District Council of Brown's Well

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Former Brown's Well Council Chambers

The District Council of Brown's Well was a local government area in South Australia from 1916 to 1997. The name stemmed from the Brown's Well pastoral station, which was located near the council seat of Paruna.[1][2] Meetings were also held on a regular basis in the institute at Alawoona, which was the district's major centre.[3]

It was proclaimed on 16 November 1916, and held its first meeting on 16 December.[4] The area had formerly been part of the District Council of Loxton.[5] The first council chamber was a ten by ten shed and it was reported that there were "no roads and very few grubbed tracks" and "the population of the entire district [was] very small."[4]

A permanent council chambers building was opened in May 1929.[6] In 1935, the council had a total population of 1,100, with 85 miles of main roads and 409 miles of district roads.[4] In 1936, it comprised the cadastral hundreds of Allen, Kekwick and McGorrery, with a total land area of 340,800 acres, having increased since the initial proclamation. The main towns were Paruna, Alawoona, Cobera (now incorporated into Alawoona), , Meribah and Veitch. It was divided into six wards: North-East, South-East, North, South, South-West and North-West.[1][4]

Much of the area was isolated Mallee country that was still being opened up in the 1930s.[1] In 1932, it was reported that the council's road-building works were sufficiently large that there was "not a single man in the whole of the area who was unemployed."[7]

The council ceased to exist on 3 May 1997, when it amalgamated with the District Council of Loxton and the District Council of Waikerie to form the District Council of Loxton Waikerie.[2]

The Brown's Well council's former honour board was re-unveiled in the Loxton council offices in March 2016, following calls for its reinstatement from a former Brown's Well councillor.[8][9]

Chairmen of the District Council of Brown's Well[]

  • Cecil Stone (1916–1917) [4][10]
  • L. V. Shannon (1917–1919) [11][12][13]
  • Alex Cameron (1919–1939) [14][15]
  • John Joseph Elwood (1939–1940) [15]
  • Arthur Alan Petch (1940–1944) [15]
  • Eric Milton Edwards (1944–1949) [15]
  • Albert Wyndham Broad (1949–1951) [15]
  • Eric Milton Edwards (1951–1952) [15]
  • Albert Wyndham Broad (1952–1954) [15]
  • William Westley Claude Tiller (1954–1958) [15]
  • Victor Norman Henschke (1958–1962) [15]
  • Thomas Allen Nance (1962–1963) [15]
  • Victor Norman Henschke (1963–1964) [15]
  • Norman John Flavel (1964–1967) [15]
  • Kenneth Griffiths (1967-after 1985) [15]

References[]

  1. ^ a b c Hosking, P. (1936). The Official civic record of South Australia : centenary year, 1936. Adelaide: Universal Publicity Company. p. 492.
  2. ^ a b "Introduction". District Council of Loxton Waikerie. Retrieved 31 March 2016.
  3. ^ "BROWN'S WELL DISTRICT COUNCIL". Murray Pioneer and Australian River Record. Vol. 31, no. 35. South Australia. 31 August 1923. p. 17. Retrieved 28 May 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
  4. ^ a b c d e "Brown's Welts Story of Achievement". Murray Pioneer and Australian River Record. Vol. 40, no. 51. South Australia. 19 December 1935. p. 11. Retrieved 28 May 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
  5. ^ "LOXTON COUNCIL CHAMBER". Murray Pioneer and Australian River Record. Vol. 44, no. 5[?]. South Australia. 16 December 1937. p. 28. Retrieved 28 May 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
  6. ^ "BROWN'S WELL DISTRICT D.C." Murray Pioneer and Australian River Record. Vol. 38, no. 19. South Australia. 10 May 1929. p. 4. Retrieved 28 May 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
  7. ^ "THE BROWN'S WELL DISTRICT COUNCIL". Murray Pioneer and Australian River Record. Vol. 41, no. 21. South Australia. 26 May 1932. p. 4. Retrieved 28 May 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
  8. ^ "Council meeting agenda Friday 18 March 2016 Council Chamber, Loxton" (PDF). District Council of Loxton Waikerie. Retrieved 28 May 2016.
  9. ^ "Call for council honour boards". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 8 December 2003. Retrieved 28 May 2016.
  10. ^ "ROUND THE FARM — AND ALL THAT". The Chronicle. Vol. LXXV, no. 3, 946. Adelaide. 21 July 1932. p. 5. Retrieved 28 May 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
  11. ^ "DISTRICT COUNCIL OF BROWN'S WELL". Murray Pioneer and Australian River Record. Vol. 23, no. 29. South Australia. 27 July 1917. p. 6. Retrieved 28 May 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
  12. ^ "BROWN'S WELL DISTRICT COUNCIL". Murray Pioneer and Australian River Record. Vol. 24, no. 32. South Australia. 9 August 1918. p. 6. Retrieved 28 May 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
  13. ^ "BROWN'S WELL DISTRICT COUNCIL". Murray Pioneer and Australian River Record. Vol. 25, no. 10. South Australia. 7 March 1919. p. 6. Retrieved 28 May 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
  14. ^ "Meeting of the Murray and Mallee Local Government Association – 6 June 2008" (PDF). Local Government Association of South Australia. Retrieved 28 May 2016.
  15. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Matthews, Penny (1986), South Australia, the civic record, 1836-1986, Wakefield Press, ISBN 978-0-949268-82-2

Coordinates: 34°44′12″S 140°30′23″E / 34.7368°S 140.5064°E / -34.7368; 140.5064

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