in the central east Eyre Peninsula, a large triangular body of land in South Australia. Many of the areas geological and geographical features are responsible for the use of the land and types of natural vegetation present. The landscape has been heavily modified since European settlement and now is predominantly farming land, with patches of native scrub in places. The Cleve Hills are a major topographical feature of the region and have areas of preserved vegetation in their bounds. The town of Cleve lies on an ancient bedrock that has undergone high grade metamorphism, with the area characterised by schists, gneisses and granites in a formation known as the Hutchison Group. These strata were laid down in the Proterozoic, some 600-2300 million years ago. The area underwent deformation during the orogeny events that shaped Australia. Just south of Cleve marks an unconformity with recent Quaternary alluvial and colluvial sediments of the Piedmont Group which were deposited less than 1 million years ago. The soils around Cleve are heavily tied to the geology of the area, with Cleve having a clay overlain by sandy loam soils in the hills and on most slopes in the area. This soil is often referred to as 'Cleve soil' or 'Nobby's Hill's soil'. The soils are highly productive when they are deep enough to hold enough moisture, but are particularly susceptible to erosion, especially in steeper inclines. There is also a strong calcareous component to much of the areas soils, especially away from the slopes. The most common vegetation association in the area is classified as Open Scrub (Mallee/Broombush), which is typical of most of the mid eastern Eyre Peninsula, consisting of Eucalyptus socialis (summer red mallee), Eucalyptus incrassata (ridge fruited…

Most-observed species

• Galah

  Eolophus roseicapilla (Vieillot, 1817) · Aves
  50
• Singing Honeyeater

  Gavicalis virescens (Vieillot, 1817) · Aves
  50
• Red Wattlebird

  Anthochaera carunculata (Shaw, 1790) · Aves
  46
• Magpie-lark

  Grallina cyanoleuca (Latham, 1802) · Aves
  41
• Willie-wagtail

  Rhipidura leucophrys (Latham, 1802) · Aves
  39
• Gray Teal

  Anas gracilis Buller, 1869 · Aves
  38
• European Starling

  Sturnus vulgaris Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  38
• Australian Ringneck

  Barnardius zonarius (Shaw, 1805) · Aves
  32

Most recent

• M 4.2 — 2018-11-21
  47 km N of Cowell, Australia
• M 3.9 — 2018-07-01
  15 km WNW of Cowell, Australia
• M 4.7 — 2010-06-05
  23 km NW of Cowell, Australia
• M 3.4 — 2006-07-17
  55 km S of Cowell, Australia
• M 2.8 — 2002-11-08
  33 km N of Tumby Bay, Australia