Mallala

History

Mallala is located within the traditional lands of the Kaurna people. The first land taken up in the district was in 1851 by Phillip Butler, under occupational licence. The Butler property was called Mallala Station, and the town of Mallala developed in the vicinity. The large runs of the pastoralists were cut up into smaller holdings, which sold for £1 per acre to new settlers, and created a continuous series of small farms. Amongst the early pioneers were Messrs John Forby, Robert & George Marshman, Samuel Crouch, Peter Farrelly, H.B. Moody, W. Jarmyn, Samuel Chivell, J. McCabe, John Murphy, W. Jury, A. Vawser, M.H. East, N.J.W. Lindsay and John Forbes. The descendants of many of these men and their families still live in this district. The first private subdivision, on Section 60, was called Mallala South (also known as New Mallala) and was later followed by private subdivisions of Section 51 and 266. These were referred to as the Mallala subdivisions. Later, part section 276 and 277 were divided, and this subdivision was known as the Mallala Extension. Although Mallala had existed as a town for many years, it was not until 27 March 1925 that Mallala was approved as a subdivision name by the Nomenclature Committee. The present township lies midway between the hills and the sea, fifty-eight kilometres north of Adelaide. An impressive War Memorial stands at the hub of an eight-road intersection in the centre of the town. A now departed industry was the East Brothers Machinery works, who for over a century manufactured farm equipment which was sold widely across Australia. The town once had a very impressive flour mill where the townsfolk used to grind the locally produced wheat, but the building fell into disuse as the industry centralised. Today the mill is used…

Most-observed species

• Pygmy Bluetongue Lizard

  Tiliqua adelaidensis (Peters, 1863) · Squamata
  3,156
• Singing Honeyeater

  Gavicalis virescens (Vieillot, 1817) · Aves
  462
• European Starling

  Sturnus vulgaris Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  383
• Crested Pigeon

  Ocyphaps lophotes (Temminck, 1822) · Aves
  380
• Spiny-cheeked Honeyeater

  Acanthagenys rufogularis Gould, 1838 · Aves
  312
• Australian Magpie

  Gymnorhina tibicen (Latham, 1802) · Aves
  299
• Willie-wagtail

  Rhipidura leucophrys (Latham, 1802) · Aves
  299
• Little Raven

  Corvus mellori Mathews, 1912 · Aves
  278

Most recent

• M 3 — 2022-03-29
  3 km ESE of Macclesfield, Australia
• M 4 — 2022-03-05
  3 km SW of Mount Barker, Australia
• M 4.4 — 2020-05-14
  15 km WSW of Burra, Australia
• M 3.2 — 2018-08-08
  11 km WNW of Mannum, Australia
• M 3.9 — 2017-02-01
  9 km NW of Murray Bridge, Australia
• M 3.3 — 2011-10-18
  3 km ESE of Hawthorndene, Australia