Lands administrative divisions of South Australia explained

The lands administrative divisions of South Australia are the cadastral (i.e., comprehensively surveyed and mapped) units of counties and hundreds in South Australia. They are located only in the south-eastern part of the state, and do not cover the whole state. 49 counties have been proclaimed across the southern and southeastern areas of the state historically considered to be arable and thus in need of a cadastre. Within that area, a total of 540 hundreds have been proclaimed, although five were annulled in 1870, and, in some cases, the names reused elsewhere.

All South Australian hundreds have unique names, making it unnecessary, when referring to a hundred, to also name its county (as is done in some land administration systems such as that of New South Wales).

With the exception of the historic Hundred of Murray (1853–1870), which occupied parts of five counties, all hundreds have been defined as a subset of a single county.

The hundreds of South Australia formed the basis for the establishment boundaries of most of the earliest local government bodies (that is, district councils). By the 1930s most of the settled hundreds in the state had their own district councils.[1] In the case of heavily settled lands, like the hundreds of Adelaide and Yatala, multiple town and city councils shared the governance of a single hundred. In the case of sparsely populated rural lands, adjacent hundreds were represented by a single district council. In every case, the hundred boundaries largely shaped the initial boundaries of such district councils, as seen with the large-scale expansion of South Australian local government in the District Councils Act 1887.

Land division history

In the early days of European settlement in South Australia, land was released in the colony for farming in an orderly manner by the government. Initial land sales were made as a prerequisite to the founding of the colony, with "preliminary land orders" being made to a total value of £35,000 prior to the 1837 settlement. A preliminary land order entitled the buyer to a 1abbr=onNaNabbr=on town block and an 80abbr=onNaNabbr=on section of rural land which was to be chosen by the individual following the earliest land survey after settlement. The initial town survey of Adelaide was completed in March 1837. By February 1839 the surrounding country from coast to foothills, as far south as O'Halloran Hill and north to present-day Grand Junction Road, had been surveyed into country sections, with between a quarter and a half having already been claimed by the early investors or purchased by early settlers.[2]

The country sections delineated in the early land surveys generally formed the hundred sections when the first hundreds were proclaimed in 1846 (in the counties of Adelaide and Hindmarsh).[3] From this time, the government surveyor systematically established new areas to be released by creating the boundaries of a county, and then dividing that into hundreds of approximately the same size. Outside the initial survey area centred on Adelaide, hundreds were surveyed into sections of varying sizes with the intention that the section would support a single viable farm. These sections were available for purchase soon after a hundred was surveyed and proclaimed. Most hundreds had a town near the middle, and smaller sections closer to the township. Contemporary definitions of rural real estate in South Australia still typically includes the section number(s) and hundred name.

A total of 540 hundreds were proclaimed in the state from 1846 to 1971, but only 535 exist today, following the discontinuation of the hundreds of Murray, Cooper, Randell, Giles and Morphett alongside the Murray River in 1870. A total of 561 names of hundreds are listed in the South Australian official gazetteer Placenames Online,[4] with the 21 extra names unused today due to either renaming or failure to adopt proposed names.

Removal of German-origin names

See also: List of Australian place names changed from German names. In 1916, during the First World War, ten hundreds with names of German origin (Basedow, Homburg, Krichauff, North Rhine, Paech, Pflaum, Scherk, Schomburgk, South Rhine, Von Doussa) were proposed for renaming with Aboriginal names, but this only occurred for the hundreds of Paech and Pflaum which became the hundreds of Cannawigara and Geegeela, respectively. The remaining eight hundreds were renamed in 1918 with names derived from Allied commanders or battles. The hundreds of Basedow, Homburg, Krichauff, North Rhine, Scherk, Schomburgk, South Rhine and Von Doussa became, respectively, the hundreds of French, Haig, Beatty, Jellicoe, Sturdee, Maude, Jutland and Allenby.

List of counties

CountyProclaimed[5] Number of Hundreds
County of Adelaide184211
County of Albert186013[6] [7]
County of Alfred18698
County of Blachford18775
County of Bosanquet19131
County of Buccleuch189317
County of Buckingham186911
County of Burra185113
County of Buxton189613
County of Cardwell186412
County of Carnarvon187412
County of Chandos189312
County of Dalhousie187112
County of Daly186213
County of Derby18770
County of Dufferin188911
County of Eyre184213
County of Fergusson186916
County of Flinders184215
County of Frome185114
County of Gawler18428
County of Granville18767
County of Grey184621
County of Hamley18692
County of Hanson18775
County of Herbert18776
County of Hindmarsh184211
County of Hopetoun18929
County of Hore-Ruthven19330
County of Jervois187834
County of Kimberley18716
County of Kintore18908
County of Le Hunte190817
County of Light18429
County of Lytton18770
County of MacDonnell185715
County of Manchester18915
County of Musgrave187620
County of Newcastle18769
County of Robe184618
County of Robinson188324[8]
County of Russell18429
County of Stanley184216
County of Sturt184210
County of Taunton18776
County of Victoria185714
County of Way188913
County of York18957
County of Young18604

List of hundreds

HundredProclaimedCountyNotes
1853–1870 (initially parts of 3 counties) Obsolete; initially occupied parts of counties of Sturt, Russell and Eyre along banks of River Murray, Lake Alexandrina and Lake Albert
1846
1846
1846
1846
1846
1846
1846
1846
1846
1846
1846
1893
1898
1860
1912
1883
1893
1893
1912
1893
1893
1878
1860
1893
Hundred of Cooper1860–1870 Obsolete. Between hundred of Paisley and River Murray. Now Hundred of Nildottie.
Hundred of Randell1860–1870 Obsolete. Between hundreds of Cadell and Hay. Now Hundred of Murbko.
Hundred of Giles1860–1870 Obsolete. Between hundreds of Cooper and Ridley, and River Murray. Now Hundred of Forster.
Hundred of Morphett1860–1870 Obsolete. Between hundreds of Giles and Ridley, and River Murray. Now Hundred of Bowhill and part of Hundred of Forster.
1912
1893
1893
1912
1912
1893
1893
1893
1881
1888
1888
1877
1880
1913
1893
1929
1895
1899
1906
1902
1902
1910
1910
1911
1906
1906
1899
1899
1901
1898
1910
1906
1909 Renamed from Hundred of Paech in 1918
1939
1939
1909
1906
1939
1886
1871
1921
1882
1909-1918 Renamed Hundred of Cannawigara in 1918
1851
1875
1875
1878
1860
1878
1860
1851
1881
1880 Renamed from Hundred of Schomburgk in 1918
1875
1879
1879
1880-1918 Renamed Hundred of Maude in 1918
n/a 1916 proposed renaming of Hundred of Schomburgk; rejected in 1918 for "Hundred of Maude".
1917
1922
1917
1914
1922
1896
1914
1925
1928
1922
1909
1924
1917
1938
1906
1938
1864
1921
1938
1938
1864
1938
1938
1864
1938
1960
1884
1874
1909
1931
1883
1906
1910
1878
1909
1909
1908
n/a Proposed name for a hundred on Kangaroo Island. Never used.
1907 Renamed from Hundred of Von Doussa in 1918
1912
1894
1912
1894
1929
1969
1912
1894
1912
1894
1969
1907-1918 Renamed Hundred of Allenby in 1918
n/a 1916 proposed renaming of Hundred of Von Doussa; rejected in 1918 for "Hundred of Allenby".
1871
1875
1876
1876
1871
1876
1876
1871
1871
1875
1876
1871
1869
1869
1862
1862
1862
1874
1874
1869
1874
1862
1862
1874
1874
1893
1893
1893
1916
1913
1895
1893
1922
1913
1913
1913
1860
1860
1883 Renamed from Hundred of Krichauff in 1918
1882
1883
1858
1860
1866
1860
1860
1851 Renamed from Hundred of North Rhine in 1918
1866
1860
1883-1918 Renamed Hundred of Beatty in 1918
1851-1918 Renamed Hundred of Jellicoe in 1918
n/a 1916 proposed renaming of Hundred of Krichauff; rejected in 1918 for "Hundred of Beatty".
n/a 1916 proposed renaming of Hundred of North Rhine; rejected in 1918 for "Hundred of Jellicoe".
1878
1878
1873
1874
1872
1872
1874
1872
1869
1874
1869
1874
1869
1872
1878
1874
1903
1903
1867
1867
1871
1851
1851
1904
1871
1878
1871
1879
1871
1869
1872
1871
1878
1875
1876
1891
1860
1858
1876
1874
1875
1875
1878
1851
1875
1856
1856
1856
1856
1856
1856
1847
1851
1877
1877
1886
1877
1877
1877
1877
1862
1858
1862
1858
1858
1858
1883
1862
1871
1861
1869
1867
1861
1869
1867
1861
1883
1871
1883
1855
1858
1922
1923
1895
1877
1895 Renamed from Hundred of Basedow in 1918
1895
1895
1895-1918 Renamed Hundred of French in 1918
n/a 1916 proposed renaming of Hundred of Basedow; rejected in 1918 for "Hundred of French".
1878
1878
1877
1880
1880
1880
1851
1851
1846
1846
1846
1846
1846
1846
1850
1846
1846
1895
1892
1894
1894
1892
1895
1892 Renamed from Hundred of Scherk in 1918
1896
1902
1892-1918 Renamed Hundred of Sturdee in 1918
n/a 1916 proposed renaming of Hundred of Scherk; rejected in 1918 for "Hundred of Sturdee".
1928
1878
1903
1895
1895
1895
1910
1903
1895
1957
1878
1910
1957
1910
1910
1878
1878
1895
1878
1878
1903
1928
1928
1914
1910
1878
1907
1910
1910
1916
1908
1895
1897
1878
n/a Proposed name for what became Hundred of Nicholls.
1877
1880
1880
1878
1871
1878
1890
1890
1890
1890
1894
1894
1890
1890
1928
1926
1957
1927
1913
1926
1913
1913
1913
1957
1922
1925
1913
1913
1913
1913
1913
1851
1851
1851
1851
1851
1847
1847
1851
1851
1921
1869
1864
1907 Renamed from Hundred of Pflaum in 1918
1871
1869
1861
1888
1869
1888
1878
1871
1884
1888
1888
1907-1918 Renamed Hundred of Geegeela in 1918
1891
1891
1893
1891
1892
1919
1936
1876
1929
1885 Renamed from Hundred of Homburg in 1918
1936
1936
1879
1934
1895
1903
1916
1884
1903
1894
1881
1881
1925
1876
1876
1885-1918 Renamed Hundred of Haig in 1918
n/a 1916 proposed renaming of Hundred of Homburg; rejected in 1918 for "Hundred of Haig".
1876
1880
1877
1876
1877
1876
1878
1880
1880
1871
1877
1885
1861
1878
1885
1867
1862
1876
1861
1871
1867
1867
1877
1885
1886
1878
1861
1910
1971
1888
1915
1913
1913
1913
1883
1893
1885
1913
1913
1913
1915
1888
1885
1885
1888
1888
1910
1910
1891
n/a Apparently never gazetted. North of Hundred of Downer.
1885
1893
1860
1860
1860
1872
1893
1936
1860
1860
1860
1864
1863
1860
1867
1850
1867
1862
1860
1860
1864
1869
1860
1851
1862
1850
1869
1860
1860
1860
1857
1847
1851 Renamed from Hundred of South Rhine in 1918
1860
1847
1860
1851
1851-1918 Renamed Hundred of Jutland in 1918
n/a 1916 proposed renaming of Hundred of South Rhine; rejected in 1918 for "Hundred of Jutland".
1881
1877
1881
1881
1895
1881
1863
1870
1871
1869
1871
1871
1891
1874
1871
1874
1869
1874
1869
1869
1889
1893
1893
1889
1893
1893
1893
1889
1889
1896
1929
1893
1893
1895
1895
1940
1917
1917
1895
1895
1915
1915
1915
1860

Notes and References

  1. Web site: A History of South Australian Councils to 1936 . Local Government Association of South Australia . Susan . Marsden . 2012 . 19 July 2017 . From the 1850s until the 1930s, as a general rule, every settled Hundred gained and retained its own District Council..
  2. Light . William . John Arrowsmith (Firm). . The district of Adelaide, South Australia as divided into country sections . 1839 . Published by John Arrowsmith, 35 Essex St., Strand . 4 December 2017.
  3. News: PROCLAMATION . . IV . 175 . South Australia . 31 October 1846 . 31 August 2020 . 3 . National Library of Australia.
  4. Web site: South Australian official gazetteer: Property Location Browser . Government of South Australia. Click 'Layers' >> 'Administration'. Check 'Hundreds' and 'Counties'. Zoom to see hundred boundaries.
  5. Web site: Counties and Hundreds – South Australia . Maureen M . Leadbeater . FamilyHistorySA.info . 5 June 2016 . 19 July 2016.
  6. Four of the hundreds in the County of Albert (Cooper, Randell, Giles and Morphett) were annulled in 1870 in conjunction with the annulment of the Hundred of Murray.
  7. The Hundred of Murray (proclaimed in 1853) which occupied parts of seven counties (Russell, Sturt, Albert, Eyre, Young, Hamley and Alfred), to follow the Murray River, was annulled in 1870. The numbers in the table do not include this hundred.
  8. In addition to the 24 proclaimed hundreds in the County of Robinson, the Hundred of McBeath was also proclaimed but apparently never gazetted.

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