Paskeville

History

Paskeville is within the traditional lands of the indigenous Narungga people. The first European explorers to traverse the Northern Yorke Peninsula were John Hill and Thomas Burr, on horseback. On 28 April 1840 they camped overnight near present-day Paskeville and later reported they had discovered extensive fertile land there. The area known as Green's Plains, after John Green who established a sheep station there in 1851, was soon occupied by sheep graziers, who held occupation licences until closer settlement came two decades later. The Hundred of Kulpara was proclaimed on 12 June 1862. Surveys soon followed, including the surveyed township of Kulpara. The District Council of Green's Plains was established in 1871 bringing local administration to the hundreds of Kulpara and Kadina. Pioneer farmers cleared the land for cropping, but there was no town at Paskeville until 1878, when a station was established on the new Port Wakefield to Kadina railway. The surveyed town which surrounded this station was on 4 March 1880 named after General Edward Hanson Paske, brother-in-law of the incumbent Governor, Sir William Jervois. Paskeville was located on the Balaklava-Moonta railway line. The railway yards at Paskeville were soon busily thronged by local farmers with transhipments of bagged wheat and barley, as well as wool. Goods sheds were built in 1887, while silos were built later for bulk grain handling. These products were generally exported through the port of Wallaroo. The township also provided commercial and community support services, including churches, a school, a grocer and baker, and a hotel (originally named the Railway Hotel). Gaslight came to Paskeville in 1903, a new post office in 1925, and a 32-volt power supply until 1953. The township thrived for a…

Geography

The original geography of Northern Yorke Peninsula was of scrub-covered undulating plains, almost devoid of watercourses. Since European settlement the scrub has mostly been cleared, with the exception of roadside remnants, leaving a dominant landscape of undulating grain fields. Paskeville is sited upon a plateau which, although low-lying, affords clear and distant views in certain directions across the surrounding region. The geology, which is dominated by limestone overlaid by ancient sand dunes, was quickly exhausted by pioneer cropping, but modern farming methods and fertilisers make this a highly productive food bowl. The area has a dry Mediterranean climate with seasonal temperatures a few degrees above those in Adelaide.

Most-observed species

• Red Wattlebird

  Anthochaera carunculata (Shaw, 1790) · Aves
  349
• New Holland Honeyeater

  Phylidonyris novaehollandiae (Latham, 1790) · Aves
  317
• European Starling

  Sturnus vulgaris Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  315
• Crested Pigeon

  Ocyphaps lophotes (Temminck, 1822) · Aves
  297
• Magpie-lark

  Grallina cyanoleuca (Latham, 1802) · Aves
  265
• Spotted Dove

  Spilopelia chinensis (Scopoli, 1786) · Aves
  263
• House Sparrow

  Passer domesticus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  253
• Welcome Swallow

  Hirundo neoxena Gould, 1842 · Aves
  239

Most recent

• M 4.4 — 2020-05-14
  15 km WSW of Burra, Australia
• M 3.1 — 2008-12-04
  17 km ESE of Crystal Brook, Australia
• M 3.4 — 2006-07-17
  55 km S of Cowell, Australia
• M 2.6 — 2004-08-02
  30 km N of Clare, Australia
• M 2.7 — 2004-08-02
  29 km N of Clare, Australia
• M 2.9 — 2003-05-02
  26 km ENE of Kadina, Australia