Marble Hill

History

The locality of Marble Hill was not greatly developed until after the establishment of the Vice-Regal Summer Residence. It consisted largely of uncleared pastoral land until 1880. This was partly due to the rugged terrain dissuading settlers, but also due to the fact that the Government did not offer a large amount of the land for sale. A large area was declared a Government Reserve in 1878, the year that construction on the residence commenced. It was around that time that Governor William Jervois was said to have given the hill its name. When informed that marble had been found during the excavation of the site, he remarked "Then we shall call it Marble Hill". In fact, there is no true marble at Marble Hill. The Governor's informant had merely misidentified the locally abundant quartzite. An alternative account contends that it was instead named for the hill's rounded top, which supposedly resembled a marble when viewed from a distance. In 1896, part of the Government Reserve was subdivided into 34 blocks of approximately each which were offered for lease. The "blockers", as those who took up residence on the blocks became known, found it difficult to make a living on the uncleared land in the early years, but by the 1920s, all of the blocks were tenanted and productive, planted mainly with fruit trees. Prior to the establishment of the Government Reserve, part of the locality was used as a shelter for stray animals.

Most-observed species

• Australian Magpie

  Gymnorhina tibicen (Latham, 1802) · Aves
  13,349
• Rainbow Lorikeet

  Trichoglossus haematodus (Linnaeus, 1771) · Aves
  12,715
• Noisy Miner

  Manorina melanocephala (Latham, 1801) · Aves
  9,223
• Magpie-lark

  Grallina cyanoleuca (Latham, 1802) · Aves
  8,855
• New Holland Honeyeater

  Phylidonyris novaehollandiae (Latham, 1790) · Aves
  8,463
• Crimson Rosella

  Platycercus elegans (Gmelin, 1788) · Aves
  8,372
• Galah

  Eolophus roseicapilla (Vieillot, 1817) · Aves
  8,042
• Red Wattlebird

  Anthochaera carunculata (Shaw, 1790) · Aves
  7,828

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 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
• M 3.8 — 2010-04-16
  2 km N of Macclesfield, Australia