Lochiel

History

The Government Town of Lochiel was surveyed in 1869, closely following the proclamation of the cadastral Hundred of Cameron. The District Councils Act 1887 declared the township and the rest of the Hundred of Cameron a part of the District Council of Port Wakefield. The following year, lobbying by residents resulted in the Hundred of Cameron being moved from the control of Wakefield council into the jurisdiction of the District Council of Snowtown, cementing a close relationship between Lochiel and Snowtown rather than the more distant Port Wakefield. In 1976, a resident of a farm at Bumbunga, just east of Lochiel, declared a secessionist micronation, the Province of Bumbunga. By 1999 it no longer existed. In the 2011 Australian census, the population of Lochiel and adjacent farming communities was 362.

Most-observed species

• Pygmy Bluetongue Lizard

  Tiliqua adelaidensis (Peters, 1863) · Squamata
  155
• Slender Oat

  Avena barbata Pott ex Link · Liliopsida
  88
• Ruby Saltbush

  Enchylaena tomentosa R.Br. · Magnoliopsida
  82
• European Starling

  Sturnus vulgaris Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  67
• Cress Rocket

  Carrichtera annua (L.) DC. · Magnoliopsida
  66
• Australian Magpie

  Gymnorhina tibicen (Latham, 1802) · Aves
  53
• African Boxthorn

  Lycium ferocissimum Miers · Magnoliopsida
  51
• Spiny Starwort

  Pallenis spinosa (L.) Cass. · Magnoliopsida
  50

Most recent

• M 4.3 — 2024-04-17
  8 km ENE of Jamestown, Australia
• M 4.4 — 2020-05-14
  15 km WSW of Burra, Australia
• M 3.3 — 2018-07-09
  9 km NNW of Jamestown, Australia
• M 3.1 — 2008-12-04
  17 km ESE of Crystal Brook, Australia
• M 2.7 — 2007-08-03
  23 km SSE of Burra, Australia
• M 3.3 — 2006-04-04
  28 km SSE of Jamestown, Australia