Raukkan

History

Raukkan, which means "meeting place" in the Ngarrindjeri language, was for thousands of years an important meeting place for Ngarrindjeri "lakalinyeri" (clans) and the location of the Grand Tendi, the parliament of the Ngarrindjeri people. The Grand Tendi was composed of men elected from each of the eighteen lakalinyeri who then elected from its members the Rupulle or leader. English explorer Charles Sturt first encountered the Ngarrindjeri at Raukkan, who fed the starving Sturt and his party. the Aborigines' Friends' Association was granted in the area and established a mission at Raukkan, George Taplin had selected the site, and with others such as the Rev. F. W. Cox helped build the school, church and mission station to care for the local Aboriginal people, and spent the next twenty years in that service. It was intended by the Aborigines' Friends' Association to help the Ngarrindjeri people, but could never be self-sufficient farming due to the poor quality of the soil in the area. Land clearing by farmers nearby also limited the ability for hunting, and other crafts and industries also met with difficulties due to changing environment and competition from nearby towns. More than 100 Aboriginal people from Raukkan were listed on the South Australian electoral roll and seventy per cent of these voted at the 1896 South Australian election. During World War I, men from Point McLeay and Point Pearce were among the first Aboriginal men in the state to enlist. 16 men from Point McLeay volunteered and four never returned — Alban Varcoe, Millar Mack, and brothers Cyril and Rufus Rigney, who were grandsons of the Rev. Philip Rigney. A memorial window in the Point McLeay church was unveiled by General S. Price Weir on 14 August 1925. In 1916, responsibility for Raukkan…

Most-observed species

• Australian Pelican

  Pelecanus conspicillatus Temminck, 1824 · Aves
  1,029
• Welcome Swallow

  Hirundo neoxena Gould, 1842 · Aves
  856
• Australian Ibis

  Threskiornis molucca (Cuvier, 1829) · Aves
  847
• Black Swan

  Cygnus atratus (Latham, 1790) · Aves
  807
• Australian Magpie

  Gymnorhina tibicen (Latham, 1802) · Aves
  750
• Masked Lapwing

  Vanellus miles (Boddaert, 1783) · Aves
  732
• Superb Fairywren

  Malurus cyaneus (Ellis, 1782) · Aves
  722
• White-faced Heron

  Egretta novaehollandiae (Latham, 1790) · Aves
  685

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