Melrose (Melrose)
Melrose is the oldest town in the Flinders Ranges, South Australia. The town was once named "Mount Remarkable". At the 2016 Australian census, Melrose had a population of 347.
The town is known for its proximity to Mount Remarkable and the surrounding National Park, its caravan park and historical sites including Jacka's brewery and Melrose Courthouse.
Journalist Rodney Cockburn, in his popular book What's in a Name asserts that consensus has not yet been reached about the origins of Melrose's name. He gives the explanation that its surveyor named the town after George Melrose, of Rosebank, Mount Pleasant, who assisted him when he was ill. Another explanation suggests a land owner named Alexander Campbell settled in the area in 1844 with his family and named the region after his hometown, Melrose, in Scotland. Historian Geoff Manning found that the town was located on a property claimed by the Mount Remarkable Mining Company and in the 1850s subdivided it into 250 sections of 80 acres. Townsites were surveyed at either end, Melrose to the north and Bangor at the southern end. This was in accord with Cockburn's findings, but Manning was convinced that A. L. Elder, a prominent director of the company and a proud Scotsman, named it for Melrose in Roxburghshire.
The first European explorer in the area was Edward John Eyre in 1840; pastoralists settled in the area about a decade later. Copper was discovered and mining started in 1846, but it was not economically viable, and ceased in 1851. The mine was opened again three more times, with the latest closure in 1917.
In 1893 at a time of high unemployment, Wilton Hack founded a communal settlement in the area. At its peak, some 130 settlers were working 1000 acres of land. By the end of 1895 after a succession of poor seasons around half the settlers had left, and in 1896 the village was closed by the Government.
When it was opened in 1848, the police station in Melrose was not only the first permanent police station in the region, but the base of the largest police district in the world. A constable, two troopers and an Aboriginal tracker were responsible for an area extending to the Timor Sea.
The Wilmington railway line from Gladstone opened near Melrose in 1915 and closed in 1990. The station was almost 2 km north of the town. Melrose is also on the Horrocks Highway, formerly known as Main North Road.
The town is known for its proximity to Mount Remarkable and the surrounding National Park, its caravan park and historical sites including Jacka's brewery and Melrose Courthouse.
Journalist Rodney Cockburn, in his popular book What's in a Name asserts that consensus has not yet been reached about the origins of Melrose's name. He gives the explanation that its surveyor named the town after George Melrose, of Rosebank, Mount Pleasant, who assisted him when he was ill. Another explanation suggests a land owner named Alexander Campbell settled in the area in 1844 with his family and named the region after his hometown, Melrose, in Scotland. Historian Geoff Manning found that the town was located on a property claimed by the Mount Remarkable Mining Company and in the 1850s subdivided it into 250 sections of 80 acres. Townsites were surveyed at either end, Melrose to the north and Bangor at the southern end. This was in accord with Cockburn's findings, but Manning was convinced that A. L. Elder, a prominent director of the company and a proud Scotsman, named it for Melrose in Roxburghshire.
The first European explorer in the area was Edward John Eyre in 1840; pastoralists settled in the area about a decade later. Copper was discovered and mining started in 1846, but it was not economically viable, and ceased in 1851. The mine was opened again three more times, with the latest closure in 1917.
In 1893 at a time of high unemployment, Wilton Hack founded a communal settlement in the area. At its peak, some 130 settlers were working 1000 acres of land. By the end of 1895 after a succession of poor seasons around half the settlers had left, and in 1896 the village was closed by the Government.
When it was opened in 1848, the police station in Melrose was not only the first permanent police station in the region, but the base of the largest police district in the world. A constable, two troopers and an Aboriginal tracker were responsible for an area extending to the Timor Sea.
The Wilmington railway line from Gladstone opened near Melrose in 1915 and closed in 1990. The station was almost 2 km north of the town. Melrose is also on the Horrocks Highway, formerly known as Main North Road.
Map - Melrose (Melrose)
Map
Country - Australia
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The ancestors of Aboriginal Australians began arriving from south east Asia approximately 65,000 years ago, during the last ice age. Arriving by sea, they settled the continent and had formed approximately 250 distinct language groups by the time of European settlement, maintaining some of the longest known continuing artistic and religious traditions in the world. Australia's written history commenced with the European maritime exploration of Australia. The Dutch navigator Willem Janszoon was the first known European to reach Australia, in 1606. In 1770, the British explorer James Cook mapped and claimed the east coast of Australia for Great Britain, and the First Fleet of British ships arrived at Sydney in 1788 to establish the penal colony of New South Wales. The European population grew in subsequent decades, and by the end of the 1850s gold rush, most of the continent had been explored by European settlers and an additional five self-governing British colonies established. Democratic parliaments were gradually established through the 19th century, culminating with a vote for the federation of the six colonies and foundation of the Commonwealth of Australia on 1 January 1901. Australia has since maintained a stable liberal democratic political system and wealthy market economy.
Currency / Language
| ISO | Currency | Symbol | Significant figures |
|---|---|---|---|
| AUD | Australian dollar | $ | 2 |
| ISO | Language |
|---|---|
| EN | English language |